Timor-Leste Culture and Etiquette: Customs Every Visitor Should Know

What to expect

Timorese people are famously friendly to visitors, and a little effort goes a long way. Society is built around family, community and the Catholic Church; elders and church and community leaders are treated with deference. Customary law and beliefs (lisan) still shape village life alongside the Church.

Learn a few words of Tetum: bondia (good morning), botarde (good afternoon), obrigadu or obrigada (thank you, said by a man or a woman) and diak (good). See Tetum phrases.

Greetings and conversation

Shake hands when you meet people, and take time to say hello. Rushing through or cutting short a conversation can come across as rude. Relationships matter more than strict timekeeping in social life, but be on time for business meetings.

Use your right hand, or both hands, to give and receive things, especially gifts.

Dress

Dress modestly away from the beach. Light clothes that cover shoulders and knees are respectful in villages, markets and offices. In church, men remove hats and everyone dresses neatly. Swimwear belongs on the beach.

Visiting a home

If you are invited in, take off your shoes and accept the drink and snack you are offered. Refusing refreshment is seen as rejecting your host's hospitality; you do not have to finish it, but taste it, and wait for your host to start. Gifts are not expected, though food or produce is welcome. A sincere compliment on the home or the meal is appreciated.

At meals, people often pray together first, guests usually serve themselves first, and the host may be the last to eat, as a sign of respect. Food is commonly eaten with a spoon in the right hand and a fork in the left; in rural areas, traditional meals may be eaten with the hands, seated on the floor.

You may be offered betel nut (areca nut with betel leaf and lime). It is a social gesture, and it is fine to decline politely.

Sacred places and ceremonies

Ask before you enter or photograph a sacred house (uma lulik), a ceremony or a sacred site. Uma lulik are ancestral houses that hold the spirits of a family's ancestors and are central to customary rituals. Some places are sacred or restricted: Jaco Island, for example, can be visited by day but not stayed on overnight.

Memorial sites such as the Santa Cruz Cemetery and the Chega! exhibition in Dili remember thousands of people killed during the Indonesian occupation. Be quiet and respectful there, and ask before photographing people.

Photography

Ask first, always. Most people are happy to be photographed, and children often ask you to take their picture, but ask adults before taking photos, and avoid photographing military, police or government sites.

Tais and gifts

Tais is the hand-woven textile of Timor-Leste and the most meaningful gift or souvenir you can buy. It is woven by women on backstrap looms, with regional patterns, and is worn at ceremonies and given to honour guests, often draped around the neck. Buy it at the Tais Market in Dili or from weaving cooperatives such as the one in Maubara. UNESCO added tais to its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in December 2021.

Alcohol, drugs and behaviour

• Drinking is normal in bars and restaurants, but public drunkenness is frowned upon.
• Drug penalties are severe.
• Public displays of affection are best kept low-key, as in most conservative countries.
• Avoid political arguments and demonstrations.