People and objects in East Timor: lulik relations between entities

Abstract

This paper aims to show how the people of a small rural hamlet in East Timor conceptualise their relations with some objects. Through five case studies, we will show how a normativity of use and agency is attributed to these objects, which can have negative effects on people’s physical or moral integrity whenever transgressed. This transgression of the normativity of use, known locally as lulik, helps to construct and negotiate the boundaries of the domestic domain through the discursive and practical enrolment of everyday objects. Finally, we will show how it becomes necessary to pay attention to some elements of local Timorese material cultures in order to understand the construction processes of collective identity.