Cova Lima Municipality

Municipality of East Timor Municipality of Timor-Leste Cova Lima (Portuguese: Município Cova Lima, Tetun: Munisípiu Kovalima) is a municipality of Timor-Leste, in the Southwest part of the country. It has a population of 59,455 (Census 2010) and an area of 1,230 km2. The capital of the municipality is Suai, which lies 136 km from Dili, the national capital. Toponymy There are two different explanations for the municipality's name. First, it could be derived from the combination of koba (a basket used for ritual acts) and lima, the Tetun word for 'five'. The combination is said to represent either the five mythical daughters of the Liurai (traditional title of a Timorese ruler) of Fohorem Nutetu, or the five kingdoms consisting of Fatumea, Dakolo, Lookeu, Sisi and Maudemi. According to a second explanation, the English language name of the municipality is said to be a Portuguese approximation of the combination kaua lima or portmanteau Kaualima, each of which means 'five crows' in Tetun. It has been asserted that the Portuguese name, perhaps intentionally, has a symbolically derogatory meaning, namely 'Five Graves' or 'Five Holes', as the Portuguese word cova means 'grave' or 'hol