Loro Sae
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Loro Sae is the name of the eastern part of
Timor-Leste 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 ...
. This leads to confusion, as the official name of the country in the official language
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 ...
is "''Timór Loro Sa'e"''. Loro Sae means rising sun or simply east. The inhabitants of Loro Sae are called Firaku, regardless of their other ethnic affiliations. In contrast, the western part of the country is called
Loro Munu Loro Munu refers to the western part of East Timor. In the past, the name was used for the western part of the island of Timor, as "Loro Munu" means setting sun or simply west. Background The inhabitants of Loro Munu are called Kaladi regard ...
and its inhabitants Kaladi. The country's capital, Dili, is a melting pot of the country's different ethnic groups and is the scene of regular street fights between . The name ''Firaku'' probably derives from the Portuguese "''vira o cu''" (to turn someone's back), which probably refers to the Eastern Timorese's alleged tendency to rebel and their supposed stubbornness and temperament. Another theory suspects that the word being
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 ...
Makassae origin. The later being "''fi raku''", meaning ''we comrades''. The term was first used in the mid-19th century. The east consists of the communities of Lautém,
Baucau Baucau (, ) is the second-largest city in Timor-Leste, 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 the country. In the time ...
,
Viqueque Viqueque (, ) is a city in the south-east of Timor-Leste, 183 km from Dili, the national capital. Viqueque is the capital of Viqueque Municipality and Viqueque Administrative Post, and has five '' sucos'' under its control. They are: ...
and
Manatuto Manatuto is a city in Manatuto Municipality, East Timor. Manatuto Vila has 3,692 inhabitants (Census 2015) and is capital of the subdistrict and district Manatuto. It is on the north coast of Timor, (about as the crow flies) east of Dili ...
. Sometimes Manatuto is also attributed to Loro Munu. The Firaku see themselves as those who defeated 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 forces through their long resistance. The ''Firaku'' include important East Timorese military figures and former President
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 ...
. Despite the strong national movement from which the country emerged, the
2006 riots 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon a ...
have re-emphasised the division of the country into East and West, which existed before the colonial period and has a clear impact on everyday life in Timor-Leste. Before colonisation by Portugal, the east of the island of
Timor Timor (, , ) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is Indonesia–Timor-Leste border, divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the ...
formed a loose federation ruled by ''Likusaen'' (today:
Liquiçá Liquiçá (Tetum: ''Likisá'') is a coastal city in East Timor, 32 km to the west of Dili, the national capital. Liquiçá is the capital of Liquiçá District. The city has a population of 5,005 inhabitants. History A part of the colon ...
) or
Luca Luca or LUCA may refer to: People * Luca (masculine given name), including a list of people * Luca (feminine given name), including a list of people * Luca (surname), including a list of people Places * The ancient name of Lucca, an Etruscan ...
. Ties to the Wehale Empire, which dominated the centre of the island, nevertheless existed. Among other things, it is reported that the eastern territories were subject to tribute. Later, the parts of Wehale that fell to Portugal when the island was divided with the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
were united with the eastern provinces to form the colony of
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 ...
. Although there were always internal disputes, they were mostly short tribal wars rather than protracted conflicts. The division into East and West was of secondary importance and was mostly covered by political interests. In the 1975 civil war, for example, the front between
Fretilin The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (, abbreviated as Fretilin) is a separatist organization turned centre-left political party in Timor-Leste. It presently holds 19 of 65 seats in the National Parliament. Fretilin formed the ...
and UDT cut across regions and ethnic groups. However, as early as 1975, Fretilin politician Mau Lear warned of the tensions between the two parts of East Timor in his paper "The Establishment of New Relations in East Timor". After the liberation from Indonesian occupation, the weak division developed into a clear dividing line. The ''Firaku'' claim to have done the greater part of the resistance against the Indonesians.{{Cite journal , last=Kammen , first=Douglas , date=2010 , title=Subordinating Timor: Central authority and the origins of communal identities in East Timor , journal=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde , volume=166 , issue=2/3 , pages=244–269 , doi=10.1163/22134379-90003618 , jstor=27868578 , issn=0006-2294, doi-access=free The Firaku accuse the West of sympathising with the Indonesians. Many of the policemen recruited by the Indonesians were ''Kaladi''. The UN and independent Timor-Leste took most of these policemen into their service. The simmering conflict between the National Police and the military (
Timor Leste Defence Force The Timor-Leste Defence Force (, or Falintil-FDTL, often F-FDTL) is the military of Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor). The F-FDTL was established in February 2001 and comprises two infantry battalions, small naval and air components and seve ...
) is a result of this. Today, one also notices a political division in the country. In the east, the left-wing old independence party Fretilin still dominates, while in the west the centre-left ruling party, the
National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (, CNRT) is a political party in East Timor founded by former President Xanana Gusmão in March 2007 in preparation for the 2007 parliamentary election. According to provisional results, the ...
, is in the lead.


See also

*
Loro Munu Loro Munu refers to the western part of East Timor. In the past, the name was used for the western part of the island of Timor, as "Loro Munu" means setting sun or simply west. Background The inhabitants of Loro Munu are called Kaladi regard ...
* History of Timor-Leste *
Demographics of Timor-Leste This is a demographics, demography of the population of Timor-Leste including population density, Ethnic group, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Popul ...


References

Society of Timor-Leste Culture of Timor-Leste Geography of Timor-Leste