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Culture
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Culture of East Timor |
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History |
People |
Languages |
Cuisine |
Religion |
Art |
Music |
Sport |
The culture of East Timor reflects numerous cultural influences, including Portuguese, Roman Catholic, and Malay, on the indigenous Austronesian cultures in East Timor.
Traditional land management includes the Tara Bandu customary laws (literally: "hanging law", referring to a symbol hung from a wooden stake where the law is in force), which govern the use of natural resources. It is managed by local communities, and was adopted following independence as the Indonesian system of laws and law enforcement capacity disappeared.[1]
Policy
National Policy for Culture established in 2009, which seeks to establish a cultural centre in each municipality. These are if possible to be located in buildings from the Portuguese era. A municipal market in Lautém Municipality was converted into a cultural space and opened in 2014. Other buildings slated for adaptation are a former government building in Oecusse and the former Residence of the Administrator in Liquiçá. Other Portuguese buildings slated for restoration are Baguia Fort and Ai Pelo Prison.[2]: 10
A Cultural Heritage Decree was planned for 2015.[2]: 10
UNESCO activities
Timor-Leste become a state party to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention on 31 January 2017,ref>Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "The World Heritage Convention has entered into force for Timor-Leste". Whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.</ref> following approval by the Council of Ministers and forwarding to the National Parliament before the end of 2015.[2]: 10 East Timor is currently[when?] finalising its dossiers needed for nominations in the UNESCO World Heritage List, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, UNESCO Creative Cities Network, UNESCO Global Geoparks Network, and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Network. Major contenders for the country includes Atauro Island, which Conservation International has cited as having the most biodiverse waters in the world,[3] Cultural Landscape of the Fataluku,[4] and Historic Monuments of Dili. The country currently[when?] has one document in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, namely, On the Birth of a Nation: Turning points.[5]
Architecture
East Timorese architecture and landscaping is a combination of both Portuguese and indigenous Timorese. Many heritage districts, heritage towns, and heritage structures have been retained in Timor-Leste, unlike its Southeast Asian neighbors whose architectural styles have been dreadfully replaced by modern and shanty structures that have destroyed cultural domains. Timor-Leste does not yet have a policy to conserve its architecture and landscapes, but is still one of the few nations in Asia to possess well-preserved indigenous architecture and colonial architecture. A proposal is also being made by some locals for the establishment of a law which mandates all villages to have a single architectural and landscaping style to preserve their village/town aesthetics and culture.
Architecturally, buildings are often Portuguese style along with the traditional totem houses of the eastern region. These are known as uma lulik ("sacred houses") in Tetum and lee teinu ("legged houses") in Fataluku.[citation needed]
Art
An extensive collection of Timorese audiovisual material is held at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. These holdings have been identified in a document titled The NFSA Timor-Leste Collection Profile, which features catalogue entries and essays for a total of 795 NFSA-held moving images, recorded sound and documentation works that have captured the history and culture of East Timor since the early twentieth century.[6] The NFSA is working with the East Timorese government to ensure that all of this material can be used and accessed by the people of that country.[7]
In 2009 and 2010, East Timor was the setting for the Australian film Balibo and the South Korean film A Barefoot Dream. In 2013, the first East Timorese feature film, Beatriz's War, was released.[8] Two further feature-length films, Abdul & José and Ema Nudar Umanu, were respectively released on 30 July 2017 through the television network of RTTL[9][10] and on 16 August 2018 at the Melbourne International Film Festival.[11]
Literature
East Timorese culture is heavily influenced by Austronesian legends. For example, East Timorese creation myth has it that an ageing crocodile transformed into the island of Timor as part of debt repayment to a young boy who had helped the crocodile when it was sick. As a result, the island is shaped like a crocodile and the boy's descendants are the native East Timorese who inhabit it. The phrase "leaving the crocodile" refers to the pained exile of East Timorese from their island.[12][13] Different tribes have different origin stories, split between the stories of originating on the island, or migrating from overseas.[14]: 91
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Leia_livros_timor.jpg/200px-Leia_livros_timor.jpg)
Easily the most famous East Timorese author is Xanana Gusmão, the leader of the Timorese resistance organization Fretilin, and former Prime Minister of independent East Timor. He wrote two books during the struggle for independence. Also a poet and painter, he produced works describing the culture, values, and skills of the Timorese people.
