The Political System of The Atoni of Timor

Judul	:	The Political System of The Atoni of Timor
Penulis	:	H.G. Schulte Nordholt
Bahasa	:	Inggris
Penerbit	:	The Hague – Martinus Nijhoff
Tahun Cetak	:	1971
Halaman	:	511
ISBN	:	90.247.5137.3
Harga	:	Rp. 350.000
Status	:	Kosong

 

The present book deals with the political system of the Atoni of Indonesian Timor. Timor is the largest of the group of Lesser Sunda Islands. The western part of the island is Indonesian, while the eastern part plus a tiny enclave on the north-west coast are Portuguese territory. The Atoni inhabit most of the western part of Timor. The name by which they sometimes designate themselves, viz. Atoni Pah Meto (= People of the Dry Land), possibly implies that in their mode of life they are centred entirely on the interior and have no dealings at all with the coast or the sea.

The name Timorese is generally used with reference to all the peoples inhabiting the island of Timor, while in the colonial army the term 'a regiment of Timorese' covered representatives of the populations of the surrounding islands as well. But as the Indonesian part of Timor is inhabited by different ethnic groups speaking widely different languages it is preferable to call these different groups by the names by which they designart:e themselves. According to a population survey held in 1966 the population of Indonesian Timor came to approximately 800,000, of whom more than 600,000 were Atoni. They live in the princedoms Kupang (except the Helon districts) Amarasi, Fatule'u, Amfoan, Ambenu, Molo, Miomafo, Amanuban, Amanatun, Insana and Bebok.

The actual field-work for this book was carried out in North Central Timor, approximately 200 km. to the east of Kupang, the capital of Timor, with as main base the district capital of Kefamnanu.