INDONESIA

INDONESIA.

Musical instruments.
Timor Map and sasando.
Second stamp in a set of 16, issued on 01.02.1967.
Face value: 1 Indonesian rupiah.
Printing: Photogravure.
Size: 25 x 32 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 563.
- Scott No. 706.
- StampWorld No. 605.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1141.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 499.
- Zonnebloem No. 564.

Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. Currently the island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part (former Portuguese colony) and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also known as West Timor, constitutes part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island covers an area of 30,777 km² (11,883 sq mi). The island lies at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands.

The sasando is a tube zither, a harp-like traditional music string instrument native to Timor Island and alls the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands. The name is derived from the Rote dialect word sasandu, which means 'vibrating' or 'sounded instrument'. Its box is almost hemispherical in shape and containing a cylinder in which between 22 and 56 strings are tightened.

TIMOR

TIMOR (Portuguese colony, now East Timor).

Map of Timor island.
Sixth stamp on a set of 10, issued on 04.1960.
Face value: 1 Portuguese Timorese escudos over 40 avos.

Catalogues
- Afinsa No. 303.
- Scott No. 296.
- StampWorld No. 314.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 359.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 304.

The Portuguese colony of Timor occupied the eastern part of the island, a territory that currently corresponds to the Republic of East Timor (Timor-Leste). Portugal officially established the colony in 1596 and maintained it until it was occupied by the Indonesian army on December 7, 1975. The new republic gained independence on May 20, 2002.

Between 1702 and 1894 the monetary unit of the colony was the thousand reis (mil reis), which were replaced by the petaca until in 1959 it was introduced the Portuguese Timorese escudo.