Lifau – Oecussi

Lifau Oecussi

In the year 1515 the Portuguese made their first landfall in an area called Lifau. It is near the racetrack where the locals race their ponies.

There are rugged hills for a backdrop behind the town of Pante Makasar in Oecussi also spelled Okusse.

The local language spoken here is Baikano.

The Portuguese arrived in the year 1515. There are some remnants of their stay and the place has a neat colonial feel to it.

Unfortunately Oecussi did not escape the destruction that went on in East Timor the last decade and most of the buildings are in ruin.

A new hospital is in the works though and the progress is steady but slow.

A local guy told me that “Oe Kusse” means something like water cistern or reservoir in the local language.

Oecussi is a dry place that gets less water than the rest of East Timor.

When it rains the dry riverbeds can become raging torrents isolating remote villages for weeks at a time.

Lifau – Oecussi