Tetum

The Tetun are an Austronesian people of central and eastern Timor. Their traditions relate that they migrated from Malacca in the fourteenth century, pushed the Atoni west, and advanced east to found four small kingdoms.

Of these Wehali, centred on the fertile plain of Laran, held ritual seniority over the many Timorese principalities: its Maromak Oan, or 'son of God', was a sacral overlord served by a regent called the Liurai. When Antonio Pigafetta of the Magellan expedition visited Timor in 1522, Wewiku-Wehali was the island's dominant power, enriched by sandalwood trade.

Portuguese expeditions sacked Wehali in 1642 and 1665. After the Battle of Penfui in 1749 the Dutch East India Company expanded and signed a treaty with the Liurai in 1756; Wehali then maneuvered between the Portuguese and Dutch rivals dividing the island.