About Maldives – Hello Maldives Holidays

VILLA PARK, Sun Island

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An Introduction of Maldives

It’s almost impossible to speak about the islands of Maldives, without sounding pompous or been driven into a glorious description of the Maldivian exotic nature. Thus, simply Maldives which is located in the Indian Ocean, about 500 km from the southern tips of Srilanka and India, the Maldives is an exotic tropical island paradise for the sun lover, the surfer,, the diver, the honeymooners and those who desire peace in its deepest meaning.

Scatters across the equator in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the gem like islands of the Maldives depict the rare vision of a tropical paradise. Palm fringed islands with sparkling white beaches, turquoise lagoons, clear warm waters and coral reefs teeming with abundant varieties of marine flora and fauna, continue to fascinate visitors, as it has fascinated others in the past, for thousands of years. Marco Polo referred to the Maldives as the “…….flowers of the Indies”, and Ibn Batuta called her in his chronicles “One of the wonders of the world:

Truly a natural wonder, the height of the islands rarely reach above 2 meters. It is said that nobody could exactly say the number of islands in Maldives. When one counts the smaller islets and sandbanks; the commonly agreed figure is 1,190 coral islands, consisting of 26 Atoll formations which are spread over an area of 90,000 square kilometers. The Maldivian Atolls are a classic discovery in its own right: the word “Atoll” has been derived from “Dhivehi” (our own language) the word “Atholhu”.

Each of the islands itself started the life as a little sandbank on a coral reef. And by the action of wind, waves, currents, rain and tides they gradually expand and evolved into islands. At this same manner, as a result of storms, changing tides; it disappear once more beneath the sea. Together these islands which have evolved from circular coral reefs are known by the Maldivians as “Atholhu”. So, could this be the largest reef formation in the world!

Thus, a low lying island is naturally formed. Coconuts are washed ashore, palm trees and hardy bushes grow and their roots stabilizes the sand on the coral. Sea birds and hermit crabs are the first known inhabitants. These islands are surrounded by shallow crystal clear lagoons enclosed by coral reefs. Further, these islands provide visitors with one of the most breathtaking views of underwater life in the world. Formed above peaks emerging from the depths of the ocean, upon layers of both living and dead coral, and remnants of other marine life, the islands are generally covered with dense tropical vegetation. Coconut palms towering above dense shrubs and hardy plants protecting the shores from erosion are natural features in most islands. The smaller islands and sand banks under formation are also wonders in themselves. These islands together embody living entities in various stages of formation, as interdependent elements in an ecology. In a food chain where birds, fish, and other marine life co-exist, with humans at its apex as caretakers for centuries.

Two-bedroom Over Water Villa

LUXURY FAMILY VILLAS IN THE MALDIVES

With panoramic views and azure waters beneath your feet, VILLA PARK, Two-bedroom Overwater Villas are a favorite with families in the Maldives.

Located at the very end of the jetty, these water bungalows have some of the best views on the island. A private outdoor whirlpool, spacious sundeck and two bedrooms come together to create a secluded retreat that feels a whole world away.

PACKAGE STARTING FROM: $456/-

Tales of Maldives

Dangathei Fishermen Captured The Moon

This superstitious story is about a fisherman from Dhangethi who was sailing to Male’ one clear night with a full moon. On board was a large clay pot full of drinking water. When the fisherman became thirsty and bent to dip his ladle in the pot he saw the reflection of the moon in the water.

Thinking that it was the moon itself, he quickly slammed down the lid to capture it inside. When he arrived to Male’, he excitedly carried the pot of water with the moon to the palace and presented it to the Sultan. The Sultan, who was a learned man, laughed uncontrollably and dropped the pot of water, breaking it on the ground. The fisherman was horrified. “Now look what’s happened, he said, “the moon escaped.”

The Blessed Mahogony Log

One day a large mahogany log was washed onto the beach of a deserted island. The valuable log was found by fishermen who devised a plan to return at a later date and claim what was legally the sultans property. The fishermen made an oath of secrecy and agreed to divide the log equally among them. A young boy looked on but was not included in the agreement

They buried the log high on the beach and marked the place with a few stones. They left, vowing to return one day to collect the log and take it back to their island.

As the months passed, other fishermen who stopped regularly at the island, noticed the stone markings high on the beach. Thinking the stones indicated the site of a grave, they placed little flags of decorated coconut palms on the grave to protect the owner on his long passage into the next world. Over time the grave became a shrine of sticks and flowers regularly tended by the passing fishermen.

Several years passed before the fishermen finally decided to return and collect the log. The young boy had since grown, but despite his protestations for a share in the bounty, he was overlooked and told that since he was only a boy when the log was found, he was not entitled to a share. When the fishermen returned, they found the site carefully tended and covered in fresh flowers. They dug a deep hole and retrieved the log, then replaced the decorations as they were. The log was taken back to the fishermen’s island where it was distributed.

