East Timor Independence Celebration, May 2002

Part of the opening ceremonies for East Timor's celebration of independence, as the country becomes a democracy. Music and dance from local children.

Their music has a heavy Portuguese influence. Though physically it is at the bottom of Indonesia, the island was a Portuguese colony for 400 years before being occupied by Indonesia.

They are not wearing costumes for the show. The clothing is their traditional dress for special occasions. The fabrics, known as Tais, are handwoven by the women in the villages, in patterns representing their region.

If you are not familiar with the country's history, and you can make an hour in your schedule for it, we recommend watching Death of a Nation by David Munro -- available on YouTube -- to get a sense of what the Timorese people had gone through to reach this day.

If you embed this video please credit with a link to www.thecommunity.com as we have ongoing programs going for East Timor. Thanks.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• East
• Timor
• Leste
• Ramos-Horta
• UN
• United
• Nations
• independence
• Indonesia
• 2002

[metan1984]

falou bem atai .. k venha Paz , a Harmonia , a Alegria e o Amor entre este pekeno pais mas de grande cultura ...hehe abç a todos timorenses e k renasça a nova geraçao , a geraçao de TIMOR LOROSAE *

[ataihotmailcom]

lindo de se ouvir ... fika bem marcado na nossa memoria este momento ...k venha paz , a harmonia , a alegria e o amor entre este pekeno pais mas de grande cultura * abraço ao povo timorense *