Traditional Tais weaving technique in Timor-Leste

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Timor-Leste, located at the eastern half of the island of Timor, is the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002, and the youngest country in Southeast Asia.

Traditional cloth known as Tais has been worn in Timor-Leste for generations, which is an essential part of its national cultural heritage.

Tais are usually made for ceremonial use, along with feathers, coral, gold and silver. It has the symbolic meaning of respect towards guests, friends, relatives and ancestors.

The ancient technique of Tais weaving gained more attention worldwide since the country achieved independence from Indonesia.

Tais scarfs in local market, Dili, Timor-Leste. /VCG Photo

Tais cloth in local market, Dili, Timor-Leste. /VCG Photo

Children from Timor-Leste do traditional dance wearing Tais clothes. /VCG Photo

Tais bags and accessories in local market. /VCG Photo

A Timorese vendor displays Tais fabric at a local market, Dili, Timoe-Leste. /VCG Photo

Tais cloth used to be made of hand-spun cotton and dyed with local plants. But with the improvement of synthetic dyes and polyester fibers, coloring Tais cloth is becoming much easier.

With the hardly-touched ocean to dive in, beautiful land to hike on and ancient traditions to explore, Asia's newest country with amazing adventures await more tourists worldwide!

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(Head image is from VCG and redesigned by Fan Chenxiao.)