Weaving the Country Together: Identities & Traditions in East Timor Chapter 4

East Timor Law Journal

Other Writings

WEAVING THE COUNTRY TOGETHER: IDENTITIES AND TRADITIONS IN EAST TIMOR

Natali Pride BA(Hons) UNSW 2002

Chapter Four

The Dynamic Dialogue: The Future for East Timorese Textiles

Weiner and Schneider argue that “…political and religious elites still depend upon cloth to mobilise human emotions in support of such large-scale institutions as nation-states”[1] , giving flags and uniforms as examples. Textiles were conspicuous during the recent (May 2002) independence celebrations in East Timor, with visiting international dignitaries being presented with specially commissioned scarves upon arrival. The image of the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan wearing a colourful East Timorese scarf while strolling with East Timor’s new President Xanana Gusmao, was seen around the world. This photo represents the greater visibility of East Timorese textiles at an international level, and demonstrates the increasing use of textiles at levels other than the local, therefore communicating messages other than kinship, place of origin or ceremonial occasion. International demands for new forms of textiles have affected the domains in which these textiles move; the roles played by these textiles, their value (symbolic and monetary), cultural significance and methods of production have all altered. The previous chapter identified textiles as a framework from which wider discussions regarding identities and traditions can be built. This chapter will focus our attention more directly on textiles, and the recent development of their functions in East Timor.

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1 Weiner, Annette B. and Jane Schneider, (Eds.), op, cit. 1989, pp10-11

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Figure 4.1 Independence Day Celebrations, Dili, 20 May 2002. (Photo: www.smh.com.au, 21 May 2002)

The people of East Timor are trying to emphasise their unity on as many levels as possible. The Catholic Church and the Portuguese language are two important elements which have been identified by East Timorese nationalists as having the potential to provide a unique and separate identity for East Timor, where the ‘other’ is not the West, but Indonesia. Textiles are now also being used as a medium by which East Timor can defend its right to autonomy, a medium as fraught with ambiguities and uncertainties as the issues of religion and language. As discussed in the preceding chapter, East Timorese histories do not necessarily provide the material required to argue for the inevitable formulation of a new and separate nation, an issue East Timorese nationalists and supporters of independence have recognised and overcome through the use of retrospective historical analysis.

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For East Timorese textiles, the Portuguese, and later the Indonesian emphasis, on developing and increasing East Timorese demand for manufactured products has been at the expense of the cultivation of traditional skills which might produce internationally competitive products. Synthetic dyes and easily woven factory thread have increasingly become the preference of weavers. The continuing presence of United Nations personnel has forced East Timor to open up to foreigners interested in the ‘traditional’, authentic textiles. It is expected that increasing numbers of foreign tourists will continue in this vein, possibly resulting in “a village revival of more traditional media […].”[2]

The dilemma for East Timorese weavers is that these ‘traditional media’ necessitate time-consuming, backbreaking work, and represent the difficulties of relying on historical precedent to define current identities. While there is a push to return to the use of natural dyes and threads, there is also a demand for contemporary and international motifs, such as the “outrageous UNTAET [United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor] 2001 salendang [sic] in UN [United Nations] Blue with the UN symbol woven into it.”[3] As weavers’ products move from the local to the national and international domains, both the tais and the weavers themselves are increasingly being exposed to new influences. The responses elicited as a result of these new interactions will be explored in this chapter, through a discussion of the uses of these textiles at three levels: the international, the national, and the local.

For political and international occasions today, East Timorese men tend to wear Western-style shirts and jackets, occasionally supplemented by locally woven

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2 Bennet, James, op. cit., 1998, p.46

