Manatuto (, ) is one of the
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
(formerly districts) of
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
, 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
Manatuto is a city in Manatuto Municipality, East Timor.
Manatuto Vila has 3,692 inhabitants (Census 2015) and is capital of the subdistrict and district Manatuto. It is on the north coast of Timor, (about as the crow flies) east of Dili, ...
. It is the least populated
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of East Timor.
Etymology
The word ''Manatuto'' has been said to be a Portuguese approximation of the local
Tetum and Galoli language
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 ...
word ''Manatutu'', which means 'pecking birds'.
According to another source, the word is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[Liurai
Liurai is a ruler's title on Timor. The word is Tetun and literally means "surpassing the earth". It is originally associated with Wehali, a ritually central kingdom situated at the south coast of Central Timor (now included in Indonesia). The s ...](_blank)
, who were brothers.
Geography
The borders of the municipality of Manatuto are identical to those of the council of
Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies.
The first Europeans to arrive in the ...
with the same name.
The municipality borders the municipalities of
Baucau
Baucau ( pt, Baucau, tet, Baukau) is the second-largest city in East Timor, after Dili, the capital, which lies to its west.
Baucau has about 16,000 inhabitants, and is the capital of Baucau municipality, located in the eastern part of th ...
and
Viqueque to the east and
Manufahi
Manufahi (, ) is one of the municipalities of East Timor. It has a population of 53,691 (2015 census) and an area of 1,323 km2. The capital of the municipality is Same.
Etymology
The present name of the municipality, ''Manufahi'', is ...
,
Aileu, 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
The Timor Sea ( id, Laut Timor, pt, Mar de Timor, tet, Tasi Mane or ) is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, and to the south by Australia.
The sea contains a number of reefs ...
.
Administrative posts
The municipality's administrative posts (formerly sub-districts) are:
*
Barique-Natarbora (pop. 4,900)
*
Laclo (pop. 6,400)
*
Laclubar
Laclubar is the main locality in Laclubar Administrative Post, Manatuto Municipality, East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. ...
(pop. 10,100)
*
Laleia (pop. 3,200)
*
Manatuto
Manatuto is a city in Manatuto Municipality, East Timor.
Manatuto Vila has 3,692 inhabitants (Census 2015) and is capital of the subdistrict and district Manatuto. It is on the north coast of Timor, (about as the crow flies) east of Dili, ...
(pop. 11,500)
*
Soibada
Soibada is a town in the Soibada Administrative Post, Manatuto District of East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It compris ...
(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
, nativename=Tetun
, states= Indonesia East Timor
, speakers=, mostly in Indonesia
, date=2010–2011
, ref=e18
, speakers2=50,000 L2-speakers in Indonesia and East Timor
, familycolor=Austronesian
, fam2=Malayo-Polynesian
, fam3= Central–East ...
and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
), a large part of the population of the municipality speaks the
Malayo-Polynesian language Galoli, which is designated as a "national language" by the constitution.
Notable people
The municipality is known as the birthplace of
Xanana Gusmão
José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. A former rebel, he was the third President of the independent East Timor, serving from 2002 to 2007. He then became its fourth prime minister, serving from ...
, 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