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 with the same name.
The municipality borders the municipalities of Baucau and Viqueque to the east and Manufahi, Aileu, and Dili 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 ...
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 and Portuguese), a large part of the population of the municipality speaks the Malayo-Polynesian language
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, later to become the nation's first president. He was born in the village of Laleia (19 km East of Manatuto town).