Tais traditional handwoven textiles play a crucial role in the lives of the people of Timor-Leste. They are both decorative and used to create traditional clothing with specific designs for men and women. They are also often used to welcome newborn children and to celebrate traditional ceremonies and festivals.
Tais textile has been used in East Timor since ancient times for trading livestock. It is often worn with feathers, coral, gold, or silver, and is also used for ceremonial purposes.
Made from cotton dyed with natural plants, Tais textile is woven by women using their hands and simple tools. The styles differ from group to group, depending on the colors and designs used. The textile is also used as a symbol of wealth, such as for dowries and to strengthen relationships between families.
During the Indonesian occupation, tais weavers found many customers in the form of Indonesian soldiers. Beginning in the 1970's, tais began to display Indonesian inscriptions. After independence, tais artisans began making handbags and scarves as well as custom weavings. NGOs and the UN have been giving tais to workers as gifts or mementoes since 1999. Messages have been woven in English, Portuguese, and Tetun into the tais. It's remarkable that most of the weavers are from rural areas, where they cannot read or write.
People who wish to assist East Timorese women with developing income streams are importing tais and assisting weavers and sewing groups by providing items that are sold in Australia and other countries. The selling of tais is rapidly moving offshore as many of the individuals and organizations taking these initiatives to belong to the Local Government Friendship groups in Australia.
The traditional culture of Timor Leste includes growing, cutting, tying, knotting, weaving, dyeing, and sheathing fibers, grasses, and leaves, which are used for ceremonial and practical purposes. The weaving of tais is integral to Timorese identity and attitudes toward women. Tais were a valuable object of exchange before currency was introduced.
Many of the most beautiful tais were used to wrap around the bodies of loved ones for burial in the southeast Asian region. It is said that the textiles' importance in wedding arrangements and the associated family ties helped the Timorese thrive despite the colonial occupation. However, recent years has seen a decline in the number of young women learning traditional methods of tais weaving.
In December 2021 UNESCO announced that the countries application for the inscription of its hand-woven traditional textile, tais, as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding” was successful. The award is expected to raise public awareness about Tais, motivate youth, increase income opportunities for weavers, attract tourists’ interest in Tais as part of Timor-Leste’s culture, and strengthen weavers’ networks.
In addition, a recent forum was held in Melbourne to stimulate debate and dialogue about the impact of commodifying the tais because it is a piece of a craft rooted in culture and sacred life.