In the meantime, the boy grew resentfully and told the atoll chief of the mahogany log and, being a serious crime to cheat the sultan of his rightful possessions, the fishermen were rounded up and taken to Male’ to answer the charges.

Representatives from the justice department were sent to the gravesite which they reluctantly dug up. No body was found, only a small branch of the mahogany log that was buried there. The fishermen were found guilty of their crime and the deserted island became known as “Mahaana Elhi Huraa” – today known as “Rihiveli Tourist Resort”.

Two-bedroom Over Water Villa

LUXURY FAMILY VILLAS IN THE MALDIVES

With panoramic views and azure waters beneath your feet, VILLA PARK, Two-bedroom Overwater Villas are a favorite with families in the Maldives.

PACKAGE STARTING FROM: $456/-

Education in Maldives

Most children are still educated in privately owned schools, “Makthab“, run by an Islamic teacher. From the age of three, children can be seen in a large room or under a tree learning to write with a wooden board “Voshi Filaa“, covered in fine sand on which they trace their letters with a stick, or to recite sections from the Qur’an. They are taught to read and write Dhivehi and some Arabic, as well as to do simple arithmetic. For centuries this was the only schooling available. Fortunately, today there are new government primary schools in the outer atolls, quite a few built with the help from the Japanese. Schools so new that many of the headmasters are recent graduates. Standards are high. By the age of 7 children are expected to speak and write in three languages with three different alphabets Dhivehi, Arabic and English. At present the emphasis on Arabic and English is about equal.

The traditional system of education that has evolved for centuries composed of three types of institution: Kiyavaage, Makthab, and Madharsaa. Madharsaa usually expanded the curriculum to include more subjects such as literacy skills. This system deserves credit for the high (93% in 1986) literacy rate of The Maldives. Most of the Makthabs teach the young to read and write Dhivehi and Arabic as well as simple arithmetic. Continuous research in upgrading the curriculum goes on. A new national curriculum for primary and middle schools was designed and introduced in 1984. This curriculum incorporate environmental studies, science, Dhivehi language, mathematics, English language, fine arts, physical education and calligraphy.

Past Talks about Education of/in Maldives

The large number of widely dispersed, small, island populations greatly increase the cost of providing educational services and the necessary infrastructure. A town or city with a population of 380 thousand could be serviced by a single university, a few secondary schools and a limited number of primary school. A similar provision in the Maldives with its population scattered over 200 islands would not be practical. The inherent constraints imposed by distant and small populations adversely affect the provision of infrastructure facilities and services. The inability to achieve even minimum economies of scale makes uneconomic the operation of not only small scale economic activities but also secondary schools, post secondary institutions and institutions of higher learning. Transport within the Maldives is expensive. It is costly because of the distances involved, because of the small amounts of goods entering into trade and the small number of people wishing to travel which makes scheduled transport service uneconomic and also because coral reefs and the absence / lack of harbour facilities often make the loading and unloading of merchandise difficult. Development is seriously constrained by lack of qualified manpower. While the country has a high literacy rate and has nearly universalized primary education, there is an acute shortage of people whose educational attainment is above the basic levels of literacy and numeracy. Unless this constraint is overcome Maldives will remain dependent upon the use of expatriate labour.

The Maldives has had a long history of semi-formal religious based education for the masses and this is reflected in the continued high social demand for modern-day education. The traditional system consisted of children gathering in homes called ‘edhuruge’ to learn the Holy Quran, Dhivehi language, and the Arabic script and to learn to recite the Noble Quan. The first challenge to this traditional system occurred in 1927 with the establishment of the first government school in Male’. This school was first limited to the education of boys but later in 1944 a section was opened for girls and young women. Instruction in this school covered Dhivehi language, Islam, Arabic and Arithmetic. Under the leadership of the President of the nation’s First Republic, significant educational development took place in the 1940’s and early 1950’s. By 1945 each inhabited island had a traditional school (maktab) providing instruction at the lower primary level.

A dramatic change in the education system occurred in 1960 when the government introduced two English medium schools in Male’ as a part of a conscious effort to prepare its citizens to meet the increasing development needs of the nation. However, this resulted in two distinct forms of education systems existing side by side and as a result, the traditional system was relegated to a second-level status. But until recently government schooling has been concentrated mainly in Male’.

The most recent historic development in education in the Maldives occurred in 1978, with the decision to move to a unified national system of education and to promote a more equitable distribution of facilities and resources. The policy focus was on providing Universal Basic Education for All and thus the strategies involved the formulation of a unified curriculum for Grades 1-7, improvement of teacher training and the establishment and upgrading of new schools in the atolls. Two government schools (one Atoll Education Centre (AEC) and one Atoll School (AS) were established in each atoll and today these schools represent the availability of high quality basic education for the children in their locales.

Recent educational development of the country in characterized by rapid increase in enrollment and number of educational institutions. During this period, the provision of basic education remained the main priority of the sector for a number of years. In this respect, many schools have been newly constructed, a national curriculum has been introduced, textbooks and teacher guides have been developed for all the basic education grades (grades 1-7).

