Hul Topol - Fall of the Moon A narrative of etiologies from the Bunaq of Lamaknen

Abstract

This article makes a contribution to the documentation of the genre of oral literature known as zapal amongst the Bunaq, a Papuan-speaking group of central Timor. I present an annotated and translated version of the elaborate zapal entitled Hul Topol or Fall of the Moon. Hul Topol is a lengthy, multi-event narrative which gives etiologies spanning the realms of subsistence, cultural practice and natural order including animal behaviour and appearance.

1. Introduction to The Papuan languages of Timor, Alor and Pantar. Volume 3

“…At the same time, archival materials on TAP languages are becoming available online. The Endangered Language Archive (ELAR) has digital collections for Kula (Williams 2017b), the Bunaq oral literature genre zapal (Schapper 2019) and a small collection of miscellaneous materials for three Alor-Pantar languages (Baird 2004). The Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC) has deposits for several west Alor languages (Baird 2015a(Baird , 2015b(Baird , 2015c and for Western Pantar (Holton 2012).…”