Timor-Leste e a ocupação Indonésia: a religião como operador de resistência

Abstract

As one of the results of author s experiences in Timor Leste, during 2004 and 2005, this work is product of his interest to identify the psychosocial meaning of modalities of resistance existed during Indonesian occupation period. This research s objective is to explore, by electing one of the cultural figuration the religious scenario postindependence East Timor, its social transformations, singular and collective transformations that happened in such country while Indonesian occupation. The religion choice is justified, among other reasons, by information that before the Indonesian occupation, in 1975, less than one third of Timorese population declared themselves as Catholic and, after the 1999 referendum, more than 90% of the population asserted being part of Catholic religion. Seeking to comprehend the meaning of such figuration, we can consider, among other authors, studies of Geertz (1978), Freud (1988), Magalhães (1983, 1990, 1999), Smythe (2004) and from testimonials of its own author and other subjective representatives, as Xanana Gusmão and Dom Basílio do Nascimento, it intended to better understand the religion figuration in East Timor as resistance operator. It was observed that, before physical and cultural systematic carnage placed by occupants, a new religious configuration was created in East Timor as a powerful, fundamental political, cultural and social resistance ally. It evidenced how this new religious scenario, major Catholic, was constituted, mainly, because of support, aid and defense which Timorese population found in East Timor Catholic Church, only not related to political resistance, but also regarding social, cultural and even religious resistance, since population, being catholic, found in Church a way to preserve the transmission of animist traditional Timorese religiosity. This religious amalgam constitutes a religiosity of Catholic and traditional-animist practices, as well, in this sense, creating a syncretism of rhythms and symbols religious syncretism. It was relevant to point out that Church support was not the whole time unanimous, however that, sometimes, Catholic Church of East Timor, Australia, Indonesia, Portugal and from Vatican had divergent positions regarding that occupation. The final results of this research showed the power of Timorese culture and the religion function as operator of resistance by the means of political-cultural relation, ergo, psychosocial