Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

's music reflects its history under the control of both Portugal and Indonesia, who have imported music like

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

and

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado ...

. The most widespread form of native folk music was the likurai dance, performed by women to welcome home men after war. They used a small drum and sometimes carried enemy heads in processions through villages; a modern version of the dance is used by women in

courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage or committed romantic, ''de facto'' relationship. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marri ...

. In the modern era, East Timorese music has been closely associated with the independence movement; for example, the band Dili Allstars released a song that became an anthem in the build-up to the

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

on independence in 2000, while the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

commissioned a song called "Hakotu Ba" (by Lahane) to encourage people to register to vote in the referendum. East Timorese

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

ians include Teo Batiste Ximenes, who grew up in Australia and uses folk rhythms from his homeland in his music . With many East Timorese people in emigrant communities in Australia, Portugal and elsewhere, East Timorese folk music has been brought to many places around the world. Refugee camps in Portugal mixed together East Timorese music with styles from other Portuguese colonies like Angola and Mozambique . Music and dance are intertwined in the traditional Timorese genres, being fundamental elements of cultural expression. The repertoire played includes four well-defined genres: ''tebe'', ''tebedai'', ''dansa'' and ''cansaun''. All are based on oral tradition and have been passed down from generation to generation.

Instruments

Musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

s, costumes and adornments also play an important role in musical performance. Of the first, babadok and dadir (also dadil, gong or gon) stand out. The babadok is a small tapered wooden drum, about 30 to 50 centimeters long and about 15 centimeters in diameter, generally played by the women that strike it alternately with both hands. The dadir is a metal circle approximately 25 centimeters in diameter, which is struck with a wooden stick, of indefinite height and without the possibility of tuning. Like babadok, it is also an instrument played by women. The performed musical repertoire also includes violas and soprano flutes, western instruments introduced in the Timorese performance. As far as suits are concerned, they are made up of such mane and fetus, male and female, respectively. Such are multicolored cloths manufactured by hand in Timor-Leste, which men wrap around the waist and which women place around the body, under the armpits. The men put a scarf on their heads over which they apply

kaibauk ''Some of this article is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at :de:Kaibauk; see its history for attribution.'' The Kaibauk is a type of headdress worn by the Timorese liurai. Traditionally made of silver, it is shaped lik ...

, a metal moon with applications of small tears and ears, the largest and most ornate belonging to the traditional Timorese liurai, chief or king. The surik, a warrior sword, and the belak, a metal disc suspended from the chest, complete the men's attire. Women use kaibauk, in addition to ulum suku, to hold their hair in, and sasuit, a long-toothed comb. They usually wear mortene, a necklace made of different materials, and a white cloth around their waist. Finally, the lokum or kelui, a metal bracelet worn by men on the arm and women on the forearm. All the elements work barefoot and with a salenda, shawl made with the same type of handmade cloth, placed on the shoulders. The

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

has long been an important part of East Timorese music, though it is an import brought by colonisers; there are, however, native kinds of

string instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

s similar in some ways to the guitar. Foreign influences also include popular styles of music like

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

. Lyrics of the songs can be sung in

Tetum Tetum may refer to: * Tetum language, an Austronesian language ** Tetum alphabet, used to write the Tetum language * Tetum people, an ethnic group of East Timor and Indonesia {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...

or Portuguese, official languages of Timor-Leste.

References

* Brine, Dominc
East Timorese soul music live in the studio
ABC Radio, Ballarat Victoria. Wednesday, 24 March 2004. * Pradhan, Arun

Green Left Weekly

Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 December 2001.
Music to the ears of Timor's voters
BBC News. Thursday, 29 July 1999.
Lian Husi Klamar: Musika Tradisional Husi Timor-Leste (Sounds of the Soul: The Traditional Music of East Timor)
Ros Dunlop. 2012. {{Music of Asia