Other important writers of Timor include: Luís Cardoso, Fernando Sylvan, Ponte Pedrinha, Jorge Barros Duarte, Crisódio Araujo, Jorge Lauten, Francisco Borja da Costa, Afonso Busa Metan and Fitun Fuik.
Music
Religion
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/East_Timorese_hakka_wedding.jpg/220px-East_Timorese_hakka_wedding.jpg)
East Timor has been nominally Catholic since early in the Portuguese colonial period. The Catholic faith became a central part of East Timorese culture during the Indonesian occupation between 1975 and 1999. While under Portuguese rule, the East Timorese had mostly been animist, sometimes integrated with minimal Catholic ritual, the number of Catholics dramatically increased under Indonesian rule. This was for several reasons: Indonesia was predominantly Muslim; the Indonesian state required adherence to one of six officially recognised religions and recognise traditional beliefs; and because the Catholic Church, which remained directly responsible to the Vatican throughout Indonesian rule, became a refuge for East Timorese seeking sanctuary from persecution.
The 'Apostolic Administrator' (de facto Bishop) of the Diocese of Dili, Monsignor Martinho da Costa Lopes, began speaking out against human rights abuses by the Indonesian security forces, including rape, torture, murder, and disappearances. Following pressure from Jakarta, he stepped down in 1983 and was replaced by the younger priest, Monsignor Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, who Indonesia thought would be more loyal. However, he too began speaking out, not only against human rights abuses, but the issue of self-determination, writing an open letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations, calling for a referendum. In 1996 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with exiled leader José Ramos-Horta, now the country's President.
However, in spite of the majority of the country's people now being Catholics, there is freedom of religion in the new secular republic, and the former prime minister Marí Alkatiri, is a Muslim of Yemeni descent.
Identity
The three eastern districts are known as Lorosae (land of the rising sun), and people from there are collectively referred to as Firaku. The western area of the country are known as Loromonu (land of the setting sun), and people from the west are collectively referred to as Kaladi.[15]: 244 The two areas met in Manatuto Municipality, with Manatuto sometimes being grouped with Loromonu, and sometimes being treated as neither or both.[15]: 263–264
The origin of the collective names is unclear. A well-known theory is that Firaku is derived from the Portuguese term vira o cu (to turn their backs to a speaker), while Kaladi is possibly derived from the Portuguese calado (quiet). The stereotypes expressed by the Portuguese names may have been common in 1940s Dili, partially encouraged by the Portuguese to ferment division, leading to the later communal labels. An alternative theory is that Firaku comes from the Makasae words fi (we) and raku (relatives), while Kaladi derives from the Malay and Tetum keladi (a kind of taro). If this is the case, then it is likely that they were used as derogatory terms, and were adopted by the Portuguese.[15]: 245 This second theory may link to the Portuguese use of the term callades in the 1720s for a group of rebellious kingdoms, who due to being from upland areas may have been associated with taro. The term re-emereged in writing during the 1860s, alongside firaco. While firaco may have derived from Makasae, it may also have derived from the Portuguese fraco (weak).[15]: 247–250 While in use in writings by Portuguese and other foreigners in Dili as terms of convenience, both were likely not in use by the people they referred to.[15]: 253–254 Whatever the origin, both terms were around during the decolonisation process from 1974-1975, with Fretilin noting them as potential dividing lines among the wider population. Fretilin sought to promote a maubere identity for all East Timorese. The identities were used by pro-Indonesia militias during the 1999 East Timorese crisis, with suggestions that the 10 Loromonu districts might remain part of Indonesia. Some tensions emerged during the transition to independence among national political leaders and within neighbourhoods of Dili, although in some cases the tensions may have been raised as a justification for violence and crime that had other origins.[15]: 255–260
