Timor Leste

Population:
1,154,625
country comparison to the world: 156
Timor Leste culture is actually an amalgamation of people from different society and religion. The tourists are often amazed to see this blend of separate culture that forms a unique and unified Timor Leste culture. The origin of this Timor Leste culture is rooted in the history of the nation. Timor Leste was a colony of the Portuguese and the Dutch. Later in different times, the Australians and the Japanese also invaded in this small piece of land. All these countries had their own culture and society and though they left East Timor, the influence of this different religion left a mark on the local culture and society.
When we deal with the culture of Timor Leste, we need to consider the Timor Leste society, the social problems in Timor Leste which includes the problem of poverty in the country. The majority of population here are Roman catholics. There are also Muslims and Hindu-Buddhists here in the country. But they are almost negligible when compared to the total population. However, child education has been a major concern here for the government. The women rights are also taken care of by the government these days. Another major problem in East Timor is poverty. Government is working hard to overcome this problem. For more information on Timor Leste culture

Timor Leste Society

Timor Leste Society is actually a blend of different culture and religion. From the early days, many other countries invaded in this small piece of land and when they left, there remained some influences of their culture and religion. These remains play a pivotal role in the formation of Timor Leste Society. The society here in Timor Leste is male dominated. This is not something unusual but there is something more interesting. Though it is a male dominated society, in some remote corners of Timor Leste, women are economically independent and the main earning member of the family.

Most of the Timor Leste were mainly farmers earlier. The rest were fishermen. They kept themselves isolated from the outer world and were far away from the foreign influences. They were happy with their own culture and society and in spite of the hard work of the Catholic missionaries, they rarely reciprocated. The Catholicism was brought by the Portuguese. People like Bishop Manuel de Santo Antonio, Bishop Antonio de Castro and Friar Antonio Taveira are chiefly responsible for spreading the Catholicism in Timor Leste. But the Timorese king was still the only person the East Timorese trusted. The mountains at the heart of the country help them a lot to stay isolated.

The position of women in East Timor Society is an important aspect of the country's culture. In the patriarchal social structure, in some places of Timor Leste women have experienced the taste of economic independence. They not just earn their own bread and butter, they often play the role of chief earning member of the family. This change of baton actually shows that the social structure in Timor Leste is gradually changing.

People of East Timor

People of East Timor live in the eastern part of the Malay Archipelago which is situated to the south of Australia. The People of East Timor proclaimed their independence on an official basis on 20th May, 2002. The People of East Timor agreed to acquire their Portuguese name Timor Leste on 27th September, 2002 and became the member of the United Nations.

The People of East Timor are mostly followers of Christianity and originate from Polynesian, Papuan and Malayan backgrounds. The official languages of the People of East Timor are Tetum and Portuguese. People of East Timor speak a bit of the Portuguese language and also 40 other kinds of Malayan and Papuan dialects.

The People of East Timor are one of the poorest in the continent of Asia and the country is also ranked as one of the least economically developed nations in the world. The People of East Timor have a literacy rate of 58 percent and the capital city of the People of East Timor is Dili.

Timor Leste Traditions
East Timor tradition consists of ethno cultural diversities and this is reflected in the languages, literature, arts, music and dance of the country. East Timor Traditions also have a deep rooted connection with mythology and the oral tongue of the people have spread it from one generation to the other. The different ways of evolution of the various kingdoms has a significant role in the development of the East Timor Traditions.

East Timor traditions also points to animist spiritualism which is quite predominant till this time too. The animist religion proclaims that the spirits of the dead people should be worshiped rather than being feared. The spirits are given a shape of materialism with the various objects like wells,, streams, stones, animals and in the Timorese language they are known as Luliks.

East Timor traditions also comprises of the textiles of the country. Timor Leste has a very important textile called the Tais. Tais conveys the beautiful and ancient traditions of East Timor and is mainly crafted by the women of Timor Leste. Timor Leste Art has a deep connection with Tais and consists of simple back straps. Tais also has a special place in the dances, religious gatherings and the special rituals of Timor Leste. Many kinds of products for daily use like Table runners, purses, bags and bookmarks are made out from it.

The role of Portuguese influence on East Timor traditions is also significant and the spread of the catholic religion has taken place mainly due to them.

Economy
In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of Timor-Leste was laid waste by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias. Three hundred thousand people fled westward. Over the next three years a massive international program, manned by 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, led to substantial reconstruction in both urban and rural areas. By the end of 2005, refugees had returned or had settled in Indonesia. The country continues to face great challenges in rebuilding its infrastructure, strengthening the civil administration, and generating jobs for young people entering the work force. The development of oil and gas resources in offshore waters has greatly supplemented government revenues. This technology-intensive industry, however, has done little to create jobs for the unemployed because there are no production facilities in Timor. Gas is piped to Australia. In June 2005, the National Parliament unanimously approved the creation of a Petroleum Fund to serve as a repository for all petroleum revenues and to preserve the value of Timor-Leste's petroleum wealth for future generations. The Fund held assets of US$5.3 billion as of October 2009. The economy has been little impacted by the global financial crisis and continues to recover strongly from the mid-2006 outbreak of violence and civil unrest, which disrupted both private and public sector economic activity. The government in 2008 resettled tens of thousands of an estimated 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs); most IDPs returned home by early 2009. The underlying economic policy challenge the country faces remains how best to use oil-and-gas wealth to lift the non-oil economy onto a higher growth path and to reduce poverty.

East Timor Traditions
East Timor tradition consists of ethno cultural diversities and this is reflected in the languages, literature, arts, music and dance of the country. East Timor Traditions also have a deep rooted connection with mythology and the oral tongue of the people have spread it from one generation to the other. The different ways of evolution of the various kingdoms has a significant role in the development of the East Timor Traditions.

East Timor traditions also points to animist spiritualism which is quite predominant till this time too. The animist religion proclaims that the spirits of the dead people should be worshiped rather than being feared. The spirits are given a shape of materialism with the various objects like wells,, streams, stones, animals and in the Timorese language they are known as Luliks.

East Timor traditions also comprises of the textiles of the country. Timor Leste has a very important textile called the Tais. Tais conveys the beautiful and ancient traditions of East Timor and is mainly crafted by the women of Timor Leste. Timor Leste Art has a deep connection with Tais and consists of simple back straps. Tais also has a special place in the dances, religious gatherings and the special rituals of Timor Leste. Many kinds of products for daily use like Table runners, purses, bags and bookmarks are made out from it.

The role of Portuguese influence on East Timor traditions is also significant and the spread of the catholic religion has taken place mainly due to them.

source : http://www.gov.east-timor.org/