Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. East Timor is on the eastern side of the island, and Indonesia is on the western side. Timor has some coastal plains that merge with regularly flooded mangrove swamps. Coastal inhabitants are primarily of Indonesian Malay ancestry since they drove the predominantly Melanesian aboriginal peoples inland. Numerous Papuan and Malayan languages are spoken here, alongside Indonesian in the west and Portuguese in the east. Islam and Christianity have made some inroads here, but animism and ancestor worship still predominate. There is a sacred house with a custodian priest and a taboo area surrounding it in each village. Historically, villages and isolated places were surrounded by fences because of coastal warfare. Houses are usually built on piles.
In the early 1990s, the East Timorese were able to resist 35,000 Indonesian troops. Still, the island did not gain independence until a 1999 referendum under an UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal. East Timor’s people rejected the offer of autonomy within Indonesia. The UN temporarily governed East Timor until it became independent as Timor-Leste in 2002 under Falintil leader Xanana Gusmão. While the new nation grappled with poverty, political strife continued, the UN never made a substantial presence there.
Below are some fascinating historical photos by wilford peloquin that show what Timor looked like in the 1970s.