3 Niner, Sarah, Report & Update, op. cit., 2001 p. 6

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textiles. Figure 4.1, above, shows Annan wearing a colourful scarf, distinctly East Timorese through its use of motifs such as a crocodile[4] and East Timorese house[5] ; Gusmao is dressed in a Western suit, without tie or jacket. International dignitaries were presented, on the occasion of East Timorese independence, with locally woven textiles, yet they were not worn by the new leaders themselves. While this could be seen to indicate that the new role for textiles in the political arena remains undefined, a point raised by Taylor in relation to a photo taken at the declaration of the independence of the Republic of Indonesia in 1945 illuminates the present discussion. The wearing of a western-style suit in the particular photo connects Sukarno and his male entourage to the future, and distances them from the past. Conversely, the wearing of Javanese-style costumes by the women “[…] denies the plurality of regional culture […and] suggests there was one unified past.”[6] The argument is relevant to the East Timorese case: Gusmao, in wearing a western-suit without an East Timorese scarf, could be seen to be presenting himself as progressive and contemporary. Taylor’s argument also relates to East Timorese women, who, as will be discussed below, are in danger of being seen as “the keepers of the nation’s essence, whilst men forge new paths into the nation’s future.” [7]

In relation to the wearing of scarves by international dignitaries and not by East Timorese leaders, it is also important to remember that textiles were frequently, and continue to be, given as gifts. Nancy de Almeida Ezequiel writes: “When I give a tais as a welcoming gift I recognise the weaver [of the tais] as a woman of importance

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4 As discussed in Chapter Two, this motif is integral to East Timorese creation myths

5 Specifically woven for Independence, these selendang have an Indonesian precedent, being similar in political purpose to the yellow batik shirts ordered and promoted by Golkar, Soeharto’s parliamentary vehicle.

6 Taylor, Jean Gelman, “Costume and Gender in Colonial Java, 1800-1940”, in H. G. Schulte Nordholt, (Ed.), Outward Appearances: Dressing State and Society in Indonesia, Leiden: KITLV Press, 1997, p. 113

7 Taylor, Jean Gelman, “Costume and Gender in Colonial Java, 1800-1940”, in H. G. Schulte Nordholt, (Ed.), Outward Appearances: Dressing State and Society in Indonesia, Leiden: KITLV Press, 1997, p. 113

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and respect. I value her skill and I pass on with the tais a sign of gratitude and thanksgiving for another person concerned about East Timor. I never sell any of my tais.”[8] The presentation of East Timorese textiles to visiting international dignitaries suggests these people are considered to be ‘concerned about East Timor’. Gusmao and other visible members of the East Timorese political elite did not need to define themselves as concerned about East Timor; it was implied.[9]

Tais are used more explicitly at a national level. As symbols important at both a regional and a national level, East Timorese textiles are prominently displayed in an

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8 Nancy de Almeida Ezequiel, from Leaving the Crocodile: The Story of the East Timorese Community in Sydney, (Exhibition Catalogue) Liverpool Regional Museum, August 2001

9 The specific production of selendang such as that worn by Kofi Annan for Independence subsequently distanced these products from any close regional association they typically have through colours and motifs. The aesthetic design was in fact both popular and general. While valid, the argument Gusmao did not wear such a scarf because of possible regional identification is not relevant in this case. Ofelia Napoleao, Manager, Weaving and Sewing Program, Timor Aid, also introduces a new perspective: “Tais can be presented to foreigners on occasion, but instead of the western method of wrapping the present up, the tais is used to ‘wrap up’ the receiver. That is the Timorese way of giving, and it should be seen as an honour by the receiver.” Interview with Natali Pride, Dili, 6 February 2002

10 The thirteen districts of East Timor are Aileu, Ainaro, Baucau, Dili, Ermera, Liquica, Lautem, Bobonaro, Manatuto, Oecussi, Manufahi, Cova Lima and Viqueque

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important new institution, the Constituent Assembly Building in Dili. Each district of East Timor is represented equally, with four textiles from each district displayed. The sheer number of hung, well-lit textiles in close proximity to each other emphasises for the observer the many regional variations and similarities, in a way the use of just one textile could not. Textiles from each region are not necessarily similar; indeed, it appears attempts have been made to display as wide variety as possible, rather than adhering to regional aesthetic (in terms of both colour and motifs used) preferences.