School enrolment has risen rapidly (from 15,000 in 1978 to 101,081 in 1999) and education’s share of total Government expenditure in the last 5 years has been an annual average of 11.4 per cent. Access to primary education (grades 1-5) has been universalized. Present plans for education emphasise the universalisation of 7 years of basic education, expansion of secondary education, strengthening educational management information system, increasing curricular relevance, establishing national capacity for secondary teacher education and post- secondary education and the strengthening of partnerships with parents and the community to support educational expansion and development. Adult literacy rate is over 98%. (www.unesco.org/…/maldives/rapport_1.html)

Excellent Primary Enrolment, Low Achievement: Almost all children in the Maldives receive primary education, and almost everyone is literate. But the quality of education is still quite low, and children have few opportunities to actively participate in their learning and to develop more enquiring minds. This is largely due to the fact that the national curriculum is not based on participatory learning methods. Over 30 per cent of teachers in the Maldives are untrained, with many islands having up to 100 pupils per trained primary teacher. There are many barriers to training, transport primary among them. Up to 80 per cent of staff training costs are transport-related.

Two-bedroom Over Water Villa

LUXURY FAMILY VILLAS IN THE MALDIVES

With panoramic views and azure waters beneath your feet, VILLA PARK, Two-bedroom Overwater Villas are a favorite with families in the Maldives.

PACKAGE STARTING FROM: $456/-

Male' (Capital) of Maldives

Although small, Male’, the capital of Maldives, has been the political, economic and cultural hub of this far-flung archipelago for centuries. Since the arrival of Islam in the twelfth century, it has been known as the “Island of the Sultans”. Set in the middle of the Male’ Atoll, Male’ covers just 1.8 square kilometers (more than half a square mile). Fifty years ago it was a sleepy village lost in the limbo of the Indian Ocean. Today Male’, the capital of a nation caught up in a race to join the rest of the world, contains the greatest wealth in the country and is the administrative and religious center of the islands.

Earlier this century, with its clean rectangular streets of coral sand and its one story coral buildings behind neat palisades, visitors were struck by its peace and charm. English woman, Lawson Robins visited the capital in 1920 one of the few white women to do so and noted that there was no Telegraph, no Ox Carts, no Motor Cars and no Carriages. It was “a land of quietness and peace”. Some of the best houses have walls of whitewashed coral stones; but most are in a tiny compound surrounded by a fence of cad Jan. Trees and shrubs flourish, we saw firs, oleanders, bamboos, palms and other plants. And “each street was carpeted with white coral sand soft and clean”.

When the English traveler, T. W. Hockly visited Male in 1934 he too, recorded; “The roads are all of white coral sand and I have never seen any place kept cleaner”. There were several small shops and a few houses where plantain, papaya and mango trees, and many shrubs were flourishing luxuriously.” The poorer inhabitants have their houses walled with mats or cadjans made from palm leaves, about six to seven feet in height. Every little dwelling stands in its own compound. They are roofed with cadjans or corrugated iron sheets.”

When, H.C.P. Bell stayed on Male’ in 1921, he remarked that “with its teeming population of over 5,200 souls, it is far too over crowded already”. Yet the capital now boasts 78,000 inhabitants nearly a third of the population and a floating population of several thousand people who come to sell their wares and buy goods.

A Visit To Male’ – Male’ is so small that there is no room for an Airport. Airliners land on neighboring Island called Hulhule’, which for years served as the holiday retreat for the sultans who lived in Male’. This long, thin stretch of land, providentially near the capital, “serves as a natural aircraft carrier permanently anchored in the sea”, WITH THE ONLY RUNWAY IN THE WORLD THAT BEGINS AND ENDS IN WATER.. Just as your wide body jet seems about to splash into the sea, the wheels suddenly bounce onto the asphalt. Now one form of transport is abandoned for another. Alongside the airport, dhonis and launches wait at the jetty to take passengers to the capital and surrounding resort islands.

Where To Stay – There are a few reasonably priced private and government-run guesthouses and small hotels in the capital. The most exclusive among them are the Hotel OCTAVE, Relax Inn and City Palace Hotel.

Getting Around – The best way to discover Male’ is by foot. Although it only takes about 20 minutes to walk the length of the island, many citizens ride about on bicycles. Row upon row of solid Raleigh and Dahon bicycles outside government offices show how the pace of life is quickening. There are no buses, but several taxi services. All charge a standard Mrf 20/- per trip anywhere in Male’ without luggage, with an additional charge of Mrf 5/-for luggage per piece. All operate 24 hours and can be called by telephone. Note that you should check the fare before you hire one. The most interesting and surprising thing a visitor to Male’ will notice is Maldives begin a popular holiday destination with crystal clear water and soft white sandy beaches, Male’ the capital of Maldives though surrounded with water does not have a natural beach. Though recently the government built an artificial beach for Male’ city weekened holiday-makers. Locals during their weekend Holidays visit the nearby Island Villingilli and and uninhabited Island of Kuda Bandos which is near the Bandos Island Resort for picnic and relaxing. However, seen the importance of a beach the government of the Maldives with the assistance of the Japanese Government has built an artificial beach which was opened in 1998.

