The crescent headpiece on the national coat of arms, the moon-disc on a chief's chest, the old beads passed down for generations.
Why this channel
What you will learn here
These objects appear in every ceremony, on the currency and on the flagpole — and almost nobody explains them to visitors.
Four short filmed conversations with the people who know this subject first-hand are being produced for this page by Stays of Timor. Each is two to three minutes — honest, local, and recorded in Timor-Leste.
The interviews
Four conversations, four angles
🎥Interview coming soon
Interview 1The kaibauk: the crescent on the crown
What the buffalo-horn headpiece means and who may wear it.
🎥Interview coming soon
Interview 2The belak and the morteen
The belak moon-disc (silver, gold or bronze) and the old coral or glass beads — status, exchange and inheritance.
🎥Interview coming soon
Interview 3At the forge: how the pieces are made
Melting, hammering, chasing — the craft in a small workshop.
🎥Interview coming soon
Interview 4Adornment in ceremony today
How these objects are worn now — at weddings, at state occasions, on stage.
In pictures
Craft & Livelihood
Carving at EASEL ArtsMarket day, AileuBoats at BaucauBamboo house, Ataúro
Photos: Ministry of Tourism & Environment, Timor-Leste
Part of the Timor Information Channels — 28 subjects, told by the people who know them. Produced by Stays of Timor.
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