The Textiles of Timor-Leste

by Maria José Sacchetti, Architect, Faculty of Architecture, Technical University of Lisbon.

Tais

Tais mane in previously spun cotton, dyed with chemical pigments, in warp-faced ikat (Bobonaru).
The long and narrow island of Timor with - according to a Maubere legend - a shape similar to a crocodile, is located in the Indonesian archipelago, less than 500 kilometres from Australia. The island is divided in two distinct parts: the Western part, under Indonesian domain and where evidence of Dutch colonisation can still be found, and the Eastern side, today independent and predominantly influenced by the Portuguese. Traditions rarely remain static in this island; new ideas and techniques, some from distant islands, were absorbed and reinterpreted over the centuries, creating different solutions for new social and economic situations. Ethnographica

lly, the Timorese can be divided in two big groups: the Atoni from Melanesia and the Tetum from Southern Belu, thought to be originally from Malaca. In the specific case of Timor-Leste,

it is very difficult to identify and map the various ethnic groups. Still, today it is possible to find great cultural and linguistic diversity, mostly due to old internal wars and consequent integrations in subgroups and other ethnic-linguistic groups. This diversity has been transposed to the textiles, in terms of colours, motives and weaving techniques. However, the different languages make the study of textiles difficult due to the variety of the terms that apply to the same utensil or technique. Though Timor-Leste is divided into thirteen districts, there are nearly fifteen different languages distributed in a sparse and erratic manner throughout the territory.

The need for communication, particularly for commercial purposes, led to the election of tetum – native language of the Belus, spread by their conquest of the eastern part of the island of Timor – as the lingua franca.

The meaning of the textiles 

Tais

 Very elaborate Tais feton, carried out in warp-faced ikat and buna with bird motives.
As in other Indonesian societies, the Timorese textiles have a very important role in community rituals and as they are produced by numerous different ethnic groups they can be distinguished from each other, both in style and technique, and by their cultural meaning.
The primary use of the textiles, when they leave the loom, is not for clothing, except f or when they are already worn out or when the ceremony is celebrating the various phases of the life of an individual: presentation of a new-born, the hunting initiation day of a young warrior, marriage, funeral, etc.; or in certain rituals connected to group traditions: inauguration of a house, etc. In all these ceremonies, the individual, the family ancestry, family, and ethnicity or group in which the individual is inserted, are implied and it is here that the textiles gain a great importance as exchange products in social and economic relations, assuring the survival of the family lineage and of the group.

Fibres and dyes 

Weaver, preparing previously weaved and chemically dyed cotton threads, to introduce as weft.
The various spinning and weaving processes take place essentially during the dry season. These are female activities and are greatly valued by the male and female members of each group that are all aware of the importance of the textiles in the aforementioned relationships.
The main fibre used for weaving is cotton. In the areas where this fibre is produced, spinning is usually still done manually, particularly for textiles that have a special character.
It is thought that Portugal was a great influence in the expansion and popularity of cotton as in the XVII century it established a significative commerce of this natural fibre, making Timor a known exchange centre at the end of the XVIII century, when cotton plantations reached their peak.
Commercialised cotton, pre-dyed threads and chemical pigments can easily be found in regional markets; Los Palos, for example, is known for its textile production using commercialised thread and chemical pigments. Synthetic fibres have consistently intruded in textiles and today it is possible to buy most of them in the regional markets: rayon, acetate, acrylic, polyester, as well as metallic threads, mostly golden (previously obtained in some regions from the melting of Dutch coins). Natural dyes are greatly used all over the island. In Timor, more than in any other of the islands in the archipelago, red is the dominant colour. Although the explanation for this fact is not very clear, some authors attribute this trend to an inspiration from the colour of flowering bougainvilleas during the dry season. For many Timorese communities, this colour is also associated to life, blood and courage.
Timor is known for the lively colours of its textiles, though this is not a common characteristic throughout the whole of the Timor-Leste territory. Most of the colours come from natural pigments from three sources, all easy to obtain in any region of the island:

Detail of the panel of a modern tais feton, executed in previously weaved cotton, dyed with chemical pigments, with a floral motive carried out in warp-faced ikat (Dili).