The importance of East Timorese textile traditions in the formulation of an East Timorese identity is also visible to those who may not venture into Dili’s Constituent Assembly Building. The painting of an animal from a Timorese creation story (see above, figure 2.4) on the side of Dili’s sports stadium is accompanied by other distinctly East Timorese images, such as the one shown below.

Figure 4.3 This picture combines three important aspects of this paper: textiles (incorporating

concepts of tradition), identity and gender. The symbolism here is of a woman literally weaving

the country together. The writing is Tetum for East Timor. (Photo: Natali Pride, Dili Sport Stadium,

February 2002)

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The idea that myriad ethnic and linguistic groups have been woven together to create East Timor was repeated in the promotional material used by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the exclusive electoral authority in East Timor, responsible for the organization and conduct of the election of the representatives to the Constituent Assembly on 30 August 2001.

(Figures 4.4 and 4.5) Images: http://domino.un.org/etelec.nsf/newstart.htm!OpenPage

(Similar photos taken by Natali Pride, Dili; Los Palos, February 2002)

These images, of the several dozen produced by the Independent Electoral Commission to be used as promotional posters, repeat the symbolism seen in figure 4.3. Textiles are now being used as never before to generate income; as the sole producers of these trading goods, women are playing an integral role in new economic models.[11]

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11 Tais have also been used at an international level to symbolise East Timor: Australia Post has designed and produced East Timor’s first postage stamps, also available as collector’s items in Australia. The ‘images of a new nation’ include a “traditional crocodile design, ceremonial palm wreaths, the coffee harvest and the flag of East Timor. The borders represent tais, intricate textile designs woven by East Timorese women.” See Australia Post, East Timor’s Stamp on History, media release, June 2002

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While Bennet argues, “…from local evidence it appears overly simplistic to attribute the loss of weaving to fighting”,[12] it is important not to disregard the effect of years of civil strife on the weaving industry. Population displacement, destruction of primary resources and tools of production, and overall material and cultural destruction represent important factors when explaining the decline of weaving knowledge. Niner also raises the break-up of traditional society and theft of products as contributing factors.[13]

Less overt has been the ‘Indonesian-isation’ of the weaving industry. During the past two decades, the East Timorese market has been flooded with factory-produced threads and commercial dyes. While the accessibility of these richly coloured threads and dyes has provided weavers with opportunities to increase their level of production, the quality of the end product is poorer – colours, though more vivid than natural dyes, also fade faster, and the highly processed threads are weaker: “The end product thus disintegrates faster.”[14] Short-term, these textiles represent easily accessible, cheap products; their value long-term, however, remains limited.

Bennett[15] attributes the decline in weaving knowledge to the increasing mobility and better education of the population, resulting in fewer and fewer younger women learning the time-consuming techniques of making cloth. This sentiment is also expressed by Tina da Costa, a young East Timorese weaver: “Previously, women were happy to weave the tais, even though the task was laborious. Now, tais are often made by machine and are less valuable.”[16] The increasing availability of cheaper textiles worldwide has also contributed to a decline in weaving knowledge.

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12 Bennett, James, op. cit., 1998, p. 46

13 Niner, Sarah, Report & Update, op. cit., 2001, p. 1

14 Departmen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, op. cit., 1993-1994, pp. 5-6

15 Bennett, James, op. cit., 1998, pp. 45-56

16 da Costa, Tina, interview with Natali Pride, 2 February 2002, Dili, East Timor

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Figure 4.6 Woman dressed in Javanese-style clothing selling factory-produced, synthetically dyed threads at the market in

Los Palos, eastern East Timor (Photo: Natali Pride, February 2002)

At a local level, a large number of weaving groups and co-operatives have been established, less than three years after the vote for independence. The coordinators of these weaving co-operatives see the revitalisation of the craft industry as a way of generating income for the weavers, as well as a means of “preserving [East Timor’s] cultural heritage.”[17] Bennett mentions the workshops which have developed as a result of these weaving co-operatives, aimed at “[…] training in the use of dyes, fibre craft and even public speaking to encourage confidence in group decision making at co-operative meetings.”[18] Not only has the establishment of

