DILI, 24 february 2024 (TATOLI) – The National University of Timor-Lorosa’e (UNTL) launched a book titled: “Hamulak: Linguagem Ritual de Tradição Oral de Uma Comunidade Tétum Em Fohorem, Timor-Leste,” written by Nuno da Silva Gomes, a lecturer at UNTL.
The book presents a collection of ritual prayers (Hamulak) of the local communities of Fohorem, in Covalima municipality.
“This book describes different types of ritual prayers of the Fohorem communities, including prayers for funeral ceremonies, prayers for asking the rain, prayers for the inauguration of traditional houses, and prayers for dowry ceremonies. This book is written in Portuguese language,” explained Gomes at the book launch ceremony, at UNTL.
The book has nine chapters describing various ritual prayers of the Fohorem communities in Tétum Terik. Fohorem communities speak Tétum Terik which is a more indigenous form of Tétum by different word choices, less foreign influence, verb conjunction, etc.
Gomes said that the book was written to preserve the different forms of ritual prayers of the Fohorem communities for future generations.
The book also presents the process of building the traditional houses of the Fohorem communities.
Gomes encourages young people who dream of becoming writers to start their writing careers by writing about their culture, customs, and traditional practices: “By writing, we can preserve and pass on our culture, customs, and tradition to future generations.”
Paulino Vicente, director of the Centre for Arts and Cultural Studies (CECA) at UNTL, said that the book was converted from the thesis of Gomes’ master’s degree.
In addition to Gomes’s description, Vicente said the book preserves the oral traditions of the Fohorem people.
More than 1,000 copies of the book have been produced and are currently available for sale at US$25 per book.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Filomeno Martins
