Commensality and Conflict: Food, Drink and Intercultural Encounters in the Battle of Timor.

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. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]