Iha tinan 2018 lia-na’in Uma Kubo-Buu Wai Dasu nian iha Bercoli konta istória kona-ba uma ne’e nia ligasaun ho uma Kai Leki iha norte. Uma Kubo-buu Wai Dasu mak halo parte grupu uma tolu hanesan uma hun prinsipál iha Bercoli: Kubo-buu Wai Dasu, Wai Teki no Wai-Daba Ocabai). Maski uma Kubo-Buu Wai Dasu no uma maun-alin sira iha knaar hodi tau matan ba bee-matan 38 iha rejiaun Baucau, lia-na’in nia istória kona-ba tempu pasadu bainhira bee seidauk deskobre:

“Iha pasadu, ami-nia bei’ala sira la hatene. kona-ba bee. Sira hatene de’it kona-ba ahi. Sira hatais de’it hena husi tali metan. Sira halo ahi kose au. Loron ida ami-nia bei’ala Kubo-Buu tuur hamutuk iha ai-bubur laran ho mane ida husi Au Baca. Sira na’in-rua kaer kumbili hodi han. Sira fahe sira-nia kumbili ba malu. Au Baca han Kubo-Buu nia kumbili no hakilar: “Tanbasá mak midar loos?”. “Tanba ahi” Kubo-Buu hatán. 

Au Baca nia kumbili matak hela. Nia ema hatene kona-ba bee, maibé sira han sira-nia ai-han matak de’it. Kubo-Buu koko Au Baca nia kumbili. Kumbili ne’e tasak no la gostu liu. Au Baca hanorin Kubo-Buu kona-ba bee hemu, halo Au Baca sente di’ak, malirin no kontente. Sira halo kontratu hodi fahe bee no ahi. 

Iha loron tuirmai, Kubo-Buu ba Au Baca nia uma. Au Baca fó bee ba Kubo-Buu. Au Baca hatudu raga ida ho kabas-fini no tali-metan iha laran. Kubo-Buu halo ahi uza au no Au Baca tau iha raga laran iha uma nia kakuluk. 

Kubo-Buu fila ba uma no, enkuantu nia la’o hela, bee suli sai husi rai fatin no hamosu bee-matan iha fatin barak. Iha dalan fila ba uma, nia hateke ba kotuk ho haree ahi han hela Au Baca nia uma. Aban bainrua Au Baca halo vingansa ba akontesimentu aat ne’e. Nia bá vizita Kubo-Buu. Sira na’in-rua tuur hamutuk hemu tua to’o lanu todan. Tekitekir Au Baca hasai ai kroat ida no sona mate Kubo-Buu ne’ebé mate kedas.

 Belun na’in-rua ne’e sai inimigu. Maibé ami la bele hirus malu” (husi komunikasaun pesoál autór nia - 1 Sept 2018).

Iha tinan 2018 uma Kubo-Buu Wai Dasu iha Bercoli hahú harii fila fali nia uma lulik neen. Uma sira-ne’e hetan moris husi bee-matan sira ne’ebé besik (Wai Dasu - bee asu), Naa Lale iha sul no bee-mata maizoumenus 30 tan. Na’in Kubo-Buu Wai Dasu nian hetan konfirmasaun kona-ba sira-nia reinu boot bainhira sira konsege hasai dima ida husi rai. Maski ema seluk barak koko, sira la konsege hasai dima refere. Maibé Kubo-Buu bele hasai ho lima-fuan rua de’it. 

Uma Kubo-Buu halo parte husi kompleksu uma maun-alin tolu iha reinu Bercoli (Kubo-Buu, Ocabai-Buu, Wai Teki-Buu.) Uma ne’e nia lia-na’in hateten katak sira-nia bei’ala sira uluk forma grupu kompleksu uma hitu ne’ebé liga ba malu. Fronteira importante iha reinu ida-ne’e fahe ho Vemasse (We Masi = Bee Masin). Iha fronteira ne’e uma Loi Lobo iha riin 16: 8 Bercoli nian no 8 Vemasse nian. 

