'Died in the service of Portugal': legitimacy of authority and dynamics of group identity among the Atsabe Kemak in East Timor.

As one enters the East Timorese town of Atsabe, the administrative centre of the subdistrict with the same name, one quickly notices a newly built, large, elaborate grave, paved with white tiles and adorned with fresh flowers. The grave seems out of place since it is not in a graveyard but next to the administrative building of the subdistrict, down slope, but clearly visible, from the house of the last Atsabe chief.

It is also unlike the small individual graves in graveyards that mimic the shape of a house. The inscription on the grave is also striking as the name of the deceased is ...

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