Manatuto (, ) is one of the
municipalities (formerly districts) of
East Timor, located in the central part of the country. It has a population of 45,541 (Census 2010) and an area of 1,783.3 km². The capital of the municipality is also named
Manatuto. It is the least populated
municipality of East Timor.
Etymology
The word ''Manatuto'' has been said to be a Portuguese approximation of the local
Tetum and Galoli language word ''Manatutu'', which means 'pecking birds'.
According to another source, the word is a
portmanteau of the Tetum words ''Mana'' and ''tutu'', which mean 'old woman' and 'peak' or 'summit', respectively. The legend goes that two groups of people were each living on the summit of a hill, one of them named Sau Raha (now Soraha) and the other Sau Lor (now Saulidun). The two groups were engaged separately in their own daily activities, but each was accompanied by one of two
Liurai, who were brothers.
Geography
The borders of the municipality of Manatuto are identical to those of the council of
Portuguese Timor with the same name.
The municipality borders the municipalities of
Baucau and
Viqueque
Viqueque (, ) is a city in the south-east of East Timor, 183 km from Dili, the national capital. Viqueque is the capital of Viqueque Municipality
Viqueque (, ) is the largest of the municipalities (formerly districts) of East Ti ...
to the east and
Manufahi,
Aileu
Aileu is the main township in Aileu District, East Timor. It is located 47 km (29 mi) southwest of Dili, the national capital, and had a population of 2,788 in 2015.
In Portuguese Timor, the city was known as Vila General Carmona, af ...
, and
Dili
Dili (Portuguese/Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesia). It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in ...
to the west. It reaches both the south and north coasts of the island, and is only one of two municipalities to do so (the other is
Lautém in the far east), and has the most geographical diversity. To the north is the
Strait of Wetar, to the south is the
Timor Sea.
Administrative posts
The municipality's administrative posts (formerly sub-districts) are:
*
Barique-Natarbora (pop. 4,900)
*
Laclo
Laclo, officially Laclo Administrative Post (, ), is an administrative post (and was formerly a subdistrict) in Manatuto municipality, East Timor. Its seat or administrative centre
An administrative center is a seat of regional administrat ...
(pop. 6,400)
*
Laclubar (pop. 10,100)
*
Laleia (pop. 3,200)
*
Manatuto (pop. 11,500)
*
Soibada (pop. 2,950)
The administrative posts are divided into 29 sucos ("villages") in total.
Demographics
In addition to the official languages of East Timor (
Tetum and
Portuguese), a large part of the population of the municipality speaks the
Malayo-Polynesian language
The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. The Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian peoples outside of Taiwan, in the island nations of Southeast ...
Galoli
The Galoli, or Galolen, are a people of East Timor with a population of about 50,000, primarily along the northern coast of the district of Manatuto. To the west lies the Mambai people. There is an old colony on the southern coast of Wetar island ...
, which is designated as a "national language" by the constitution.
Notable people
The municipality is known as the birthplace of
Xanana Gusmão, later to become the nation's first president. He was born in the village of Laleia (19 km East of Manatuto town).
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
* – official site (in Tetum with some content in English)
* – information page on
Ministry of State Administration site
{{Authority control
Municipalities of East Timor