Abstract
This paper brings together an appreciation of two related cultural themes from the island of Timor in eastern Indonesia. The first of these themes explores the expression of precedence in Timorese social contexts and its significance as an index of status differentiation. A second related concern, and one that arguably represents a key indigenous expression of precedence, is the enduring representation of social processes through botanical idioms and particularly the metaphor of the tree. In Timor, the botanical idiom of the tree is often expressed in binary metaphorical form as ‘trunk and tip’. It is this particular encoded configuration of process and relation that informs and expresses aspects of temporal precedence.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Precedence: Social Differentiation in the Austronesian World |
| Editors | Michael P. Vischer |
| Place of Publication | Canberra, A.C.T. |
| Publisher | Australian National University E Press |
| Pages | 111-132 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781921536472 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781921536465 |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |
Keywords
- Timor-Leste
- language and languages
- idioms
- trees