| Dili | |||||
| Settlement Type: | Municipality of East Timor | ||||
| Map Alt: | Map of East Timor highlighting the Municipality | ||||
| Image Map1: |
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| Map Alt1: | Map of the Municipality | ||||
| Coordinates: | -8.5667°N 160°W | ||||
| Subdivision Type: | Country | ||||
| Parts Style: | para | ||||
| Seat Type: | Capital | ||||
| Seat: | Dili | ||||
| Unit Pref: | Metric | ||||
| Area Rank: | 13th | ||||
| Population Rank: | 1st | ||||
| Population Density Km2: | auto | ||||
| Population Density Rank: | 1st | ||||
| Demographics1 Title2: | Rank | ||||
| Demographics1 Info2: | 1st | ||||
| Iso Code: | TL-DI | ||||
| Blank Name Sec2: | HDI (2017) | ||||
| Blank Info Sec2: | 0.733[1] · 1st | ||||
Dili Municipality 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,[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 Tetum: 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, 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 Portuguese: Dali, which, in turn, is an approximation of the Tetum expression Tetum: tali akar . According to the municipality, there were lots of hemp trees in what is now the suco of at the centre of the then Portuguese: 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 Portuguese: 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 . It also has the highest population. It lies on the north coast of the island of Timor facing Ombai Strait,[5] 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.[6] [7]
Dili is the economic and political centre of East Timor.
The municipality's administrative posts (formerly sub-districts) are:
The administrative posts are divided into 31 sucos ("villages") in total.