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17 “East Timor Wool Donation to Lift Morale”, 27 October 2000, www.melpub.wool.com/enews2.nsf/vwMonthlyWoolDotCom/ef0ee534eda808e44a2569850

18 “Crucial Developments: Dialogue with Indonesia”, Contemporary Craft Review, no. 1, 1995, quoted in Bennett, James, op. cit., 1998, p. 46

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weaving co-operatives ensured the development and continuance of weaving and textile-related knowledge, but has also provided a challenge to concepts of ‘tradition’: the participation of several talented men in this domain has been noted by Bennett,[19] and is a point re-iterated by Ofelia Napoleao, manager of Timor Aid’s weaving and sewing workshop. While textile production has typically been limited to women, men are increasingly being encouraged to participate. The diminishing of gender divisions has occurred in various societies[21] , and Pancake points out that the blurring of male/female traditional roles “…may not necessarily be as a result of declining interest in ethnic traditions”, but as a result of “social forces such as political violence and economic and religious upheavals.” With large-scale unemployment, gender divisions are becoming less relevant for both men and women. Weaving is no longer seen as women’s business, but as an opportunity to generate income and establish some form of long-term employment. Napoleao[22] sees the participation of men in weaving co-operatives as a definite change for the better, arguing that despite their still limited presence within weaving co-operatives, men nevertheless provide a new and alternative approach to design. Participation by men in today’s weaving industry not only broadens our definition of traditional, but is also indicative of the adaptability of East Timorese weavers to their changing socio-political environment.

Weaving co-operatives are also providing a means of self-expression by which East Timor has been able to present itself as not just an island of war but a place where such artistic, imaginative and sophisticated means of self-expression can and

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19 Ibid., p. 46. Bennett also points out in the same article the important role being played by individual women. Several women “have used their traditional role as aristocratic weavers and custodian of restricted designs to encourage and support local textile production. […T]hese women are master dyers who use a variety of organic colours.”

20 Again, the participation of men in weaving activities mirrors Indonesian experiences: many of Java’s best designers of salon batik are men.

21 Pancake, Cherri M., “Gender Boundaries in the Production of Guatemalan Textiles”, in Barnes and Eicher (Eds.), op. cit., 1993

22 Napoleao, Ofelia, interview with Natali Pride, 6 February 2002, Dili, East Timor

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do exist. Weaving has thus brought East Timor, and East Timorese women into the global world of the arts.

An important consideration for the coordinators of these weaving programs is addressing the balance between the innovative and responsive nature of the weavers, resulting in designs and technologies labelled ‘non-traditional’ by global markets, and the implicit local, national and international pressure to produce something in line with East Timorese representations of a homogeneous past. Preservation of the ‘traditional’ past detracts from an important feature of East Timorese weavers and the textiles they produce: their very adaptability. At Timor Aid[23] , Ofelia Napoleao encourages change and innovation on the part of the weavers. She argues that by drawing on patterns of innovation, goods marketable in their own right, rather than as representations of East Timorese traditions, can be produced. The use of textiles to produce hats, bags, computer cases and mobile phone pouches can be seen in the Pasar Tais; Napoleao is also active in bringing new weaving techniques to the weavers, incorporating global elements into an East Timorese context.

A four-month project, the Traditional Crafts Feasibility Study, is currently being carried out in response to an initiative by a Melbourne-based reference group, Melbourne East Timorese Handicrafts Support Group (METHS). The Traditional Crafts Feasibility Study is jointly funded by Oxfam Hong Kong and Great Britain, and auspiced by the Alola Foundation and the Asia Pacific Support Collective Timor Lorosae.[24] It is aimed at investigating the feasibility of exporting hand woven tais, selendang and baskets to Australia, focusing initially on individual producers to “[…]

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23 The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has been working with Timor Aid on a project to develop a national strategy for Tais production in East Timor. Timor Aid have expanded and developed a weaving project to include design, patterns and mixing threads.

