Manufahi 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]

Manufahi
Municipality of East Timor
Landscape between Dili and Same
Landscape between Dili and Same
Official map
Official map
Map of East Timor highlighting the Municipality
   Manufahi in     East Timor
OpenStreetMap
Coordinates: 9°00′S 125°47′E
Country East Timor
CapitalSame
Administrative posts
Area
 • Total1,332.5 km2 (514.5 sq mi)
 • Rank6th
Population
 (2015 census)
 • Total53,691
 • 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

Etymology

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 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

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

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

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

Demographics

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

References

Notes
  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. "Perfil: 2. Toponímia" [Profile: 2. Toponymy]. Manufahi Municipality (in Tetum). Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  5. 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

Media related to Manufahi at Wikimedia Commons

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