Maromak Oan
Tetum · demigod · Tetum traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Maromak Oan, 'Child of Maromak', is the sacred sovereign at the centre of Wehali, the pre-eminent ritual domain of the southern Tetum. Cosmologically female and identified with the still, life-giving centre of the world, the Maromak Oan is a sovereign who sits and does not act: executive power is delegated to the Liurai and other male officers who move and make war on the sovereign's behalf, while the Maromak Oan remains immobile, silent and hidden, guaranteeing the fertility and order of the realm through sacred presence alone. The office embodies the Tetum principle that ultimate authority is feminine, inward and quiescent, while its masculine agents are outward and active.
Parentage
- maternal: Maromak
Domains
- sacred sovereignty
- fertility and the still centre
Powers
- embody the still sacred centre
- guarantee the fertility and order of the realm
Epithets
- Nai Bot — The Great SovereignTom Therik, Wehali: The Female Land (ANU, 2004) (secondary)
Relations
- child: MaromakThe title Maromak Oan renders the sovereign the earthly child of the divinity Maromak.Gérard Francillon, Some Matriarchic Aspects of the Social System of the Southern Tetum (ANU thesis, 1967); Tom Therik, Wehali (ANU, 2004) (secondary)
Sources
- The Maromak Oan is the sacred, cosmologically female sovereign at the centre of Wehali, immobile and silent, whose executive power is delegated to the Liurai and other male officers.: Gérard Francillon, Some Matriarchic Aspects of the Social System of the Southern Tetum of Central Timor (ANU thesis, 1967) (secondary); Tom Therik, Wehali: The Female Land (ANU, 2004) (secondary)