Post independence, the police force was seen as dominated by Kaladi, while the defence forces because associated with the Firaku. Communities in Dili became associated with the Firaku and Kalladi identies.[15]: 260–261 During the violence of 2006, Firaku were referred to as terrorists and sometimes received the similar sounding name "Iraq", referencing both terrorism and the Islamic religion of then-prime minister Mari Alkatiri. ("Amerika" was adopted as a self-referential term by Kaladi at the same time.)[15]: 244 In May 2007 Francisco Xavier do Amaral, leader of the Timorese Social Democratic Association, suggested making the terms Firaku and Kaladi illegal.[15]: 265
Sports
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/SDB.jpg/220px-SDB.jpg)
East Timor has joined many international sport associations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC board has granted full recognition to the East Timorese Olympic Committee (COTL). The IOC had allowed a mainly symbolic four-member team to take part in the 2000 Sydney Games under the Olympic flag as "Independent Olympic Athletes." The Federação de Timor-Leste de Atletismo has joined the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The Federação de Badminton de Timor-Leste joined the International Badminton Federation (IBF) in April 2003. The East Timor Cycling Federation has joined the Union Cycliste Internationale. The Confederação do Desporto de Timor Leste has joined the International Weightlifting Federation. East Timor is also a full member of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
East Timor has taken part in several sporting events. Although the athletes came back with no medals, East Timorese athletes had the opportunity to compete with other Southeast Asian athletes in the 2003 Southeast Asian Games held in Vietnam in 2003. In the 2003 ASEAN Paralympics Games, also held in Vietnam, East Timor won a bronze medal. In the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, six athletes participated in three sports: athletics, weightlifting and boxing. East Timor won three medals in Arnis at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games. East Timor was also one of the competing nations in the first Lusophony Games, winning a bronze medal in the women's volleyball competition (finishing third out of three teams), despite the fact the team had lost all its three games. On October 30, 2008, East Timor earned their first international points in a FIFA match with a 2–2 draw against Cambodia.[16]
Sports organizations joined by East Timor include the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), and East Timor's national football team joined FIFA. East Timorese athletes competed in the 2003 Southeast Asian Games held 2003. In the 2003 ASEAN Paralympics Games, East Timor won the bronze medal in men's 48 kg weightlifting.[17] After being recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2003, East Timorese athletes participated in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games under athletics, weightlifting and boxing.[18] East Timor won three medals in Arnis at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.[19] East Timor competed in the first Lusophony Games and, in October 2008, the country earned its first international points in a FIFA football match with a 2–2 draw against Cambodia.[20] East Timor competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Thomas Americo was the first East Timorese fighter to fight for a world boxing title. He was murdered in 1999, shortly before the Indonesian occupation of East Timor ended.[21]
Horse racing
Horse Racing is a popular sport in Timor Leste. Although less than 14 hands high, the Timor pony is used. It is renowned for its agility and strength. Regional race meets are held throughout Timor-Leste.
Film
An extensive collection of Timorese audiovisual material is held at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. These holdings have been identified in a document titled The NFSA Timor-Leste Collection Profile, which features catalogue entries and essays for a total of 795 NFSA-held moving image, recorded sound and documentation works that have captured the history and culture of Timor-Leste since the early 20th century.[22] The NFSA is working with the Timor-Leste government to ensure that all of this material can be used and accessed by the people of that country.[23]
The extensive audiovisual material in the Max Stahl archive on the independence of Timor-Leste have been inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2013 as "Birth of a nation: turning points."[24]
Cuisine
The cuisine of East Timor consists of regional popular foods such as pork, fish, basil, tamarind, legumes, corn, rice, root vegetables, and tropical fruit. East Timorese cuisine has influences from Southeast Asian foods and from Portuguese dishes from its colonisation by Portugal. Flavours and ingredients from other former Portuguese colonies can be found due to the presence of Portuguese soldiers from other colonies in East Timor.
