en Manatuto Municipality

Manatuto
Manatuto
Municipality of East Timor
	Município Manatuto (Portuguese); Munisípiu Manatutu (Tetum);
	Cliffs at Manatuto
	Official map
	Manatuto in East Timor
	OpenStreetMap
	Coordinates: 8°42′S 125°55′E / 8.700°S 125.917°E
Country	East Timor
Capital	Manatuto
Administrative posts	Barique-Natarbora; Laclo; Laclubar; Laleia; Manatuto; Soibada;
Area
• Total	1,783.3 km2 (688.5 sq mi)
• Rank	2nd
Population (2015 census)
• Total	46,619
• Rank	13th
• Density	26/km2 (68/sq mi)
• Rank	13th
Households (2015 census)
• Total	7,467
• Rank	12th
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (TLT)
ISO 3166 code	TL-MT
HDI (2017)	0.614; medium · 5th
Website	Manatuto Municipality

Manatuto (Portuguese: Município Manatuto, Tetum: Munisípiu Manatutu) is one of the municipalities (formerly districts) of East Timor, 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 of East Timor.

Etymology

The word Manatuto has been said to be a Portuguese approximation of the local Tetum and Galoli language word Manatutu, which means 'pecking birds'.^[2]

According to another source, the word is a portmanteau of the Tetum words Mana and tutu, which mean 'old woman' and 'peak' or 'summit', respectively. The legend goes that two groups of people were each living on the summit of a hill, one of them named Sau Raha (now Soraha) and the other Sau Lor (now Saulidun). The two groups were engaged separately in their own daily activities, but each was accompanied by one of two Liurai, who were brothers.^[3]

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, to the south is the Timor Sea.

History

According to a list prepared by Afonso de Castro [de], governor of the colony of Portuguese Timor from 1859 to 1863, Manatuto was one of 47 kingdoms in that colony at the time.^[4]

Administrative posts

The municipality's administrative posts (formerly sub-districts) are:^[5]^[6]

Barique-Natarbora (pop. 4,900)
Laclo (pop. 6,400)
Laclubar (pop. 10,100)
Laleia (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, 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).

References

Notes

^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
^ Hull, Geoffrey (June 2006). "The placenames of East Timor" (PDF). Placenames Australia: Newsletter of the Australian National Placenames Survey: 6–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
^ "Perfil: 2. Toponímia" [Profile: 2. Toponymy]. Manatuto Municipality (in Tetum). Retrieved 18 July 2022.
^ "Timor Loro Sae: Um pouco de história" [Timor Loro Sae: A little history]. A.M.O.C. - Associação dos Militares do Oecussi (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 13 November 2001. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
^ "Manatuto Suco Reports". Timor-Leste Ministry of Finance.
^ Gunn, Geoffrey C (2011). Historical Dictionary of East Timor. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 124. ISBN 9780810867543.

Bibliography

Manatuto District Profile (PDF) (Report). District Administrator, Manatuto. April 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
Munisipio Manatuto: Planu Estartejiku Desenvolvimentu Munisipal [Manatuto Municipality: Municipal Strategic Development Plan] (Report) (in Tetum). Ministry of State Administration (East Timor) / Administration of Manatuto Municipality. 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
Perfil Distritu Manatuto [Manatuto District Profile] (PDF) (Report) (in Tetum). 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2022.

External links

Media related to Manatuto (Municipality) at Wikimedia Commons

Manatuto Municipality – official site (in Tetum with some content in English)
Manatuto Municipality – information page on Ministry of State Administration site (in Portuguese and Tetum)

[GlobalDataLab-1] "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.

[hull_2006-2] Hull, Geoffrey (June 2006). "The placenames of East Timor" (PDF). Placenames Australia: Newsletter of the Australian National Placenames Survey: 6–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.

[mt_toponymy-3] "Perfil: 2. Toponímia" [Profile: 2. Toponymy]. Manatuto Municipality (in Tetum). Retrieved 18 July 2022.

[amoc_timor_loro_sae-4] "Timor Loro Sae: Um pouco de história" [Timor Loro Sae: A little history]. A.M.O.C. - Associação dos Militares do Oecussi (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 13 November 2001. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

[5] "Manatuto Suco Reports". Timor-Leste Ministry of Finance.

[6] Gunn, Geoffrey C (2011). Historical Dictionary of East Timor. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 124. ISBN 9780810867543.

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Manatuto Municipality