ABSTRACT
The Portuguese legacy was the Catholic faith and the Portuguese language. East Timor has been linked to Portugal for almost 500 years; a tenuous link at first, but one which became stronger over time. The Timorese incorporated the Portuguese into myth and ritual. The Catholic Church was central to the transmission of Catholic and Portuguese cultural values. Even when a Portuguese administration was absent in the interior of Timor, the church was there, the priests becoming a kind of lulik (sacred object) venerated and respected just like Portuguese flags and other colonial regalia. Under Indonesia, a far harsher colonial master, the Timorese were nostalgic for earlier times and affection for Portugal grew.
By 1999, Portuguese attitudes to East Timor had also undergone a complete change compared with those held in 1975. People were now united in their support for East Timor. As a donor to East Timor, Portugal was more than generous particularly in the promotion and teaching of the Portuguese language. The East Timorese leadership enshrined Portuguese in their constitution as an official language, along with Tetum, and made Portuguese the medium of instruction in their schools.
