Dili Municipality

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Dili
Municipality of East Timor
Município Díli (Portuguese) Munisípiu Dili (Tetum)
Cathedral of Dili
Dili in     East Timor
OpenStreetMap
Coordinates: 8°34′S 125°35′E / 8.567°S 125.583°E / -8.567; 125.583
Country	East Timor
Capital	Dili
Administrative posts	Cristo Rei Dom Aleixo Metinaro Nain Feto Vera Cruz
Area
• Total	224.0 km2 (86.5 sq mi)
• Rank	13th
Population  (2022)
• Total	268,005
• Rank	1st
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
• Rank	1st
Households (2015 census)
• Total	42,485
• Rank	1st
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (TLT)
ISO 3166 code	TL-DI
HDI (2017)	0.733[1] high · 1st
Website	Dili Municipality

Dili Municipality (Portuguese: Município Díli, Tetum: Munisípiu Dili) is one of the 14 municipalities, formerly districts, of Timor-Leste, and includes the national capital Dili. The municipality had a population of 277,279 as of 2015^[update],^[2] most of whom live in the capital city.

Several explanations have been proffered for the origin of the municipality's name. It is often explained, including by the municipality's own website, as being derived from the Tetum word ai-dila, which means pawpaw.^[3][4] According to Australian linguist, ethnologist and historian Geoffrey Hull, however, that explanation is phonologically and historically implausible, as the language spoken in the area now known as Dili before the Portuguese established their seat of administration there in 1769 was Mambai, not Tetum. Hull describes such explanations as "folk etymology".^[3]

In Hull's view, the word Dili appears to be cognate with the Bunak word zili (transl. 'cliff'), a reference to the escarpment behind the city; he comments that a Papuan language, of which Bunak is an example, was spoken in the Dili area before the spread of the Austronesian-based Mambai and Tetum languages.^[3]

Another "folk etymology" explanation suggested by the municipality is that its name is derived from the Portuguese word Dali, which, in turn, is an approximation of the Tetum expression tali akar (transl. 'hemp rope'). According to the municipality, there were lots of hemp trees in what is now the suco of Caicoli [de] at the centre of the then Reino Motaain, which covered present day Dili. Every year, the local community held a traditional dance ceremony, and also offered sacrifices for the hemp tree. The local people believed that the Portuguese word Dali meant 'sacred eye', and so they adopted it as the area's name.^[4]

Since 1 January 2022, Dili has been the second smallest municipality in East Timor by area, at 224.0 km² (86.5 sq mi). It also has the highest population.^[5] It lies on the north coast of the island of Timor facing Ombai Strait,^{[6]: ES I-4, 2-13} and borders the municipalities of Manatuto to the east, Aileu to the south, and Liquiçá to the west.

Atauro Island, to the north of the municipality opposite the capital, was one of Dili's administrative posts until the end of 2021, when it became a separate municipality.^[7][8]

Dili is the economic and political centre of East Timor.

The municipality's administrative posts (formerly sub-districts) are:^[9]

• Cristo Rei
• Dom Aleixo
• Metinaro
• Nain Feto; and
• Vera Cruz

The administrative posts are divided into 31 sucos ("villages") in total.

• 
  Subdivisions of the municipality
• 
  Cities in the municipality of Dili

Media related to Dili (Municipality) at Wikimedia Commons

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