Matak malirin - greening coolness

Water and the vitality of life in Timor-Leste

As water resources diminish with increasing population and economic pressures as well as global climate change, this 2-minute film draws our attention to local uses, beliefs and rituals associated with water. In many areas, water is not only a vital resource but is also endowed with an agency and power that connects people, spirit beings, place and space. In the words of Jose da Costa, custodian of the water, ritual elder and healer from Baucau District in Timor-Leste, “Water cures people. Water gets its power from its coolness. All medicine gets its life from water. Water is more important than anything else”.

Camera, audio and directors — Lisa Palmer and Susanna Barnes

Creative producer — Seth Keen

Editors — Cormac Mills Ritchard and Susanna Barnes

Sound mix — Amy Hanley

Supported by the University of Melbourne, RMIT University, the University of Saskatchewan, the Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research and by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project Funding Scheme (DP160104519).