Ema husi Mua Imi iha Wailili konta istória tuirmai:

Iha tasi ibun Seisal iha bee-matan ida naran Bui Leme ne’ebé nia hun fila fali ba Larantuka, Flores. Liurai Larantuka ida nakfila ba baleia no loron ida mane ida husi Seisal kail nia sala. Bainhira baleia fila fali ba Larantuka (iha fatin ne’ebé nia ukun hanesan Liurai mane) nia moras. Nia haruka nia manu-ain (estafeta) lafaek atu buka solusaun ba moras ne’e. Manu-ain hasoru kail-ikan na'in no nia haruka kail-ikan na'in atu halo kail ida ho talin no nia lori nia atu hasoru nia família ne’ebé moras, Liurai Larantuka. Hafoin nia haruka ema hotu sai husi uma fatin, kail ikan na'in foti kail besi nian husi Liurai nia ibun. Nia subar lalais kail besi no hatudu fali kail tali ba liurai. Tanba liurai haksolok katak sasán ne’e foti husi nia ibun, nia husu ba kail ikan na'in saida mak nia hakarak hanesan oferta fila fali. Kail ikan na'in husu fila ba nia rai. Liu tiha tempu balun, mosu akontesimentu ida katak maun fakar alin nia tua. Tanba ne’e bee-matan permanente ida mosu fali iha rai maran ne’ebé sira hela. Bee-matan ne’e oferta fó fila fali husi rai okos. 
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The people of Mua Imi tell the following story: 

In the coastal plain of Seisal there is a spring, Bui Leme (W: Cat Coral), which traces its ancestral origins to Larantuka on Flores. The ruler of Larantuka took the form of a whale and one day a man from Seisal hooked it by mistake. When the whale returned to Larantuka (where he ruled in the form of a person) he became sick. His messenger the crocodile was dispatched to find a solution, wherein he met up with the owner of the hook. Advising the man to fashion a hook out of palm fibre he took the man to see the sick kin, the ruler of Larantuka. After first asking everyone to leave the room, the owner of the hook quickly extracted the metal hook from the rulers mouth. He quickly hid the metal object, and showed the ruler instead a hook fashioned out of palm fibre. The ruler, relieved to have the object out of his mouth, asked what the man wanted in return. He asked only for passage to return home. Sometime after returning home, an incident occurred whereby the man's older brother spilt his younger brother's palm wine. As this happened a permanent spring emerged in the previously dry place where they lived. The spring was a return gift from the underworld.


Video Transcript
My name is Bete Rai. My father’s name is Rai Wai. I am Adriano’s sister [Adriano Amaral Freitas - Anu Rai - is the Lia na'in of the Mua Imi house and seated next to her with Lia na'in from two related houses]. My origin house is Mua Imi. Mua Imi Tufu Lesa (Makasae) (T: Rai Mean Alin Feto, E: Red Earth Younger Sister). We came originally from Larantuka Rai Mean. Our ancestors settled at Seisal down there.

When the family in Larantuka were building their origin house the soil around the male pole was not yet filled in completely [not yet strong]. Suddenly some red soil came and filled in the space. A matan dook (T:‘to see far’) was consulted and discovered that the arrival of this soil was from some of the siblings now living in Timor, Seisal. 

When these siblings travelled to Seisal they brought with them many riches. The brothers sat down on the land, but the horses and the buffalo and other riches they had brought wouldn’t enter. So the two brothers said ‘don’t worry we will stay, you can return’. So the brothers settled in Seisal where they ate and drank together. One day the younger brother asked the older brother for his hook (T: kail) so he could go fishing. When he began to fish a whale came, pulled on the line and took the hook. The younger brother returned home empty handed.

Two days later his older brother asked ‘Where is my hook I want to go fishing?’. The younger brother was silent. The older kept asking and asking and then the younger began to cry. He ran off to the edge of the sea and searched and searched but could not find it. Morning arrived and a crocodile appeared.
Avo Lafaek (T: Grandparent Crocodile) asked ‘What are you searching for here and why are you crying?’ He said ‘Oh Avo, I was fishing and a whale came and took the hook and swam off. My brother is angry with me and wants it back’. Avo asked ‘Have you got a small dog and a small chicken? You bring them here for me to eat and then I will take you to look for the hook. Your hook is in the mouth of the King in Larantuka’.

