Culture of Timor-Leste

Theculture of Timor-Lestereflects numerous cultural influences, includingPortuguese,Roman Catholic, andMalay, on the indigenousAustronesiancultures inTimor-Leste.
Timor-Leste become a state party to theUNESCOWorld Heritage Conventionon 31 January 2017.It has yet to nominate possible inscriptions in anyUNESCOnetworks such asUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists,World Heritage List,World Network of Biosphere Reserves,Creative Cities Network, andGlobal Geoparks Network. Major contenders for the country includesAtauro Island, whichConservation Internationalhas cited as having the most biodiverse waters in the world,Cultural Landscape of the Fataluku,and Historic Monuments ofDili.
East Timoresearchitectureandlandscapingis a combination of both Portuguese and indigenous Timorese. Many heritage districts, heritage towns, and heritage structures have been retained in Timor-Leste, unlike its Southeast Asian neighbors whose architectural styles have been dreadfully replaced by modern andshantystructures that have destroyed cultural domains. Timor-Leste does not yet have a policy to conserve its architecture and landscapes, but is still one of the few nations inAsiato possess well-preservedindigenous architectureandcolonial architecture. A proposal is also being made by some locals for the establishment of a law which mandates all villages to have a single architectural and landscaping style to preserve theirvillage/townaestheticsandculture.
Easily the most famous East Timorese author isXanana Gusmão, the leader of the Timorese resistance organizationFretilin, and former Prime Minister of independent East Timor.  He wrote two books during the struggle for independence. Also a poet and painter, he produced works describing the culture, values, and skills of the Timorese people.
Other important writers of Timor include:Luís Cardoso,Fernando Sylvan, Ponte Pedrinha,Jorge Barros Duarte,Crisódio Araujo,Jorge Lauten,Francisco Borja da Costa,Afonso Busa Metanand Fitun Fuik.
Timor-Leste has been nominally Catholic since early in the Portuguese colonial period. The Catholic faith became a central part of East Timorese culture during theIndonesianoccupation between 1975 and 1999. While under Portuguese rule, the East Timorese had mostly beenanimist, sometimes integrated with minimal Catholic ritual, the number of Catholics dramatically increased under Indonesian rule. This was for several reasons: Indonesia was predominantlyMuslim; the Indonesian state required adherence to one of six officially recognised religions and recognise traditional beliefs; and because the Catholic Church, which remained directly responsible to theVaticanthroughout Indonesian rule, became a refuge for East Timorese seeking sanctuary from persecution.
The 'Apostolic Administrator' (de factoBishop) of the Diocese ofDili, MonsignorMartinho da Costa Lopes, began speaking out against human rights abuses by the Indonesian security forces, including rape, torture, murder, and disappearances. Following pressure fromJakarta, he stepped down in 1983 and was replaced by the younger priest, MonsignorCarlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, who Indonesia thought would be more loyal. However, he too began speaking out, not only against human rights abuses, but the issue of self-determination, writing an open letter to the Secretary General of theUnited Nations, calling for a referendum. In 1996 he was awarded theNobel Peace Prize, along with exiled leaderJosé Ramos-Horta, now the country'sPresident.
However, in spite of the majority of the country's people now being Catholics, there is freedom of religion in the new secular republic, and the formerprime ministerMarí Alkatiri, is aMuslimofYemenidescent.
Timor-Leste has joined many international sport associations, including theInternational Olympic Committee(IOC). The IOC board has granted full recognition to the East Timorese Olympic Committee (COTL). The IOC had allowed a mainly symbolic four-member team to take part in the 2000 Sydney Games under the Olympic flag as "Independent Olympic Athletes." The Federação de Timor-Leste de Atletismo has joined theInternational Association of Athletics Federations(IAAF). The Federação de Badminton de Timor-Leste joined the International Badminton Federation (IBF) in April 2003. TheEast Timor Cycling Federationhas joined theUnion Cycliste Internationale. The Confederação do Desporto de Timor Leste has joined the International Weightlifting Federation. Timor-Leste is also a full member of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
Timor-Leste has taken part in several sporting events. Although the athletes came back with no medals, East Timorese athletes had the opportunity to compete with other Southeast Asian athletes in the2003 Southeast Asian Gamesheld inVietnamin 2003. In the 2003 ASEANParalympicsGames, also held in Vietnam, Timor-Leste won a bronze medal. In theAthens 2004 Olympic Games, six athletes participated in three sports: athletics, weightlifting and boxing. Timor-Lestewon three medalsinArnis at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games. Timor-Leste was also one of the competing nations in thefirstLusophony Games, winning a bronze medal in the women's volleyball competition (finishing third out of three teams), despite the fact the team had lost all its three games. On October 30, 2008, Timor-Leste earned their first international points in aFIFAmatch with a 2–2 draw against Cambodia.
Horse Racing is a popular sport in Timor Leste. Although less than 14 hands high, theTimor ponyis used. It is renowned for its agility and strength. Regional race meets are held throughout Timor-Leste.
An extensive collection of Timorese audiovisual material is held at theNational Film and Sound Archive of Australia. These holdings have been identified in a document titled The NFSA Timor-Leste Collection Profile, which features catalogue entries and essays for a total of 795 NFSA-held moving image, recorded sound and documentation works that have captured the history and culture of Timor-Leste since the early 20th century.The NFSA is working with the Timor-Leste government to ensure that all of this material can be used and accessed by the people of that country.
The extensive audiovisual material in the Max Stahl archive on the independence of Timor-Leste have been inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2013 as "Birth of a nation: turning points."
Thecuisine of Timor-Lesteconsists of regional popular foods such as pork, fish, basil, tamarind, legumes, corn, rice, root vegetables, and tropical fruit. East Timorese cuisine has influences fromSoutheast Asianfoods and fromPortuguese dishesfrom its colonisation by Portugal. Flavours and ingredients from other former Portuguese colonies can be found due to the presence of Portuguese soldiers from other colonies in Timor-Leste.
Timor-Leste now has public holidays that commemorate historic events in the liberation struggle, as well as those associated with Catholicism and Islam. They are defined in the Timor-Leste Law no. 10/2005.