Anthropology and Portuguese colonialism share a common past. During the 20th century, the so-called «indigenous peoples» of Asia and Africa were observed and studied by numerous Portuguese colonial administrators, missionaries, military and scientists. The essays gathered in this book analyse these hypotheses throughout the investigation of the abundant colonial ethnographic archives on Timor-Leste. The topics cover the study of «usos e costumes»; descriptions of native languages and religion; the collections of legends; ethnographic films; the Anthropological Missions; and the presence of colonial ethnographies in the imagination of Timor-Leste as a nation.
“Timor Etnográfico. Etnografias Coloniais Portuguesas no Século XX” is a publication organized by Ricardo Roque, and includes, among others, essays of the AIA-SEAS members Kelly Silva, Lúcio Sousa, Maria Johanna Schouten and Vicente Paulino.