Mambai people (Timor) on:
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The Mambai (Mambae, Manbae) people are the second largest ethnic group after the Tetum Dili people in
Origins, Ancestry and Alliance: Explorations in Austronesian Ethnography
', ANU E Press, 2006, Chapter 7. from the interior of Dili District to the south coast of the territory, especially in the districts of Ainaro and
International Crisis Group, Asia Briefing N°65, 13 June 2007
Lúcia Lobato,East Timor Legal Information Site, 2007
and Fernando de Araújo.
Ritual exchange among the Mambai of East Timor: gifts of life and death
', Harvard University Press, 1977. * Elizabeth Gilbert Traube,
Cosmology and Social Life: ritual exchange among the Mambai of East Timor
', University of Chicago Press, 1986. * {{Ethnic groups in East Timor Ethnic groups in East Timor
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-west ...
. Originally, they were known as the Maubere by the Portuguese. ''Maubere'' or ''Mau Bere'' is a widespread male first name among the Mambai people.
Settlement area
The Mambai number about 80,000Clifford Sather and James J. Fox (eds),Origins, Ancestry and Alliance: Explorations in Austronesian Ethnography
', ANU E Press, 2006, Chapter 7. from the interior of Dili District to the south coast of the territory, especially in the districts of Ainaro 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 ...
. Its principal centers are Ermera, Aileu, Remexio Administrative Post
Remexio, officially Remexio Administrative Post (, ), is an administrative post (and was formerly a subdistrict) in Aileu municipality, East Timor. Its seat or administrative centre
An administrative center is a seat of regional administra ...
, Turiscai, Maubisse
Maubisse (''Maubesse, Mau-Bessi, Maobisse, Maubise'') is a historic town in the hills 70 km south of Dili, in Ainaro District, East Timor. It is a popular tourist destination and a weekend visiting spot for people from the capital. The ...
, Ainaro and Same, East Timor
Same ( ) is a town in the Same administrative post in the interior of East Timor, south of Dili, the national capital. Same has a population of 7,413 and is the capital of Manufahi municipality, which was known as Same District in Portuguese ...
. Among the East Timorese exiles in Australia, the Mambai people are one of the main groups.
Culture
The Mambai language belongs to the Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages of the Timoric languages branch. It is the second most common mother tongue inEast 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-west ...
with 195,778 speakers.
Circular houses with conical roofs are typical dwellings, and the Mambai cultivate maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...
, rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
, and root vegetables.
Notable people
Ethnically Mambai politicians includeFrancisco Xavier do Amaral
Francisco Xavier do Amaral (3 December 1937 – 6 March 2012) was an East Timorese politician. A founder of the ''Frente Revolucionária de Timor Leste Independente'' (Fretilin), Amaral was sworn in as the first President of East Timor w ...
, Manuel Tilman,and Fernando de Araújo.
References
Further reading
* Elizabeth Gilbert Traube,Ritual exchange among the Mambai of East Timor: gifts of life and death
', Harvard University Press, 1977. * Elizabeth Gilbert Traube,
Cosmology and Social Life: ritual exchange among the Mambai of East Timor
', University of Chicago Press, 1986. * {{Ethnic groups in East Timor Ethnic groups in East Timor