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 ...
(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-we ...
, 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
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality ...
of East Timor.
Etymology
The word ''Manatuto'' has been said to be a Portuguese approximation of the local Tetum andGaloli language word ''Manatutu'', which means 'pecking birds'.
According to another source, the word is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsLiurai, 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 t ...
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 ...
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
Wetar Strait ( id, Selat Wetar, pt, Estreito de Wetar, tet, Estreitu Wetar) is an international strait in Southeast Asia. It separates the island of Wetar from the eastern part of the island of Timor. The strait is also the eastern portion ...
, 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, ...
Laleia
Laleia, officially Laleia 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 adminis ...
(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
, 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 ...
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
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).