Public holidays
East Timor now has public holidays that commemorate historic events in the liberation struggle, as well as those associated with Catholicism and Islam. They are defined in "Timor-Leste Law no. 10/2005" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2008-03-07.{{cite web}}
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Date (Gregorian calendar) | Date (Islamic calendar) | Name | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 January | New Year's Day | Celebrates beginning of the Gregorian year. Festivities include counting down to midnight at 00:00 on the preceding night of the New Year's Eve with fireworks display and party. | |
10 Dzulhijah | Idul Adha | Date varies according to the Islamic calendar. The holiday commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to Allah. | |
March–April | Good Friday | This is the Friday before Easter Sunday, which is the first Sunday after the first Paschal Full Moon following the official vernal equinox. This Christian holiday commemorates the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. | |
1 May | Labour Day | Celebrates the economic and social achievements of workers. | |
20 May | Independence Restoration Day | Independence from the Republic of Indonesia in 2002. | |
May–June | Corpus Christi | ||
30 August | Popular Consultation Day | Anniversary of the Popular Consultation in 1999. | |
1 November | All Saints' Day | ||
2 November | All Souls' Day | ||
12 November | National Youth Day | Anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre in 1991. | |
28 November | Proclamation of Independence Day | Independence from the Republic of Portugal in 1975. | |
1-2 Syawal | Idul Fitri | Date varies according to the Islamic calendar. Celebrates the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. | |
8 December | Immaculate Conception | ||
25 December | Christmas Day | This Christian holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. |
References
- ^ Collett, Richard (20 May 2021). "East Timor: A young nation reviving ancient laws". Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ a b c Flávio Miranda; Isabel Boavida, eds. (14 October 2015). Architectural Heritage of Portuguese Origins of Dili. Secretariat of State for Tourism, Art and Culture. ISBN 978-989-20-6020-0.
- ^ "Atauro Island: scientists discover the most biodiverse waters in the world". The Guardian. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "Uma Lulik – Lospalos, East Timor". Atlasobscura.com.
- ^ "Timor-Leste – Memory of the World Register – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". www.unesco.org.
- ^ "NFSA Provides Insight Into Timor-Leste History". National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (Press release). 14 December 2012. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ Gonzalez, Miguel (n.d.). "A Connection with Timor-Leste: Welcoming an Official Delegation". National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ "Fresh start for East Timor's film scene". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
- ^ "Abdul & José EN (2017)". FIFO Tahiti . Association FIFO. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ ETAN; Media ONE Timor (25 July 2017). "The Stolen Child New Documentary". Media ONE Timor. MediaONETimor.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "Ema Nudar Umanu". MIFF. Melbourne International Film Festival. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ Wise, Amanda (2006). Exile and Return Among the East Timorese. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 211–218. ISBN 978-0-8122-3909-6.
- ^ "Legend, History, and Geography of Timor Leste". VisitEastTimor. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Paulino2011
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f g h i Kammen, Douglas (2010). "Subordinating Timor: Central authority and the origins of communal identities in East Timor". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. 166 (2/3): 244–269. ISSN 0006-2294.
- ^ "Homepage". Nbcsports.com. 23 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2 November 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "Para Games II". 2 June 2004. Archived from the original on 2 June 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ "Four days to go: Welcome to Kiribati and Timor Leste!". IOC News. 9 August 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ "The 23rd SEA Games Schedule". 6 December 2006. Archived from the original on 6 December 2006. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ Madra, Ek (30 October 2008). "World's Worst Football Team Happy to Win First Point". Reuters. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ^ Wirawan, Subhan (4 May 2020). "Thomas Americo, First World Boxing Champion Candidate from Indonesia". Indosport (in Indonesian). Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ NFSA provides insight into Timor-Leste history, Nfsa.gov.au
- ^ A connection with Timor-Leste, Nfsa.gov.au
- ^ "On the Birth of a Nation: Turning points | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". Unesco.org. Retrieved 2017-03-26.
Further reading
- Parkinson, Chris (2010). Peace of Wall: Street Art of East Timor. Mulgrave, Vic: Affirm Press. ISBN 9780980637823.