The younger brother went and got the animals and the Avo ate them. Then he said ‘Ok I have eaten now. You sit on top of my back. As I swim you will be sitting above the sea. When you feel the sun too hot on your back then you put your hand over my eyes and I will sink down under water. When you feel you can’t breathe any longer then you put your hand over my eyes again and I will rise again to the surface’.

They finally arrived at the shore and Avo carried him to the spring near the house. He told the man to wait there till about 3 am when people from the house would come to draw water to boil in order to wash the mouth of the King. He said:

 “When they first arrive you needn’t ask them anything. Don’t ask them anything the second time either. On the third time they come ask ‘Why are you people always coming to draw water?’ The people will say they are coming because their Liurai has something in his mouth and even though they wash and wash it, his mouth is smelling fouler than ever. When he spits on the ground inside the house it is also foul smelling. You offer to go and have a look. You take with you a piece of palm frond (T: aka diru nia tahan). You shape it like a hook and hide it. Then you go and pull out the hook from the Liurai’s mouth and hide it in your waistband. Switch it with the hidden palm leaf and pretend to pull that out of his mouth. Hold it up and say ‘This was the cause of the sickness’. You then ask them to squeeze lemon and mix it with hot water for him to rinse his mouth each day. Within two or three days he will be better. They will try to repay you with gold, with belak (gold discs), with morten (coral bead necklaces) but you must refuse. Say all I want is for you to arrange a boat to take me back to where I live. Do you hear me?”.
“Yes Avo, I hear you.”
So he did all this and after curing the Liurai after three days his mouth was better. The younger brother said now it is time for me to return. The people brought to him so many riches. But he declined them. He said, ‘Please just organise my transport so I can return to Timor’.

After this they took him back and dropped him off at Seisal. When his older brother saw him, he said ‘Where have you been all these days? If you have my hook, give it back so I can go fishing’. The younger brother said ‘Here it is’.

The older brother washed the hook and examined it. He saw it had a number on it and said yes this is the number of my old hook. I am lucky. Now I can eat fish again.

After this all was good again between the brothers. They began to eat and drink together again. A day or so later the older brother went to irrigate the rice fields. The younger brother stayed behind to tap palm wine. Sometime after he had set the tap, a buffalo appeared and rubbed up against the tree. The tree fell over and the tua spilt on the ground.

When the older brother came back the younger said ‘I have been out searching for days for your hook and I found it. Now I want to drink palm wine but it is spilt. You need to dig it out for me. It spilt here’.

The older brother dug and dug until he hit water. The younger brother returned, ‘Have you got my tua?’ he asked. The older replied ‘I dug and dug. I didn’t find tua but I found water’. The older drew some water and gave it to the younger to drink. He spat it out. ‘Draw it again’ he said. He got his brother to draw water 4 or 5 times more. Then he said,  ‘Stop that’s enough. At least now we have water. We don’t have to go to the river anymore’. [this spring is called Bui Leme (Waima’a: Cat Coral)] The two made peace again and lived together eating and drinking. After a long time, an Avo from Fatumaka came to speak with my Avo. ‘You come and make your uma adat over here. Bring your women and children and this is where we will store the weapons (T: alat) for war’. Together they went to fight a war in Kairiri with the people of Venilale. Daime and Medai from Fatumaka fought off the Avo from Venilale and he returned to his land. Our Avo from Fatumaka had won. They are still ruling here today.

[After Bete Rai finished this story her older brother Adriano, the Lia Nain for Mua Imi, added the following:]

The people from Venilale had wanted to move the town of Baucau to their area. The people of Fatumaka had disagreed maintaining the town must stay by the sea. Venilale is in the mountains. That is why they fought. Bete Rai added ‘That is why they invited my Avo to come here and help them in the war’.

Notes: 
Venilale was subordinate to Luca until the late 1700s when it sided with the Portuguese during the ‘War of the Mad’ and then was separated from Luca by the Portuguese becoming a Posto. Baucau/Fatumaka were in a ritual alliance and ritually aligned at one time with Luca.

For the house of Mua Imi the crocodile is lulik, as are all wild animals. The fishing hook is lulik and is painted on the under beams of the origin house which was rebuilt in the independence era. The people of the house now speak Makasae and the house name is Makasae. The spring  Bui Leme (Cat Water) is a Waima’a name (most springs in the region have Waima’a names although the custodian house now speaks Makasae –the house will often have a Waima’a name).

Kantigu: Lafaek bee-na'in, leten o nian, kraik mos o nian (Poem: Crocodile custodian of the water, above belongs to you, below also belongs to you)