First of all thank you to
everyone from Blue
Mountains East Timor Sisters,
Blue Mountains City Council
and Trek for Timor who made
possible the filming
of Maulelo. We learnt so much
more about the story and its
meaning when we
interviewed elders and filmed
the performance.
The crew for filming were
Max Stahl and Timorese
colleagues Bento Martins
and Rogério Cardoso Neves
from Centro Audiovisual
Max Stahl Timor-Leste.
Cameramen from the Arte
Moris community Mariano
Gonçalves and Tony Amaral
were also part of the crew
and internationals Elizabeth
Adams, Alex Ben-Major, Zoe
Morley and Ros Dunlop.
Between us we were able to
capture the many angles of
the performance. Some
wonderful footage of the
central action was captured
on a Go Pro camera
belonging to Zoe Morley
which was strapped onto
the head of one of the
performers. He was tall for a
Timorese - advantageous for
the end result - and he kept
his eyes trained onto the
guts of the performance
which was fantastic.
We set off from Dili on
Saturday 14th June for
Hatobuilico with blue skies
and warm weather. By the
time we got to Hatobuilico it
was late afternoon, clouds
were blowing in and the
temperature dropped a lot
and no heating in houses -
tough for those used to the
hot temperatures of Dili. On
Sunday we walked half way
up a mountain behind the
village of Mulo to a flat cleared
area where many of the locals
were rehearsing Maulelo. We
arrived to the sound of Buffalo
horns, gongs and tohin (a
large cylindrical drum),
singing and dancing.
MAULELO - FILMING
A RARE RITUAL
It was necessary for us to
have the rehearsal day for
working out the logistics of
filming, as it was a large
area being used to stage the
performance and it would
require all of us to film and
record the sound. There
were also a dozen horses
and riders involved in the
performance. We all had to
introduce ourselves to the
performers and they in turn
to us.
Afonso Pereira the lia
na’in (cultural custodian) who
was teaching everyone
the Maulelo was a dynamo.
He seemed to have boundless
energy and those taking part
gave him their full attention.
He explained the real story
of Maulelo to us as follows:
In the beginning, the world was
dark; it was the uncivilized time
before uma lulik when there
were no rules or moral
standards. During this time
there was one man,
Maulelo, and one woman,
Builelo, who were brother and
sister. They had a child, a son
called Adsa. When Adsa grew
up he asked his mother who his
father was. His mother didn’t
reply, but he knew because
there were no other men in the
world then, that his father must
be his mother’s brother, so he
knew his father had committed
a crime of incest.
Because Maulelo had done the
wrong thing Adsa knew he
must right the wrong and kill
his father. Once Adsa killed his
father Maulelo, it righted the
wrong and the world became
light. This was the beginning of
the civilized time of uma lulik,
moral standards and civility.
In the performance the
person who plays the role
of Adsa (who kills Maulelo) is
a revered person and he must
receive bua malus from the
women.
This is followed by a ritual
called Siaka which is the
blowing of the ahu (the white
lime powder). It is blown both
right and left to call for the
clouds and rain to cover the
earth so Maulelo can be killed.
This action is called bidu du ma
sabai (calling for rain to come)
and Onor koko morma (cloud
is covering the earth) to
prevent Maulelo from leaving
his house due to the rain. The
cloud provides a camouflage
for Adsa and his followers so
they can arrest and slay
Maulelo. Siaka must be done
before Maulelo is arrested.
MAULELO - FILMING A RARE RITUAL
Rehearsals finished late in the afternoon and we were
to be back at 9.30am in the morning for the first stage
of the performance. It rained for the rest of the evening
which was a bit worrying for the performance the
following day.
The day of the performance it was raining heavily so
we all waited hoping it would clear! Low cloud and
mist hung about all day. We decided that we would do
the film interview of Afonso Pereira while we waited to
see whether the rain would clear.
It was 4pm when the rain stopped, the mist and
cloud seemed hugely appropriate so a quick
decision was made to go ahead with the
performance and there was a fast scramble by all
those in the village of Mulo to go up the mountain.
There were many other villagers from other villages
already there in full traditional dress waiting to start.
The clouds and mist provided a light that was perfect
for filming, performers, horses and riders got into
action and we filmed this unique performance.
This was the first time the people of Mulo had
performed Maulelo since Indonesian occupation.
Afterwards Afonso said to me “thank you for waking us
up.” I am heartened to know that now a new
generation has been taught Maulelo following the
tradition of “aman ba oan” (father to child).
There were several interviews filmed the next day, also
including interviews asking younger people and
women to comment on the experience of learning and
performing Maulelo. These interviews and the
performance will form the basis of the short film which
we envisage will be completed by the end of the year.
Now the transcriptions and translations of the
interviews are taking place in Dili and once these are
complete the editing of the filmed material will take
place in Timor. We will send a copy of the film once it is
complete. We have promised the people in Mulo DVDs
of the film on completion, and will arrange for a
screening of the film to be done for them as well as in
Dili and Australia.
Thanks to the generous donation and faith you have in
the Maulelo project we have been able to preserve and
instigate the passing on of a tradition which was in
danger of disappearing. Look forward to being able to
show the film at the end of the year or early in the New
Year in the Blue Mountains!
With gratitude and appreciation,
Ros Dunlop
Director
Teke Media Inc
Rozelle NSW 2039
Afonso Pereira
ChildFund currently supports 76 ECD centres throughout the country; ensuring more than 3,300 children under the age of five are on the path to reaching their full potential.