Sight Seeing – The lifeblood of the nation, great liners, tankers and cargo ships which bring all the islands need for building, food and power, ride high at their moorings in the road stead as you cross the channel from the airport to Male’. This expanse of ocean between the islands of Funadhoo, Dhoonidhoo, and Vilingili is the outer harbor where dhonis buzz around the silent, brooding beasts of the high seas like insects. The cargoes are ferried by towed lighters to the wharf of the inner harbor north of the capital. Enclosed by a coral stone breakwater with narrow entrances, it was built between 1620 and 1648. Various sections of the waterfront have different functions: one for the ferryboats and dhonis to the outlying islands, another for fishing boats and local cargo. In front of the Headquarters of the Security Forces is the new wooden official jetty. Male’ is divided into four districts. Henveiru, occupies the northeast side and Maafannu, the northwest. The two smaller wards Galolhu and Machchangolhi, lie in the centre and to the south. Recently the Island of Vilingili has been added as an extension to Male’. Vilingili is been developed as an urban area since Male’ no longer can accommodate the growing population and housing.

All over Maldives houses are given names and numbers. However, numbers are used rarely all houses are referred by there given names and most of them have Dhivehi names, but some reflect the British influence often quite incongruously and sometimes poetically: Snow Down, Sky Villa, Rose Burn, Night Flower, Blue Bell, Lightning Villa, Marine Villa, Dreamy Light, Forget Me Not and Crab Tree. Green and blue are favorite colors and windows tend to be high and narrow which, according to legend, prevents evil spirits from entering.

Historic Buildings – Other buildings in Male’ speak of the tempestuous political history which threatened to split the islands as different fractions fought for the sultanate. Sultan Shamsuddin III, built the Presidential Palace, known as the Muleeaage’, for his son just before the First World War. But the sultan was deposed and his son never took office. When the country became a Republic in 1953 the colonial style building was once designated the Presidential Palace.

Shops and Markets – The main shopping area, a cluster of stores along and around the bottom end of Chandhani Magu (the main north-south street), is nicknamed the Singapore Bazaar because the majority of goods are imported from Singapore.

Apart from the tourist shops, other shops deal in spices, dried fish, rope and other essential items. There are more tourist shops along the waterfront formely (Marine Drive) now known as Boduthakurufaanu Magu. North of the town centre along the waterfront stands the markets. From mid-afternoon fishing dhoni is begin to sail into the harbor laden with the day’s catch and the crews, under the remorseless tropical sun since dawn, carry the catch mainly bonito, swordfish and tuna ashore.

The fish market, where they are laid out in the shade, is strictly men’s business. Each head of the household chooses the family fish. Only a few women on Male’ have ever witnessed this daily ritual, which takes place near sundown. Indeed, a few women are so housebound that they have never seen the whole of their island home. Men also shop in the neighboring wood market for firewood coconut and screwpine as well as dhakadhaa, uni and dhigga brought in by dhoni from the surrounding islands. The only trees left on Male’ are ornamental coconuts, although some new saplings have taken root on reclaimed land in the west.

Nearby a covered market displays the staples of Maldivian life rice, coconuts, eggs, oil, spices, sweet potatoes, onions, chilies, watermelons, mangoes, bananas, papayas, pomegranates, limes and non-alcoholic toddy made from coconut sap. Because there is so little fertile land, vegetables are rare and expensive. Back at home the food enters the inner sanctum of the women the kitchen where traditionally no man sets foot.

Entertainment – Male’ offers little in terms of organized entertainment. There are no nightclubs or bars. But an evening stroll around the center of town along Majeedhee Magu, “The Main Road” alive with shoppers, music and noise, helps to absorb Male’s unique atmosphere. And there are restaurants, both European and Maldivian, and cinemas, which screen mainly Hindi romances and adventures.

The Television Station transmits a mixture of national and foreign programs. The Radio Station “Voice of Maldives” is on air throughout the day. If the sleepy pace, beautiful faces and marvelous seascapes begin to pall, you can make an excursion to a nearby resort island or hire a Dhoani to find out how most islanders live and travel. Traditionally, Maldivians are very hospitable people at the same time very shy with strangers. With their red faces, short shorts, colorful shirts and inevitable cameras, the tourists on Male’s waterfront stand out. But Maldivians are rapidly adapting. To entice tourists, Western pop music blares out of the shops and flashy trinkets are on display.

Eating Establishments – In almost every street or alleyway you will find a tea shop offering piping hot tea and delicious snacks known as “short-eats”. Maldivian women never enter the tea shops and women visitors will find themselves objects of curiosity. A dollar or two is enough for a small feast of rice, curry and several side dishes. You take as much as you want from the dishes, which are constantly replenished, then pay at the door.

