The sacral lord of Wehali, the Maromak Oan ("son of God") enjoyed a ritually passive role, and he kept the liurai as the executive ruler of the land.
[3] In later history, especially in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the term liurai underwent a process of inflation.
In the Dutch part in West Timor the title appears to have been restricted to the Sonbai and Wehali rulers.
[4] The role of the liurais underwent changes after the great Boaventura Rebellion which was suppressed by the Portuguese authorities in 1912.
However, after this date the liurai was often appointed because of his loyal stance and connections with the colonial center in Dili.