You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (November 2010) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the German article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must follow the LLM translation guideline, revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Aileu (Gemeinde)]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Aileu (Gemeinde)}} to the talk page.
The word Aileu means "bent tree" in the local Mambai language.[3] According to legend, the root of a banyan fig tree (Ficus benghalensis) grew to maturity without a branch or leaf. The tree developed into a twisted shape that looked like a chair; its unique appearance made it famous, and eventually gave the community its name. Nowadays, the wooden chair is also the symbol of the municipality.[4]
Geography
Aileu is in the northwestern part of Timor-Leste and is one of only two landlocked municipalities, the other being Ermera. It borders Dili to the north, Manatuto to the east, Manufahi to the southeast, Ainaro to the south, Ermera to the west, and Liquiçá to the northwest. It was formerly part of what is now the municipality of Dili but was split in the final years of Portuguese administration.
Politics
As part of the Timor-Leste Government decentralization program the former District of Aileu is now organised as the Municipality of Aileu, headed by a Municipal Administrator. The four former subdistricts are now organised as Administrative Posts.
Administrative posts
The municipality's administrative posts (formerly sub-districts) are:[5]
Aileu is the focus of several development programmes from NGOs, including WaterAid,[6] World Vision[7] and Plan International.[8] In May 2000 the Hume City Council and Moreland City Council and the communities in MelbourneAustralia, established a friendship relationship with the Aileu Municipality, called "Friends of Aileu". The friendship relationship has been renewed periodically, with the signing of updated Friendship Agreements in 2005, 2010 and 2016.[9] and [10]
↑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 14 February 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
↑"Perfil: 2. Toponímia"[Profile: 2. Toponymy]. Aileu Municipality (in Tetum). Retrieved 18 July 2022.
↑Gunn, Geoffrey C (2011). Historical Dictionary of East Timor. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p.36. ISBN9780810867543.
.svg){kind=small}
