Tetum

Tetum

people
also spelled  Tetun, or Tettum,  

      people indigenous to the narrow central section of Timor, easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. The Tetum numbered more than 300,000 in the late 20th century. Of Melanesian and Indonesian-Malay stock, the Tetum may be descendants of invaders who brought Indonesian culture to Timor. The Tetum speak a Malayo-Polynesian dialect and practice slash-and-burn cultivation of corn (maize), sweet potatoes, dry rice, and vegetables. Fields are sown around a corn shrine. They also raise pigs and a few buffalo. The basic social and economic unit is the household, which usually consists of an extended family. The Tetum village, composed of large houses built on pilings, is governed by a headman, who in turn is supervised by a chief. Both men and women play distinctive and important parts in agricultural rituals. Believing that women represent the sacred world and men the secular, the Tetum observe complex rites that are meant to join the sacred and secular worlds, thus ensuring a good harvest. Religious shamans, female or male, act as interpreters of spirits. Tetum clan descent is usually patrilineal. Polygamy has died out under the influence of Christianity.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tetum — Gesprochen in Osttimor, Indonesien Sprecher ca. 900.000 Linguistische Klassifikation Austronesische Sprachen Malayo polynesische Sprachen Tetum …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • tétum — s. m. Língua indígena e nacional de Timor. = TETO   ‣ Etimologia: do tétum …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • Tetum — Infobox Language name=Tetum nativename=Tetun, Lia Tetun familycolor=Austronesian states=East Timor, Indonesia, Australia, Portugal, United Kingdom region=Southeast Asia speakers=800,000 fam2=Malayo Polynesian (MP) fam3=Nuclear MP fam4=Central… …   Wikipedia

  • Tetum — Tétoum Tétoum tetum Parlée au Timor oriental Nombre de locuteurs entre 300 000 et 800 000 Classification par famille langues austronésiennes langues malayo polynésiennes langues malayo polynésiennes centrales orientales tétoum …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tetum alphabet — The Tetum alphabet is used to write Tetum. It is based on the Latin alphabet and contains 28 letters:ee also* Alphabets derived from the Latin * Tetum languageExternal links* [http://www.asianlang.mq.edu.au/INL/orthhist.pdf#search=%22orthography%2… …   Wikipedia

  • Tetum — noun The national language of East Timor …   Wiktionary

  • Tetum — ISO 639 3 Code : tet ISO 639 2/B Code : tet ISO 639 2/T Code : tet ISO 639 1 Code : Scope : Individual Language Type : Living …   Names of Languages ISO 639-3

  • Tetum — /ˈtɛtʊm/ (say tetoom) noun an Austronesian language of Timor comprising a number of dialects influenced by Portuguese, Indonesian and Malay. Also, Tetun …  

  • tétum —  n.m. Langue de Timor …   Le dictionnaire des mots absents des autres dictionnaires

  • Tetun — Tetum Gesprochen in Osttimor, Indonesien Sprecher 224.408 in Osttimor (Stand 2004) Linguistische Klassifikation Austronesische Sprachen Malayo polynesische Sprachen Tetum …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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