Mambai people

The Mambai (Mambae, Manbae) people are the second largest ethnic group after the Tetum Dili people in East Timor. Originally, they were known as the Maubere by the Portuguese. Maubere or Mau Bere is a widespread male first name among the Mambai people.[2]

This article is about an ethnic group in Timor Leste. For other uses, see Mambai (disambiguation).

Mambai people
Mambae / Manbae / Maubere
Orchestra in front of a church in Suco Ducurai, Letefoho Subdistrict, Ermera District, Timor Leste.
Total population
195.778 (2015)[1]
Regions with significant populations
 East Timor (Dili District)
Languages
Mambai language (Timor), Portuguese language
Religion
Catholic (predominantly)
Related ethnic groups
Kemak people, Melanesians, Austronesians

Settlement area

The Mambai number about 80,000[3] from the interior of Dili District to the south coast of the territory, especially in the districts of Ainaro and Manufahi. Its principal centers are Ermera, Aileu, Remexio Administrative Post, Turiscai, Maubisse, Ainaro and Same, East Timor. Among the East Timorese exiles in Australia, the Mambai people are one of the main groups.

Percentage of people using Mambai language (Timor) as mother tongue in Sucos of East Timor (Timor-Leste), according to the census of 2010.

Culture

The Mambai language belongs to the Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages of the Timoric languages branch. It is the second most common mother tongue in East Timor with 195,778 speakers.[4]

Circular houses with conical roofs are typical dwellings,[5] and the Mambai cultivate maize, rice, and root vegetables.[3]

Notable people

Ethnically Mambai politicians include Francisco Xavier do Amaral,[6] Manuel Tilman,[7] Lúcia Lobato,[8] and Fernando de Araújo.[8]

References
  1. "4. Language". Statistic Timor-Leste: General Directorate of Statistic. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  2. Elizabeth G. Traube (2011). Andrew McWilliam & Elizabeth G. Traube (ed.). Land and Life in Timor-Leste: Ethnographic Essays. ANU E Press. p. 119. ISBN 19-218-6260-2.
  3. Clifford Sather and James J. Fox (eds), Origins, Ancestry and Alliance: Explorations in Austronesian Ethnography, ANU E Press, 2006, Chapter 7.
  4. "2015 Census Publications". Statistic Timor-Leste. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  5. Tony Wheeler, East Timor, Lonely Planet, 2004, p. 93.
  6. Asian survey, University of California Press, 2003, Volume 43, Issues 4-6, p. 754
  7. International Crisis Group, Asia Briefing N°65, 13 June 2007 Archived 14 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  8. East Timor Legal Information Site, 2007 Archived 2011-09-30 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading
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