Панте-Макассар: История и современность анклава Оекусси

the city

Pante Macassar (Pante Macassar, , ) is a city in the Pante Macassar administrative post on the north coast of East Timor, to the west of Dili, the nation's capital. It has a population of 4,730 (Stand 2006). It is the capital of the Oecusse exclave (former Oecussi Ambeno).

The name literally means "beach of Makassar," alluding to the erstwhile trade with Makassar in Sulawesi (South Celebes), named by settlers who settled here seasonally in earlier centuries while waiting for the right winds to return home. Locally Pante Macassar is known also as "Oecussi," which is commonly translated as "water pot", It consists of a series of loosely connected hamlets that reach as far west as the Tono River, which spans the Noefefan Bridge.

On the coast near Pante Macassar lies Oesono, where the Kingdom of Oecussi had its seat. The kingdom was ruled by Topasses. The Topasses were descendants of Portuguese soldiers, sailors and traders who married women from Solor. They had a decisive influence on developments on Timor in the 17th and 18th centuries. 6 kilometres west of the present day town of Pante Macassar, Dominicans founded the town of Lifau in 1556 to secure the sandalwood trade. From 1702 onwards, Lifau, in the outskirts of the present city, was the place where the Portuguese first disembarked on Timor and was the first capital of Portuguese Timor. It continued as capital until 1769, when that was transferred to Dili because of constant attacks from the Topasses. In May 1912, during the great Manufahi rebellion, there was also an uprising against the colonial rulers in Oecussi. The rebellion was put down with the support of the gunboat Pátria. Twice a week, a ferry boat from Dili arrives, for a journey that takes 12 hours (which is half a day).

As is typical of the north coast of Timor, Pante Macassar has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with a wet season from December to March and a long dry season from April to November.