24 Both the Alola Foundation and the Asia Pacific Support Collective Timor Lorosae are local non-government organisations focusing on women’s issues in East Timor. For further information on the Alola Foundation, see http://www.geocities.com/alola_foundation/

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ensure ‘ownership’ and preserve traditional craft designs.”[25] This project distinguishes itself from many quick impact projects, which typically provide small grants for weaving groups to buy thread and other raw materials. Rather, this project is specifically a study of the cultural and historical value of tais, as well as the current economic situation of the industry and groups involved. Information gathering workshops with the weaving groups are being conducted with the aim of establishing an understanding of their situation and the possible constraints to setting up an export mechanism in the future. Two East Timorese women have been employed as counterpart to project coordinator, and field officer. Together, they have identified the backlog of tais (initially produced to meet the demands of United Nations and other international workers, and the later over-supply of these cloths following the withdrawal of many of these international workers) as a point of concern.[26] Also disturbing are the unrealistic expectations created among weavers as a result of the high prices paid by uncritical foreign buyers. These buyers will pay high amounts for an East Timorese textile woven in the ‘traditional’ way[27], and even higher for limited family heirlooms.[28] For these East Timorese, these heirlooms are high in symbolic, rather than merely monetary, value. The value placed on these textiles during marital gift exchange “[…] certainly shows the cultural significance and value in contrast to the situation at the Pasar Tais.” [29]

The Australian National Gallery recently purchased four hundred “ancient”[30] Indonesian textiles from a private American collection;[31] however, the approach by

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25 Stevens, Melanie, Project Proposal: Traditional Crafts Marketing Feasibility Study, Dili: via email, April 2002, p. 3

26 Stevens, Melanie, personal communication, 7 February 2002, Dili, East Timor

27 Stevens notes that the current high prices are also due to the high price of the threads currently coming from Indonesia. Personal communication with Melanie Stevens, email, 19 June 2002

28 Family heirlooms are economically valuable for international art collectors and other interested purchasers, whereas the value in these textiles for the East Timorese lies in their cultural resonance.

29 Personal communication with Melanie Stevens, June 2002

30 Verghis, Sharon, “Sultan Comes to Dinner to Celebrate $6.5m purchase”, in The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 June 2002, p. 5

31 Ibid., p. 5. See also Sexton, Jennifer and Sophie Morris, “NGA’s $6.5m Textile Scoop”, in The Australian, 19 June 2002, p. 5

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several collectors and exporters to East Timor’s material heritage is refreshingly different. Melanie Stevens, coordinator of the tais project mentioned above, has expressed her desire to maintain East Timor’s cultural heritage by concentrating on the development of good quality, hand-made textiles, rather than exporting textile heirlooms.[32] James Bennett, Curator of Southeast Asian Art and Material Culture at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, has taken the theory a step further: he actively collects East Timorese textiles which have been produced using contemporary methods of production (such as factory-woven threads and synthetic dyes) for the Museum and Art Gallery’s collection, rather than those textiles valued by the East Timorese as sacred family heirlooms.[33]

For the historian, ‘traditional’ textiles may be primarily defined in terms of their aesthetic qualities, but does the term necessarily extend to incorporate the methods of production used to achieve such visual characteristics? In fact, the use of modern technologies and techniques to produce these tais does not negate the ability of these textiles to express East Timorese beliefs and concepts. These contemporary textiles can also be used as a text, in the same way older tais can, to discover the cultural context in which they were produced. In this way, contemporary textiles are equally as valid as their heirloom counterparts. While the messages these textiles are conveying are different, the textiles are still being used as they always have – to communicate. The dynamic dialogue between these textiles and the women (and now men) who produce them continues. To denote a textile as traditional would be to

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32 Stevens, Melanie, personal communication, 7 February 2002, Dili, East Timor

33 Bennett, James, personal communication, 29 January 2002, Darwin, Australia. “The 1980s was a period of dramatic loss of cultural heritage for Timor as antique dealers from Bali and western collectors turned their attention to eastern Indonesian art.” (Moss, Laurence, “International Art Collecting, Tourism and a Tribal region” in Paul Michael Taylor (Ed.), Fragile Traditions: Indonesian Art in Jeopardy, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1994, quoted in Bennett, James, op. cit., 1998, p. 46)

