The Book of Dan. The Door in the Tree. Emergent Frameworks for Faith and Healing among the Meto of Timor-Leste

Abstract

Over the past 40 years, Timor-Leste's Oecussi enclave has seen significant urbanization, with many families choosing to relocate from the mountains to the district capital in search of economic and educational opportunity. This article revolves around the case study of a spiritual healer referred to as Brother (Maun) Dan who, after a purported encounter with Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus on the sacred beach of Lifau, is believed to have acquired the ability to heal the sick and has organized his followers into a Catholic affiliated mystical organization called the Sacred Family. Situating Dan's story within the literature on spirituality and healing in the region, this article explores how, through reconciling indigenous (meto) beliefs revolving around ancestral spirits and sacred landscapes with the high-status foreign (kase) institution of the Catholic Church and its associated iconography and scripture, Dan has been able to deploy distinctly Timorese perspectives on health and healing to address the needs of people living in an increasingly globalized peri-urban setting. Show more