Uma lisan hotu-hotu iha zona Bercoli liga ba malu liuhusi bee-matan. Bee-matan Wai Dasu nian deskobre husi Kubo-Buu nia asu no husi ne’ebá maki uma Kubo-Buu Wai Dasi harii. Iha área ida-ne’e iha istória orál barak ne’ebé liga asu ho sira-nia na’in ba bee-matan sira. 

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In 2018 the lia-na’in of Kubo-Buu Wai Dasu house in Bercoli related his house’s oral history of the connection shared between this house and the house of Kai Leki further north along the Baucau plateau corridor. The house of Kubo-buu Wai Dasu is a part of the tripartite sibling house arrangement (comprised of relationships between the founding houses of the Bercoli region: Kubo-buu Wai Dasu, Wai Teki, Wai-Daba Ocabai). While Kubo-Buu Wai Dasu and its sibling houses have custodial responsibility for 38 springs spread across the drylands and escarpment edge of the Bercoli region of Baucau, he provided an account of life in the drylands before the discovery of water:

“In the past our ancestors didn’t know about water. They only knew about fire. They wore only black sugar palm fibres (tali metan). They would make fire by rubbing together two pieces of bamboo over palm fibre.
One day our ancestor Kubo-Buu sat together in the savanna with a man from Au Baca (the northern edge of the plateau). They both had wild yams (kumbili) to eat. They exchanged pieces of their yams. Au Baca ate Kubo-Buu’s and exclaimed out loud ‘why is it so sweet?’ ‘Because of fire,’ replied Kubo-Buu.
Au Baca’s yam was raw. His people knew about water, but they ate their food raw. Their mouths were all hairy inside. Kubo-Buu tasted Au Baca’s yam. It was not cooked and tasted terrible.
But Au Baca taught Kubo-Buu about drinking water and it made him feel good, cool and content. They made a contract to exchange water and fire.
The next day Kubo-Buu went to Au Baca’s house. Au Baca gave Kubo-Buu water. Au Baca brought out a basket with cotton seed and palm fibre inside. Kubo-Buu made fire with the bamboo sticks and Au Baca placed the fire in the basket in the roof of his house.
Kubo-Buu set off home and as he walked water spilled from its bamboo container, creating springs in his wake. Along the way, he looked back and he saw in the distance that Au Baca’s house was burning down.
Much later the old man from Au Baca sought his vengeance. He went to visit Kubo-Buu. They sat together and talked and got very drunk. Then Au Baca got out a sharpened stick he had hidden in his waistband and stabbed Kubo-Buu in the head. Kubo-Buu died straight away.
These friends across the zone became enemies. But we are not allowed to be angry with each other” (pers comm. 1/9/18).

In 2018 the house of Kubo-Buu Wai Dasu in Bercoli began reconstruction of its six umo luli. These houses draw their vitality from the nearby springs of Wai Dasu (Dog Water), the spring of Naa Lale to the south and another 30 or so smaller springs across its drylands and escarpment edge zone. The custodians of the Kubo-Buu Wai Dasu confirmed their large dryland domain when they successfully extracted a spear (dima) out of the ground. While many others had tried they were unsuccessful, but Kubo-Buu had simply pulled it out with two fingers.

The house is part of the tripartite sibling complex which comprises the Bercoli domain (Kabo-Buu, Ocabai-Buu, Wai Teki-Buu). Its senior lia na’in states that their ancestors originally formed a group of seven interconnected house complexes. An important border of this domain is shared with the coastal kingdom Vemasse (We Masi=Salty Water). At this inland border, the house of Loi Lobu has 16 pillars: eight belonging to Bercoli, eight belonging to Vemasse.

All of the houses in the Bercoli domain are connected with and through springs. The Wai Dasu spring was discovered when the ancestor Kabo-Buu’s dog led his owner to the water source, enabling the founding of the Kubo-Buu Wai Dasu house. Similar oral histories connecting dogs and their owners to water sources are refracted across the zone.