LAND AND GENDER IN MATRILINEAL TIMOR-LESTE

• Author(s): Narciso, Vanda ; Henriques, Pedro Damião de Sousa ; Tilman, Mário
• Date: 2012
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/7097
• Origin: Repositório Científico da Universidade de Évora
• Subject(s): Timor-Leste; Bunaque; matrilineal; gender; land
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

There are few groups’ followers of the matrilineal system in the world but they are present in all continents, except in Europe. In Timor-Leste, the matrilineal organization social system is found among 3 ethno-linguistic groups and seems that, in spite of their resilience, some changes have been taken place in recent years due to some economic, socio and cultural changes. Two different kinship/social systems coexist in Timor-Leste, one patrilineal in force in the majority of the territory and one matrilineal in the regions with dominance of Búnaque, Tetum-Terik and Galoli ethno-linguistic groups. The idea behind this paper is to identify those features related to land that have been characterizing the matrilineal system of the Búnaque in Timor-Leste. To achieve its goals, this paper through, secondary and empirical data collected, analyses women’s reality in the Bunaque communities, relating land tenure with the gender roles performed.