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deny the complexity of East Timorese histories, and thus a much broader definition of ‘traditional’ is required, or perhaps simply a better understanding of what is meant by the concept of tradition in East Timor. It is, however, important to bear in mind the fine line between dynamic innovation and the outright departure of weavers from their traditional practices. The Weaving Women’s Stories Exhibition catalogue[34] details the potential consequences of diverging from precedent: “A local UN [United Nations] worker gave his business card over to some weavers so they could put his name in the scarf. When he came back to collect it, it was like a giant business card with all his phone numbers and email address included.”[35] It is important to remember that textiles aimed at foreigners have different experiences to those retained for use by the weavers – and other East Timorese, through gift, purchase or exchange. Weavers respond to various influences and experiment in new directions, but those textiles used for ceremonial and ritual purposes[36], “[…] still require the use of traditional colours (though not necessarily organic dyes) and geometric designs or ceremonially specific motifs [...]” [37]

Morlanes argues that following the Portuguese withdrawal from East Timor and the subsequent Indonesian invasion, a unique East Timorese identity emerged as “…a means of collective political self-assertion. […] This emergence represented the genesis of a unifying new post-colonial identity for a diversity of ethnic people who, although possessing their own individual and cultural and social identities, had until

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34 Niner, Sarah, Exhibition Guide, op. cit., 2001, p. 13. This travelling exhibition, currently in Cairns [June 2002] is a project associated with Melanie Stevens’ Traditional Crafts Marketing Feasibility Study and the Melbourne East Timorese Handicrafts Support Group. Its ongoing success has meant international recognition for East Timorese textiles.

35 Ibid., p.13

36 These include marital gift exchange and headhunting rituals, as discussed in Chapter Two, as well as many more relating to important life stages.

37 Bennett writes that in the district of Viqueque “[…] brightly coloured floral ikat motifs derived from Portuguese embroidery books and church decorations are intended for daily wear.” Bennett, James, op. cit., 1998, p. 44

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then upheld Portuguese nationalism as their main tenet.”[38] Yet the discourse is far more complicated than Morlanes argues, and necessitates a variety of questions: Is there now, and was there ever, a specific East Timorese identity? How well developed is it? Who has defined this identity?

The promotion of a singular East Timorese textile tradition is beneficial in the creation of a continuous and homogeneous past for East Timor, and by implication a singular East Timorese identity.[39] The increasing visibility of East Timorese textiles indicates they are indeed being used, intentionally or not, for this purpose. The danger lies in using a single tradition to create a single identity. The historian needs to recognise the diversity of histories, traditions and identities, a theme which has been explored throughout this paper. Hobsbawm writes that heightened perceptions of change by the historian can be “[…] illuminating; change ceases to be a shift from one steady state to another and becomes instead a continuous process to which all systems are subject.”[40] The focus on tradition within the discourse on textiles need not be seen only in terms of preservation; tradition can be here formulated in positive terms, allowing the historian access to a broader understanding of East Timorese histories, changing traditions and emerging identities. Bennett believes there is “…cause for optimism that the integrity of Timor textiles will continue and flourish.”[41]Whether or not his prediction is accurate remains to be seen.

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38 Morlanes, Teresa Farreras, op. cit., 1991, p. 3

39 Indonesia is also in danger of representing itself in terms of a sole textile tradition, batik, despite the rich variety of alternative techniques of production and decoration throughout the archipelago

40 Hobsbawm, E. and Ranger, T. (Eds.), op. cit., 1983, p. x

41 Robo, Robert, personal communication with James Bennett, quoted in Bennett, James, op. cit., 1998, p. 47

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Other Writings

Figure 4.2 East Timor’s Constituent Assembly Building was built in 2001, with funding provided by the Australian government and people. Four tais from each of East Timor’s thirteen districts[10] flank the hall, two on the left of the entrance and two on the right. Photographic representation does not adequately capture the striking effect on the observer of the placement of these textiles. (Photo: Natali Pride, Dili, February 2002)