Timor-Leste (East Timor)
Timorese

Wood, hide
Early – Mid 20th century
Height: 15.5 in; Diameter: 8.5 in
Membranophones – Struck Membranophones

A Timor-Leste Island, Indonesian elegant carved-wood drum from the early to mid 20th century CE.  This pedestal drum is played by the Timorese men of East Timor during tebedai dance in honor of their ancestors.  The drum displays an octagonal foot that tapers to a long, tubular neck, and a wide cylindrical body that expands towards its flat animal hide top. It shows a burnish and natural wood grain in hues of deep mahogany and burnt sienna.  It is adorned with a raised decorative band midway down its neck that is carved into an abstract motif of leaf-like shapes arranged in zigzags and flanked by a top and bottom border. The sienna and beige hued hide of the batter head has been folded up around the periphery (possibly with a slender tree branch or a pin) and wetted to mold itself secure in place.

Heavily influenced by the country’s Portuguese colonization from the 16th century into the 20th and its Indonesian occupation from 1975 to 1999, the music of East Timor played a central role in both the daily lives of the East Timorese and the nation’s culture. 

Closely associated with their independence movement during the build up to the 2000 referendum, one band of mixed East Timorese and Australian dissent released an anthem for the country’s independence, and the United Nations even commissioned a song from another East Timorese band that encouraged people to register to vote in the referendum.

Resource:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_East_Timor