Almost any time of the day short-eats, vegetable and fish curries are available at the “Evening Glory” in Henveiru (famous for it’s fishballs) and at the “Madikilabu” near the Chandhanee Magu and Majeedhee Magu junction. Close to the harbor are the aptly named “Maarukeyt Hotel” right above the Fish market (famous as fisherman’s Hotel) and “Queen of the Night”.

Other restaurants cater for European tastes and pockets, such as “Quench”, “Symphony”. In Fareedhee Magu stands “The Sea Gull Cafe” specializes in Italian ice cream.

The only Indian restaurant, on Majeedhee Magu, is called surprise, surprise “Indian Restaurant”, although the “Park View Restaurant” on Chandhanee Magu features some Indian cuisine, along with continental and Chinese, though a bit expensive compared to the rest on its menu. Other restaurants of note include the “Thai Wok” on Bodhuthakurufaan Magu (Marine Drive), which specializes in Thai cuisine, and “Twin Peaks” on Orchid Magu specialzes in pitzzas.

VILLA PARK, Sun Island has 13 Villa types to choose from, they are:

Two-bedroom Over Water Villa

LUXURY FAMILY VILLAS IN THE MALDIVES

With panoramic views and azure waters beneath your feet, VILLA PARK, Two-bedroom Overwater Villas are a favorite with families in the Maldives.

PACKAGE STARTING FROM: $456/-

Health in Maldives

Maldivian standards of living have improved gradually in the last few decades, and life expectancy is now 64 years. In the past “Maldives fever” Malaria was notorious among travelers and seafarers. The islands were thought to have an unhealthy climate, but probably the greatest cause of illness and disease was contaminated water in village wells. Where 25 years ago no modern doctor was available for the outlying atolls, considerable progress has been made in health care. New health centers have been set up in all the atolls and health programs reach even the most remote villages. Malaria, which laid so many travelers low in the past, has been totally eradicated.

VILLA PARK, Sun Island has 13 Villa types to choose from, they are:

Two-bedroom Over Water Villa

LUXURY FAMILY VILLAS IN THE MALDIVES

With panoramic views and azure waters beneath your feet, VILLA PARK, Two-bedroom Overwater Villas are a favorite with families in the Maldives.

PACKAGE STARTING FROM: $456/-

General Facts of Maldives

The National Emblem – The National emblem of the Republic of Maldives consists of a coconut palm, crescent and star, two crisscrossed national flags and the traditional title of the state “Al-Dawlat ul-Mahaldeebiyya”. The coconut palm, which represents the livelihood of the nation, plays an essential part in the everyday life of the Maldivians. The crescent and the star, supported by two national flags, signify the Islamic faith of the state and its authority. The traditional title of the state, was first used by “Al-Sultan Al-Ghazee Muhammad Thakurufaanu Al-Azam”, the country’s most famous hero. The title “Al-Dawlat-ul-Mahaldeebiyya” means “the State of the Maldives”.

The National Flag – The National Flag of the Republic of Maldives is Green, Red and White Green symbolizing success, Red symbolizing victory, and White symbolizing blessing.

The National Flower – Pink Rose (Rosa pdyantha)

The National Tree – “Dhivehi Ruh” (Cocos nucifera)

The National Anthem

Gaw mee mi akuveri kan mathee thibegen, kuree me salaam,
Gaw mee bahun gina heyo dh’uaa kuramun kuree me salaam,
Gaw mee nishaa nah huru mathaa eku boa labaa thibegen
Fehsai, Rathai, i Hudhaa ekee fenumun kuree me salaam,

(In National Unity do we salute our Nation,
(In the National language do we offer our prayers and salute our Nation.
(We bow in respect to the emblem of our Nation,
And salute the Flag so exalted.
We salute the colors of our Flag Green, Red and White.

Two-bedroom Over Water Villa

LUXURY FAMILY VILLAS IN THE MALDIVES

With panoramic views and azure waters beneath your feet, VILLA PARK, Two-bedroom Overwater Villas are a favorite with families in the Maldives.

PACKAGE STARTING FROM: $456/-

People of Maldives

The People – The population of Maldives, which has increased rapidly in recent years, stood at about 200,000 in 1991 and is expected to reach about 300,000 by the turn of the century. It is now the 7th most densely populated country on earth. But apart from severe overcrowding in Male, there is no crisis of space. There are still nearly a thousand uninhabited islands for occupation.

The origins of the Maldivian people are shrouded in mystery. The first settlers may well have been Naga and Yakka people from Sri Lanka and Dravidians from southern India. Some say Aryans, who sailed their reed boats from Lothal in the Indus Valley about 4,000 years ago, probably followed them. Hinduism brought by Tamils and Buddhism brought by Sinhalese in turn gave way to a growing Arab influence and to Islam in the twelfth century. Located at the crossways of the Indian Ocean shipping lanes on the main seaway around the Indian subcontinent, the islands have long been a meeting point for African, Arab, Indonesian and Malay mariners. Throughout the centuries all contributed to the racial and cultural melting pot of Maldives. The faces of today’s Maldivians reflect the influence of the various regions of the Indian Ocean. Maldivians do not like been taken as a Indian or a Sri Lankan.

