Commensality and Conflict

Food, Drink and Intercultural Encounters in the Battle of Timor

Bibliographic Data

ID3665168
AuthorsHeather Merle Benbow (The University of Melbourne), Heather Benbow (0000-0002-5505-7464, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume39
Issue1
Pages35-49
Publication date2018-01-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Intercultural Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0725-6868 • E-ISSN: 1469-9540
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/07256868.2017.1410113
OpenAlexW2307380708
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited7

For soldiers and civilians alike, food is a critical issue in times of conflict. Yet the role of food in times of war has received little scholarly attention. In line with literature that draws attention to the social and cultural meanings of food, this article considers intercultural culinary encounters between Australian soldiers and locals during the Battle of Timor in the Second World War. From their reliance on local produce in the absence of adequate supplies, to Timorese hospitality at festivities, this article argues that food encounters offer significant insight into the wartime experiences of Australian soldiers in Portuguese Timor (as it was then known). In particular, discourse around food highlights the close connections formed between the commandos and their local 'helpers', the 'criados'. This article contends that these food-related experiences give a particular poignancy to the enduring notion in the Australian military of a 'Debt of Honour' owed to the people of Timor Leste

Archaeology · Battle · Honour · Hospitality · Political science · Portuguese · Sociology · Tourism · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Gender Studies · Geographies of human-animal interactions · History · Law

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