External links
- Art of Island Southeast Asia, a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Fora de Colecão (2017). Repensar Oé-Cusse, Timor-Leste: Ensino e Investigação em Arquitetura / Rethinking Oé-Cusse, Timor-Leste: Teaching and Investigation in Architecture. IST Press. ISBN 978-989-8481-68-9.
Languages
Under Indonesian rule, the use of Portuguese was banned and only Indonesian was allowed to be used in government offices, schools and public business.[1] During the Indonesian occupation, Tetum and Portuguese were important unifying elements for the East Timorese people in opposing Javanese culture.[2] Portuguese was adopted as one of the two official languages upon independence in 2002 for this reason and as a link to Lusophone nations in other parts of the world. It is now being taught and promoted with the help of Brazil, Portugal, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.[3] Portuguese was adopted as it was seen by those involved in the independence struggle as a marker of East Timorese identity, differentiating the country from Indonesia. This created a divide with those who had grown up under Indonesian rule.[4]: 9–10 [5]
Tetum belongs to the Austronesian family of languages spoken throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific.[6] Its use was promoted under Portuguese rule, and the modern language includes a large number of Portuguese loanwords. It serves as the primary language of the Catholic Church in the country.[7]: 3 Its use displaced the use of the Malay language, the previous lingua franca, despite the Mambai language being more common, including historically in the Dili area,[8]: 11 and replaced Indonesian as the most commonly shared language across the country. This growth occurred despite Tetum being mostly a spoken language, with little literature at the time.[9]: 151–152 There are four main dialects, and significant local variation due to influence from other languages.[10]
Economy
The shifts in legal system from Portuguese to Indonesian and then to East Timorese, along with the large-scale destruction of property under Indonesian rule have left a complicated legacy of conflicting land titles.[11]: 396 Records of around 80% of land titles were deliberately destroyed by the Indonesian military in the violence following East Timor's independence referendum, although land title registration records for Dili was taken to Indonesia. Internal displacement meant the same parcel of land might be claimed by multiple individuals based on different periods of occupancy.[11]: 401 Four kinds of land claims are used, those claiming traditional ownership or customary rights, those claiming Portuguese title, those claiming Indonesian title, and current occupation. Traditional claims are common in rural areas, and can be communal.[11]: 402–403 Around 2,483 titles date to the Portuguese era, and concentrate valuable land in a small number of individuals, including foreigners. Such land was often sold under new titles during Indonesian occupation, and conflicted with traditional claims. 34,965 titles were issued by Indonesian authorities, including to Indonesian civilians and authorities.[11]: 404–409 Resultant land disputes complicated property rights, hindering economic growth and investment.[11]: 409–410 The Constitution reserved land rights only to Timorese people, and solving land right disputes was an early goal of the first government. Lease rights were created as a stopgap measure for unsolved disputes in December 2004 and September 2005.[11]: 421–423
- ^ Gross, Max L. (14 February 2008). A Muslim Archipelago: Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia: Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia. Government Printing Office. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-16-086920-4. Alt URL
- ^ Paulino, Vicente (2012). "Remembering the Portuguese Presence in Timor and Its Contribution to the Making of Timor's National and Cultural Identity". In Jarnagin, Laura (ed.). Portuguese and Luso-Asian Legacies in Southeast Asia, 1511–2011. Vol. 2. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 106. ISBN 978-981-4345-50-7.
- ^ Bivona, Kristal. "East Timor Pumps Up Portuguese". Language Magazine. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Sahin2014
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ahmad Pathoni (23 April 2007). "East Timor drowns in language soup". Reuters. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Jean Gelman (2003). Indonesia: Peoples and Histories. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 378. ISBN 978-0-300-10518-6.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Berlie2017ch1
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Lundhal2019
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Kingsbury2010
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Morris, Chris (1992). "Languages of East Timor". A Traveller's Dictionary in Tetun-English and English-Tetun. Baba Dook Books. ISBN 9780959192223.
- ^ a b c d e f Amy Ochoa Carson (2007). "East Timor's Land Tenure Problems: A Consideration of Land Reform Programs in South Africa and Zimbabwe" (PDF). Indiana International & Comparative Law Review. 17 (2). doi:10.18060/17554.