Manufahi Municipality

Manufahi
Landscape between Dili and Same
Landscape between Dili and Same
Official map
Map of East Timor highlighting the Municipality
   Manufahi in     East Timor
OpenStreetMap
Map
Coordinates: 9°00′S 125°47′E / 9.000°S 125.783°E / -9.000; 125.783
Country East Timor
CapitalSame
Administrative posts
Area
 • Total
1,332.5 km2 (514.5 sq mi)
 • Rank6th
Population
 (2015 census)
 • Total
53,691
 • Rank11th
 • Density40/km2 (100/sq mi)
  • Rank11th
Households (2015 census)
 • Total9,023
 • Rank11th
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (TLT)
ISO 3166 codeTL-MF
HDI (2017)0.618[1]
medium · 3rd
WebsiteManufahi Municipality

Manufahi (Portuguese: Município Manufahi, Tetum: Munisípiu 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.[2] The capital of the municipality is Same.[3]

Etymology

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The present name of the municipality, Manufahi, is derived from Maun Fahe, the Tetum language expression for 'divided brothers'. The name originated in a legend that tells of a fight between two related tribes, or a group of siblings. Eventually, the protagonists agreed to subject themselves to a single ruler.[4][5]: 67 

During the Portuguese colonial era, the then district bore the name of its main town, Same. The present name was adopted on the basis of the divided brothers legend.[4][5]: 67  However, it was misspelled, and the Tetum language meaning of the misspelled name is 'pig chicken'.[4]

Efforts are being made to correct the name. However, there is also a legend that in the suco of Daisula [de] a rooster once flew down from a mountain, landed on the back of a pig, and then travelled with the pig to many places before returning home.[4]

Geography

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Manufahi extends from the central highlands of East Timor to its south coast, on the Timor Sea.[5]: 67  It is bordered by Manatuto to the east, Ainaro to the west, and Aileu to the north.

Administrative posts of Manufahi
Cities of Manufahi

History

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During its time as a Portuguese colony, the municipality was called Same, after the capital city. It was the epicentre of the Great Rebellion of 1910–12. During the Indonesian occupation the then subdistrict of Hato-Udo was split off from the then district of Manufahi and joined to Ainaro, and the then subdistrict of Turiscai, previously in Ainaro, was moved to Manufahi.

Administrative posts

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Manufahi's administrative posts (formerly sub-districts) are:[6]

Demographics

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Besides the national official languages of Tetum and Portuguese, the Malayo-Polynesian language Mambai is also spoken.

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Timor-Leste Population And Housing Census 2015". Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ Lansell Taudevin (1999). East Timor: Too Little Too Late. Duffy & Snellgrove. ISBN 18-759-8963-3.
  4. ^ a b c d "Perfil: 2. Toponímia" [Profile: 2. Toponymy]. Manufahi Municipality (in Tetum). Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Alongi, D; Amaral, A; de Carvalho, N; et al. (2012). River Catchments and Marine Productivity in Timor Leste: Caraulun and Laclo Catchments; South and North Coasts – Final Report (PDF). Project 6 of the Timor Leste Coastal-Marine Habitat Mapping, Tourism and Fisheries Development Project. Darwin: Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Government of Timor Leste. ISBN 9781743500163.
  6. ^ Gunn, Geoffrey C (2011). Historical Dictionary of East Timor. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 124–125. ISBN 9780810867543.

Bibliography

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Media related to Manufahi at Wikimedia Commons