Uis Pah
Uis Pah is the Lord of the Earth, the autochthonous power of the ground that answers to the celestial Uis Neno. Where the sky-lord gives light, rain and life from above, Uis Pah holds the land itself, its springs, gardens and territorial boundaries, and the fertility that rises from below. The earth-lord is the female, lower and 'outer' pole in the dual scheme that orders Atoni thought. Under the name Pah Tuaf, 'owner of the land', this power is approached at every stage of cultivation through the tobe, the ritual earth-officer who lays down offerings so that clearing, sowing and harvest may prosper. Sources differ over whether Uis Pah and the localized pah tuaf of particular places are strictly one being or a general lordship refracted into many guardian owners of the soil.
Domains
- earth
- land and territory
- agriculture and fertility
Powers
- owns and guards the land and its yield
- receives the offerings of planting and harvest
Epithets
- Pah Tuaf — Owner / Lord of the LandMcWilliam, A. (2002), Paths of Origin, Gates of Life: A Study of Place and Precedence in Southwest Timor (Leiden: KITLV Press) (secondary)
Relations
- companion: Uis NenoEarth-lord paired with sky-lord as the female, lower, autochthonous pole of the cosmic dyad.Cunningham, C.E. (1964), 'Order in the Atoni House', Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 120(1): 34-68 (secondary)
Sources
- Uis Pah ('Lord of the Earth'), also called Pah Tuaf ('owner of the land'), is the earth-power complementary to Uis Neno, governing land, territory and agricultural fertility and receiving offerings through the ritual earth-officer.: Schulte Nordholt, H.G. (1971), The Political System of the Atoni of Timor (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff) (secondary); McWilliam, A. (2002), Paths of Origin, Gates of Life: A Study of Place and Precedence in Southwest Timor (Leiden: KITLV Press) (secondary)