In Oesilo, in the Oé-Cusse enclave, families from four hamlets gather each year around February and March for a two-day ceremony at a sacred site, offering a sacrifice and thanking their ancestors before anyone eats the new season’s corn. The ritual, reported by Timor-Leste’s official tourism body in March 2022, is one of many harvest ceremonies still kept up by younger generations across the country.
Where and who
Oesilo is an inland administrative post of Oé-Cusse, the Timorese enclave surrounded by Indonesian West Timor. According to the 2022 report, the ceremony takes place at a sacred place known locally as Fatu Naek Hoineno, and is celebrated jointly by four hamlets: Hoineno, Usapikolen, Oenoah and Kabun. The communities call the ritual “Fua Pah”, an act of gratitude to the ancestors and of blessing for the new generation.
Each village in the region holds its own version, following the customs handed down by its ancestors.
Two days of ceremony
- Before the ceremony: the community prepares an animal to be sacrificed as an offering to the ancestors.
- Day one: families gather at the sacred house and make the sacrifice at the sacred stone (Fatuk Hoineno).
- Day two: family members meet again at the sacred house to thank the ancestors and ask permission to begin eating the new crops, starting with corn.
Similar first-harvest rites exist elsewhere in Timor-Leste. In Remexio, Aileu, for example, the Lolein-speaking community holds Sau-batar each February, offering new corn to the spirits of the dead and placing it in the sacred house.
Tara bandu and respect for the land
The report links the ceremony to tara bandu, the customary law through which communities agree rules to protect their land and resources, such as bans on cutting trees or burning, and penalties for breaking them. Read more in our tara bandu guide.
Visiting
Harvest ceremonies are community and family rituals, not tourist events, and there is no published schedule. Dates follow the harvest and local custom. If you are in Oé-Cusse in February or March, ask your accommodation or local contacts whether a ceremony is taking place and whether visitors are welcome, and follow the hosts’ guidance on dress, photography and where you may go in and around sacred houses. A local guide who speaks Baikeno (the Meto language of the area) is a great help.
Around Oesilo and Pante Macassar you can also see sacred houses, buy locally woven tais and explore the coast. For background on customs, see cultural background and traditions.