Maldivian Society – Maldivian society is distinguished by strong social divisions. Traditionally the upper class, with names like Don Seedi, Don Kaloa, Ibrahim Fulu, Ibrahim Maniku and Moosa Didi, were close friends and relatives of the sultan and his family. Yet even among these families there were marked differences. Well into this century Bell noted that “a Didi marrying a Maniku lady raises her to his own rank; but the children of a Maniku father and Didi mother are, strictly speaking, not entitled to the appellation Didi”. Years ago it was unacceptable to eat with a member of an inferior class, and people of a lower class mixing with a superior only sat on a low stool. Now these distinctions are breaking down. Indeed, the terms Maniku and Didi are sometimes used as nicknames.

Today advancement is based more on merit than birth, although education is now less important than wealth in commanding respect from others. The number of islands a person leases or the number of boats they own is also crucial to their social standing. The boat owner takes about half the day’s catch, while the skipper, keyolhu, earns about one fifth. The rest is divided equally among the fishermen. The men who make the boats “Maavadi meehaa” are respected craftsmen; on their skill depends the fishermen’s lives and thus the well being of the community. The medicine man “Hakeem”, stands on the same social rung. Skilled tradesmen like blacksmiths and jewelers also command a great deal of respect. At the bottom of the social heap is the toddy-tapper, “Raaveria”, who looks after the coconuts and taps sap for toddy and syrup. Although long ago Maldives was ruled by sultanas and may have had a matrilineal system of inheritance, it is very much a man’s world today.

Traditionally, men eat before the rest of the family and make all the major decisions, while the women stay at home and look after the family. The sharp division of labor not only reflects the exigencies of island life, but the injunctions of traditional Islam. Yet despite the clear divisions between rich and poor, especially in Male’, “there is no poverty”. The island community and the extended family act as a safety net for its members. Even in the capital, “no one sleeps in the streets or goes to bed hungry”. In this sense, being small has its blessings, for every one knows each other and is willing to lend a hand. Arms-giving remains one of the fundamental tenets of Islam.

Giraavaru People – In the western quarter of the capital, Male’, live the survivors of the “Giraavaru people”, who were translocated from the neighboring island of “Giraavaru” now a popular tourist resort, after severe erosion of the island. They were first moved to Hulhule’ and subsequently to Male’ when the airport was expanded. They claim they are the original inhabitants of Maldives and throughout the centuries have kept themselves apart from the rest of society. Generally they are considered descendants of Tamils from southern India, although some argue that they may share their ancestry with the aborigines of Australia.

The women tie their hair in a bun on the right side of the head, other Maldivians tie it on the left. They also decorate the top of their libaas (dress) with a special style of silver embroidery. The women are extremely modest, it is said that they rarely completely undress themselves. The Giraavaru people not only have different customs, but also speak with a different accent from the people on Male’. In someway it is closer to the dialect found on Seenu Atoll in the south. Tragically, the Giraavaru people are at the abyss of extinction, down to no more than 10. As the young marry outside their group and move into mainstream society, it is unlikely that the Giraavaru people will remain a distinct community for much longer yet another unique group unable to survive the struggle towards a modern homogenous society.

Maldivian Character – The people of Maldives have long been an enigma to visitors. Earlier accounts tended to express the prejudices of the observers rather than offer objective information, if such were possible.

The Arab traveler, Ibn Battuta found them “upright and pious, sound in belief and sincere in thought”. The French Parmentier brothers felt that they were “poor-looking creatures” although their compatriot, Francois Pyrard declared Maldivians to be “quick and apprehensive, subtle and crafty”. Not surprisingly, the Portuguese who tried to colonize the country in the sixteenth century had a low opinion of them; according to the chronicler, Duarte Barbosa, they were “dull and malicious”. While admitting they were “feeble folk”, his fellow countryman Joao De Barros added that they were “very clever; and above all they are mighty magicians”. Since they offered little defense against aggressors, the Maldivians had to rely on guile to survive. They were fortunate in fostering the belief that if they were harmed, then harm would befall the perpetrator. As Ibn Battuta put it, “their armour is prayer”.

The British, who became their protectors in the nineteenth century, were both attracted by their peacefulness and annoyed by their apathy. Captain Moresby, who undertook a maritime survey for the British Admiralty in 1834 -1836, observed that the Maldivians “always treated us with kindness and respect, yet with shyness and suspicion, supposing our motives”. His assistants, Lieutenants I. A. Young and Wilmott Christopher of the Indian Navy, who left an interesting account of their stay, also reported that the Maldivians were “a quiet, peaceable race, hospitable and kind to strangers, though suspicious and distrustful of them”. Such attitudes, of course, were a product of island life. Nearly all commentators have remarked on the Maldivians’ superstitious nature and of their fear of jinni (spirits) despite their faith in Islam.

