Ainaro (, ) is one of 13

municipalities 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' ...

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, in the southwest part of the country. It has a population of 59,175 (census 2010) and an area of 804 km². Its capital is the city of Ainaro, a small mountain town.

Etymology

The name of the municipality is derived from 'Ai Naruk', the local Mambai language word for "tall tree", and refers to a species of tree that grows in the region. ''Ainaro'' is a Portuguese approximation of ''Ainaru'', the Mambai and Tetum derivation. The traditional name of the region, 'Orluli', is still used today by during ceremonies, such as the ''sergala'', to greet important guests.

Geography

Ainaro has a great abundance of rivers and fertile terrain for agriculture. It has a coastal area, on the

Timor Sea The Timor Sea (, , or ) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Tr ...

, but also mountainous zones, including the highest point in East Timor, Mount Ramelau (2,960 m), also known as Tatamailau, which lies near the border with

Ermera Ermera (''Vila Ermera'') is a city in East Timor and a former capital of the East Timorese community, Ermera. ''Ermera'' in Mambai language (Timor), Mambai means "red water." It has a population of 8,907. Its geographical coordinates are , ...

. The borders of the municipality are identical to that of the same in

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor () was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day East Timor from 1702 until 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in the regio ...

, with the following exceptions: during the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n occupation, the then subdistrict of Turiscai became part of

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 ...

from Ainaro, and the then subdistrict of

Hato-Udo Hato-Udo (''Hatu Udo, Hotudo''), officially Hato-Udo Administrative Post (, ), is an administrative post (and was formerly a subdistrict) in Ainaro municipality, East Timor. Its seat or administrative centre An administrative centre is a ...

became part of Ainaro in exchange. The then subdistrict of Mape-Zumalai became part of Cova Lima in 2003. The municipality borders

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 ...

to the north,

to the south, Cova Lima to the southwest,

Bobonaro Bobonaro is a town in Bobonaro Subdistrict, Bobonaro District, East Timor., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The district capital is not in Bobonaro, but is in Maliana Maliana is a city in East Timor, 149 kilomet ...

to the west, and

to the northwest. Ainaro detail map.png, Borders of Ainaro before 2003 Sucos Ainaro 2003-2015.png, Borders of Ainaro after 2003 Ainaro cities rivers.png, Cities and rivers of Ainaro

History

Ainaro played an important role during the brutal

n occupation of East Timor, providing shelter for the mountain-based guerrilla resistance army. Former guerrilla leader, former President, and current Prime Minister

Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as E ...

spent many years directing the resistance from Ainaro.

Administrative posts

The municipality's administrative posts (formerly sub-districts) are: * Ainaro administrative post (place of capital Ainaro) * Hato-Udo Administrative Post * Hatu-Builico Administrative Post * Maubisse Administrative Post

Demographics

62.4% of the population speaks

Mambai Mambai may refer to: * Mambai people, a people group also known as Mambae, Manbae or Maubere from Timor-Leste * Mambai language (Timor) Mambai, also called Mambae or Manbae, is a language spoken by the Mambai people, the second largest ethni ...

as mother tongue, 29.1%

Tetum Tetum may refer to: * Tetum language, an Austronesian language ** Tetum alphabet, used to write the Tetum language * Tetum people, an ethnic group of East Timor and Indonesia {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...

and 7.5%

Bunak The Bunak (also known as Bunaq, Buna', Bunake) people are an ethnic group that live in the mountainous region of central Timor, split between the political boundary between West Timor, Indonesia, particularly in Lamaknen District and East Timor. ...

. 400 persons are speaking Kemac. 99.1% are Catholics, 0.9% protestants, 0.03% Muslim and only 19 persons are following still the traditional beliefs (census 2015).

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 Timor-Leste