Ume Kbubu the Legacy of Timor Island

Savana of Timor

The hilly geographical conditions, the dry air, the hot weather during the day and the cold at night, the grassland that forms the savanna, is the atmosphere that I feel when visiting East Nusa Tenggara , Soe to be exact. Under the tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica) I awaken a body full of sweat while looking at a landscape that is dominated by dry colors. I was amazed by the traditional house form that was there, as if I was in Papua.

Timor map

Honai, traditional house from Papua.

Honai, surely you understand the term. It is a traditional house from Papua, especially people living in mountainous areas. In East Nusa Tenggara, there is also a Honai called Ume Kbubu. If in Papua, honai is a female residence, while men live in Pilamo, but in East Nusa Tenggara one family will live in one Ume Kbubu.

Umu Kbubu, traditional house of Timor.

On the island of Timor in the familiar 2 types of traditional houses namely ume kbubu and loppo. Ume kbubu has a philosophical meaning symbolized by women and humility, while loppo is symbolized as a man and a guard. Ume Kbubu comes from the word Ume which means house and Kbubu which means round, is the main house of a family. They have trust, must have ume kbubu before building or owning another house.

The family at umu kbubu.

On the way to Soe, a small town that became the capital of South Central Timor District I meet Martin Sanam (60 year). He is one of the traditional leaders of Binaus Village who still maintain the existence of ume kbubu. Although he already has a modern home, but ume kbubu is the center of activities of the family.

Ume kbubu is built with wooden cassowary skeleton (Casuarina equisetifolia) which is known hard and strong. Or ume kbubu made from dried alang-alang (Imperata cylindrica) leaves. Inter-pole fastener uses a string of bamboo, while the wall is made of bamboo in flat stacking. The main skeleton is created like a teacher with a width of 2 m and a height of 4m. After the main pole is made and then made the dome-shaped half-ball and covered with weeds. There are 3 forms of round house roof that is; taper, round, and parabola.

In side of Ume kbubu used as kitchen.

Ume kbubu has a vital role in a family. The house is divided into several rooms without insulation. The center is a furnace for cooking and warms the room. The side will be used for bedding, food storage and furniture. This house is used as a granary or food storage, located in the attic.

Ume kbubu also use for food storage as corn and beans.

Ume kbubu is a very minimalist and elliptical-like structure. This house is very effective for areas that have extreme temperature changes. Soe is a high altitude located at an altitude of  900 - 1500 m above sea level. During the day will be scorching heat with a temperature of 33-36C, but on even the day the temperature can go down to 16C. Inside ume kbubu during the day will feel comfortable because the roof of the weeds that can reduce heat, and at night will keep the heat so it will remain warm. Ume kbubu is the fruit of local knowledge that adapts to the local geographical.

Kid of Timor, use Kain Timor (cloth) for protecting form cold temperature.

In Timor, there is a unique tradition in which ume kbubu has a very vital role, namely the neno boha tradition. Neno boha is a postpartum mother's tradition must stay in ume kbubu for 40 days 40 nights and prohibited out. Ume kbubu will be the home of his mother and baby until the appointed time limit. Interestingly again, the mother of the baby may only consume corn bose. Bose corn is a traditional food from Timor consisting of corn and beans simmered simultaneously. They forbid the mother to give birth to eat another food, for fear of happening anything and result in the baby who drank the milk. "However, this tradition is slowly being removed because it is not good for baby growth and avoids malnutrition," says Martin Sanam.

Women/grand mother is manager in ume kbubu.

Ume kbubu is symbolized as a woman, then women will be the manager in it. If the maize harvest season arrives, the men will harvest the corn and bring it only to the door of ume kbubu. The women who will enter and arrange the storage in ume kbubu. There is a strict and strict rule, ie men or children are prohibited from taking corn stash. Only women are allowed to take corn. The woman who takes this role is the mother or wife in the family.

The role of women in ume kbub is the manager who will manage the entry of food out. This role is very important, because in Timor there is only one harvest in one year. From the harvest, women should be able to manage how to eat enough in one year. Women will determine how much to cook each day.

As a place to store food, um kbubu very effective in storing and preserving food. Smoke from the burning furnace acts as a preservation process which in principle is drying the food to be durable, removing oxygen from overgrowing the destructive organisms, and guarding from moisture. In ume kbubu, maize and beans stored can last for months and the condition is still awake.

A village a Timor Island

Ume kbubu is not just a place to stay for meto atoin, but has a spiritual, social, economic and architectural significance. Ume kbubu is a local wisdom that utilizes local resources and knowledge to maintain the existence of its inhabitants. Ume kbubu is a cultural heritage of the past that has passed a long time and stay afloat, and a hope if this legacy remains in the future.