In 1922 British civil servant and antiquarian, H.C.P. Bell wrote, “a delightful spirit of ease and contentment seems to prevail universally”, although he stressed their insularity, even in the capital. Maldives “desires nothing so greatly as to be left by the outside world as much as possible alone, to ‘lotus-eat’ and remain undisturbed in its sea-girt happy isolation”. Maldivians are totally adapted to their maritime environment. Like all seafarers, they carefully observe the patterns of nature around them and shape their lives accordingly. They take a keen interest in the weather, which determines when they go fishing, plant crops or sail over the horizon.

Their calendar, “Nakaiy”, refers to any one of the twenty-eight seasonal divisions of the year and the clusters of stars that represent them. The origins of the calendar probably lie in the Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan, the root of the word Nakaiy is the Sanskrit word nakshatra for star or heavenly body. The system not only determines the seasons for fishing and agriculture but also predicts the future through astrology. It thus offers a fascinating combination of common sense, scientific observation and downright superstition: during certain seasons, for example, it is considered auspicious to dig a well, to start wearing jewelry, or to lay the keel of a new boat.

Superstitious – Although all Maldivians are Muslims, they are also extremely superstitious, believing in mysterious supernatural beings called “Dhevi”. The origins of this belief in spirits almost certainly antedates Islam, for many of the words used to describe them are from Sanskrit and Pali.

A scholar and a historian “Hassan Ahmed Maniku” suggests that a Dhevi refers to “the idea of an invisible, but sometimes visible, being capable of moving across the high seas, land, and even through barriers. It may be helpful or harmful. It may require supplication, rebuke, or even sacrifice”. To describe the dhevi, Maldivians often use the Arabic word, Jinni which in Islam are considered a third group of created beings apart from humans and angels. They are said to be made of fire and have super human powers, although on Judgement Day they will be called to account with human beings.

Lieutenants Young and Christopher observed that “the most absurd and superstitious fancies exert a powerful and pernicious influence on the people”. Certainly they believe that spirits live all around them in nature: in the sea, in the sky, in the trees and in the rain. At night, for instance, many islanders lock their doors and windows, and keep a small kerosene lamp burning to keep out evil spirits.

Hassan Maniku goes so far as to argue that primitive Maldivian society managed to produce “a religion of its own”. While the Islamic authorities throughout the centuries have condemned many of these beliefs, they betray remarkable originality and vision and form a unique treasure trove of folklore and stories. The islanders see no clash between their belief in Islam and in Dhevi. Often they give long recitals from the Qur’an or other Arabic texts to ward off the evil eye and keep evil spirits at bay, but they do not rely completely on the power of the holy word. When extraordinary events occur, many islanders turn to the local wise man immersed in “Fanditha”, a special knowledge that is part science and part magic. If the rains fail, the fishing is poor or a woman is barren, the Fanditha is consulted. With his potions and charms he calls upon spirits to achieve his end. In an uncertain world where the unknown is feared, a belief in Fanditha gives Maldivians a sense of control over their destiny.

There are many different spirits and stories connected with the Fhevi. The most famous, about “Rannamaari”, the sea monster in the reign of Koimala who demanded the sacrifice of a virgin on Male’ Island and who was thwarted by a young Arab reading the Qur’an, was recorded by Ibn Battuta, during his stay in the fifteenth century, Francois Pyrard de Laval noted that the Maldivians believed in. “A king of the sea, to who in like sort they make prayers and ceremonies while on a voyage; or when they go fishing, they dread above all things to offend the kings of the winds and of the sea. So, too, when they are at sea, they durst not spit nor throw anything to windward for fear unless he should be offended, and with like intent they look a baft.” Many fishermen still believe in a Dhevi called “Odivaru Ressi” who lives in the sea, usually harming fishing boats, fishermen, fish bait and schools of fish, although it can also be benevolent. Sometimes it appears overhead as a long dark or red shadow, or as a sailfish, black marlin or wahoo. If it takes possession of the boat it can ruin the fishing and cause itching all over the body.

The Dhevi who is the lord of death is called “Vigani”. It inhabits the seas and may be seen on water near the horizon. Some describe Vigani as a small man or in the shape of a greyish monkey with a thick covering of hair. Sometimes it is also said to have a long, elephant like trunk which it uses to suck food from the graves of the dead. Vigani is said to be the cause of sudden death and major epidemics.

Hassan Maniku observes: “In some islands when too many people die suddenly, Fanditha men look for signs and determine the cause to be from Vigani by looking at the sunset and the crimson clouds on the west. “If a small compact cloud in the shape of a fish is seen glowing, then the cause of death is attributed to Vigani. He then performs Fanditha and tries to cut the cloud into pieces. “If he is unable to do this, it means that the entire community will be obliterated. Then the community moves to another island and settles there.” The spiritual leader of all Dhevi is “Buddevi”, who lives in jungles, on the beach, near thick undergrowth or around abandoned houses. It can even appear where the water drips from coconut leaves after a shower of rain. It may be seen as a cat or a well built man. It is said that whoever sees this malevolent Dhevi falls ill.

