Boti

Boti Dalam is a small Atoni village in the hills of West Timor governed by a hereditary usif, a king, whose family has maintained a deliberate distance from the outside: the community follows Uis Neno, the indigenous belief system, rather than the Christianity that surrounds it, declines formal state schooling in favour of teaching within the village, farms without commercial inputs, and holds to a customary calendar. Men who have married do not cut their hair. Cloth is woven on backstrap looms with natural dyes from plants grown locally. Visitors are received only with the king's permission, sleep in a guesthouse in the compound and eat with the household, and the arrangement is that you are a guest in a governed place rather than a customer.

What you actually see

• A hereditary kingship - the usif governing the village under customary law.
• Uis Neno practice - the indigenous belief system kept against the surrounding church.
• Natural-dye backstrap weaving - cloth made from plants grown in the village.
• Teaching outside the state system - schooling done within the community.

When to go

May to October; the road is bad in rain. Two days.

Honest expectations

You must have the king's permission and be received formally - do not simply arrive. Photography rules are set by the village. Facilities are a simple guesthouse. The road in is rough.

Nearby

Soe is north; Mount Mutis is north-west; Kupang is south-west.