Galoli (Galolen, Glolen) is the vernacular of the Manatuto and Laleia districts of the north coast between Dili and Baucau. Because of the very arid terrain of their region, the Lo'ok or Galoli speakers have traditionally turned to the sea for their livelihood. There is an old Galoli colony o­n the south coast of nearby Wetar (speakers of the Talo dialect, still mutually intelligible with Timorese Galoli). Manatuto has for centuries been a main landing-place in East Timor, which explains the large number of foreign (Central and Southern Moluccan and Malay) loanwords in its vocabulary. Manatuto was the spearhead of new Catholic missionary endeavour in the late nineteenth century, and among the earliest specimens of East Timorese literature is a catechism in the Galoli language, a Galoli grammar and a Portuguese-Galoli dictionary.

Population : 50,000
Region : North coast between Mambae and Makasae, regions of Laklo, Manatutu,
Laleia, and We-Masin, Wetar Island
Alternate name : GALOLE
Dialects : NA NAHEK, EDI, DADUA, GALOLI, BABA, HAHAK
Classification : Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern, Central Malayo-Polynesian,
Timor, Nuclear Timor, East
Comments : Talur o­n Wetar in Maluku may be inherently intelligible

links to related information: www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Timor+Lorosae , www.christusrex.org/www3/ethno/Indn.html