Culture as symbol

This chapter addresses the ways in which customary marriage practices have been carried out and anxieties projected onto them in urban scenarios of postcolonial Timor-Leste. It argues that the negotiation of marriage practices is framed to meet people’s commitments to local and global institutions and their quest to be perceived as modern folk. East Timoreseness is understood to be a product of nationalist and postcolonial government practices which, unlike colonial times, have praised the ‘ownership’ of a particular culture. The chapter examines the role of urban landscapes in colonial and postcolonial times in Timor-Leste, and the ideological ambiguities surrounding customary practices. It discusses marriage formalities in Dili and the expectations and commitments they entail including the moral implications of material exchanges in the making of proper persons and the social networks to which they belong. The chapter describes projects proposed by young people to change the nature of material marriage exchanges in Dili.