Baucau Municipality

Baucau (Portuguese: Município Baucau, Tetum: Munisípiu Baukau) is a municipality, and was formerly a district, of East Timor,[2] on the northern coast in the eastern part of the country. The capital is also called Baucau (formerly Vila Salazar). The population of the municipality is 111,694 (census 2010) and it has an area of 1,506 km².

This article is about the municipality. For the city, see Baucau. For the administrative post, see Baucau Administrative Post. For other uses, see Baucau (disambiguation).
Baucau
Municipality of East Timor
Osolata beach
Osolata beach
Flag
Flag
Coat of arms
Coat of arms
Map of East Timor highlighting the Municipality
   Baucau in     East Timor
OpenStreetMap
Coordinates: 8°35′S 126°30′E
Country East Timor
CapitalBaucau
Administrative Posts
Area
 • Total1,504.2 km2 (580.8 sq mi)
 • Rank4th
Population
 (2015 census)
 • Total123,203
 • Rank3rd
 • Density82/km2 (210/sq mi)
  • Rank5th
Households (2015 census)
 • Total22,976
 • Rank3rd
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (TLT)
ISO 3166 codeTL-BA
HDI (2017)0.602[1]
medium · 9th
WebsiteBaucau Municipality

Etymology

The word Baucau is derived from the word "Akau", which means "pig" in the local Waimoa language. During the Portuguese colonial era, the name of the district was transformed, first into Macau and finally into Baucau. An alternative name for the Baucau community is Wailia-Wailewa, meaning the "great water spring of Wai Lia".[3] In the Wai Lia area (part of the suco of Bahu), a large spring is located under large trees;[3] it is both an animist and a Christian holy place.[4]

In 1936, the Portuguese colonial authorities renamed what was then the district of Baucau as "São Domingos".[5] However, that name, like other imperial-sounding names adopted in the colony at about that time, did not catch on, and a few years after World War II it was quietly abandoned.[6]

Geography
Official map
Official map

The borders of the District of Baucau during the colonial era were the same as they are now. The north edge of the municipality is to the Wetar Strait; it also borders the municipalities of Lautém to the east, Viqueque to the south, and Manatuto to the west.

Baucau also has a wide coastline with sandy beaches, ideal for swimming and other watersports.

In the administrative post of Venilale are tunnels that the Japanese built during their occupation during the Second World War. Also in this administrative post is an ongoing project to reconstruct and renovate the Escola do Reino de Venilale (School of the Kingdom of Venilale).[7]


Administrative posts

The municipality's administrative posts (formerly sub-districts) are:[8]

Demographics

Besides the national official languages of Tetum and Portuguese, most of the inhabitants speak the Papuan language Makasae. While most of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics, a few Muslims also live there.

Economy

Baucau has the most highly developed agriculture in East Timor. Besides the staples rice and corn, Baucau produces beans, peanuts, sweet potatoes, copra, candlenut and manioc. It also raises buffalo and goats. A shortage of transportation links and the unpredictability of energy availability stymie the development of emerging industries.

Infrastructure

Baucau has the country's longest airport runway, in Cakung Airport,[9] as currently, Dili's Nicolau Lobato International Airport can only serve small airliners like the Boeing 737. The airport is located six km from the city of Baucau. It served as the country's principal airport before the Indonesian invasion in 1975, when it was taken over by the Indonesian military. Bucoli, a village with symbolic role in the East Timorese resistance movement, is located in the subdistrict of Baucau.

Notable people

References

Notes
  1. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  2. James Norman (11 February 2017). "Environmental concerns for Timor-Leste cement project". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  3. "Perfil: 2. Toponímia" [Profile: 2. Toponymy]. Baucau Municipality (in Tetum). Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  4. McWilliam, A.; Palmer, L.; Shepherd, C. (2014). "Lulik encounters and cultural frictions in East Timor: Past and present". The Australian Journal of Anthropology. 25 (3): 304–320, at 315. doi:10.1111/taja.12101. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  5. "Diploma Legislativo N°85". Boletim Oficial. Govêrno Colonial. XXXVII Ano (Numero 21). 27 May 1936.
  6. Hull, Geoffrey (June 2006). "The placenames of East Timor" (PDF). Placenames Australia: Newsletter of the Australian National Placenames Survey: 6–7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  7. "Escola do Reino de Venilale". GERTiL. 2004. Archived from the original on 3 May 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  8. Gunn, Geoffrey C (2011). Historical Dictionary of East Timor. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780810867543.
  9. Joanna Podgórska (10 April 2010). "Trzy katastrofy - trzy zamachy? Nr 3: Smoleńsk Siewiernyj, 10.04.2010". na:Temat. Retrieved 22 February 2017.

Bibliography

Media related to Baucau (Municipality) at Wikimedia Commons

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