Cova Lima (, ) is a
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
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 59,455 (Census 2010) and an area of 1,230 km
2. The capital of the municipality is
Suai, which lies 136 km from Dili, the national capital.
Etymology
There are two different explanations for the municipality's name. First, it could be derived from ''koba'' (a basket used for ritual acts) and ''lima'', the Tetum 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 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 words ''kaua lima'' or
portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together. ''Kaualima'', which means 'five crows' in Tetum.
It has been asserted that the Portuguese version of the name, perhaps intentionally, has a symbolically derogatory meaning, namely 'Five Graves' or 'Five Holes', as the Portuguese word ''cova'' means 'grave' or 'hole'. According to that assertion, the Portuguese version may also be a "... form of cultural and mind de-colonization ..."
nowiki />sic - colonization">sic.html" ;"title="nowiki />sic">nowiki />sic - colonization
] of the local name.
Geography
Cova Lima borders the Timor Sea to the south, the municipalities of Bobonaro Municipality, Bobonaro to the north, Ainaro Municipality, Ainaro to the east, and 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 province of
East Nusa Tenggara to the west.
Administrative posts
The administrative posts of Cova Lima are
Fatululic,
Fatumean,
Fohorem,
Zumalai,
Maucatar,
Suai, and
Tilomar.
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