Traditional Medicine – Islanders still rely on traditional medicine men and women. At the crossroads of the Indian Ocean, healing secrets from Indians, Arabs, Persians, Malaysians, Sri Lankans and Chinese were acquired and synthesized, then used to develop local herbal remedies.

Legends abound about the feats of such special healers as “Buraki Ranin”, the sixteenth century queen of Sultan Muhameed, who was said to cure sword wounds overnight with her own dressings. The treatise written by Sheikh Hussain of Meedhoo in Seenu Atoll who died in 1916 forms the foundation of today’s traditional medicine. Known as hakeems, practitioners of this medicine are well respected by the village communities. A basic tenet of their philosophy is that good health is a result of a proper balance between the hot, cold and dry “humours” in the body, so “cold food” is recommended for someone with fever, and dry fish for flu. Some hakeems are schooled in “Unani” medicine, which treats the whole person, combining ancient remedies with new drugs. In recent years there has been an attempt to integrate traditional and modern medicine. Advice and training, for instance, is offered to local midwives who learned their skill from older practitioners.

Simple Life – Most Maldivians lead a simple existence in harmony with nature. One of the great attractions of Maldives is that it does offer a way of life adapted to the environment; a life style in which the people have little material desires. However, it would be wrong to conclude that Maldivians lead a life of “lotus eaters” in a lost paradise. To scratch a living the islanders spend long, hard hours fishing at sea, entirely at the mercy of the elements. Women worry about making ends meet; men worry about their catch. Most family’s experience enforced separation, with the men either working in the resorts or foreign shipping lines. There is a large element of stoic resignation in the Maldivian approach to life. Perhaps because they go away and return so often, Maldivians have no word in Dhivehi for “goodbye” or “hello”. At the same time, the burning interest in political intrigue and the volatile nature of their personal relations must surely reflect the need to express emotions that are necessarily repressed in close-knit, all embracing island communities.

Homes – The government owns all land. Villages are laid out on a rectangular plan, and each family is granted an area known as a “goathi” measuring fifteen meters (49 feet) by thirty meters (98 feet). Surrounded by small coral walls, within each goathi is a garden with several shady trees including mango, breadfruit, coconut, arecanut palm, banana and papaya. Most have several chair like hammocks on wooden frames, “Joali” fixed in the sand or hanging from a tree, and a swinging wooden bed, “Udhoali”, an ideal place to relax on a hot, sultry day. The main house in the centre of the compound, has several rooms and is used for sleeping. Food is cooked in a separate, coral shack, “Badhige” with a thatched roof and no windows, containing two or three hollows for stoves. Most families also have a deep well for water. The “bathroom” is behind an inner coral closure called a “Gifili” where a latrine is dug in the coral sand.

The rectangular houses were originally constructed from cadjan (woven palm fronds), but walls are now commonly made from coral fragments held together with lime made from burning coral slowly for a long time. Coral is mined in the adjoining reefs to a depth of a meter (three feet) or so. An even stronger “cement” can be made by mixing the lime with ash, charcoal and “syrup” made from coconut sap. Although iron is hotter, islanders prefer corrugated iron roofs to thatch because it does not have to be replaced every few years. Inside, the houses are very dark. The small windows are not placed to create a cross breeze. Flat wooden benches serve as beds at night and seats during the day, and there is invariably a swinging bed, Udhoali hanging from the rafters. Most families keep their valuables in a wooden trunk under a bed. During the day, a great deal of time is spent in the shade of the verandah or under spreading breadfruit trees. Swings and hammocks attached to wooden frames are favorite lounging spots for grandparents and children. At night the doors and windows of many houses are shut tightly to keep out any passing jinni.

Family Life – The close-knit island communities practice mutual aid to survive difficult circumstances. Extended families take care of their own members and it is usual for the mother’s family to look after the children. When they are together families say little and rarely express emotions. It is not often anyone raises their voice, even at the children. Few children speak to their remote but respected fathers. Women usually serve the family two meals of rice and fish a day, adding to their limited housekeeping budget by mat weaving or making coir. About one-third of the houses and coconut trees are owned by women, giving them a degree of economic independence. Since men usually work away from home either fishing, in the resorts or sailing with a shipping company, the women are responsible for the everyday running of the household. On some islands there are few men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five.

Women usually spend about three hours a day on household chores: cleaning the house and compound and preparing food. Their chores include tending fires made from scarce wood in the smoky kitchens, making the morning unleavened bread, roshi, and preparing rice and fish broth, garudia, for the main evening meal. Preparing the golden honey from coconuts, “Dhiyaa Hakuru”, involves several hours of stirring, as does the concentrated fish paste “Rihaukuru”, which goes with most meals. There are also coconuts to grate for curries and boil for oil, and the time consuming task of making the rock hard black fillets of tuna, “Hikimas”. The main opportunity for relaxation and gossip comes when the women sit on their verandahs or in their yards cleaning the evening’s rice spread out on a tray. Their greatest preoccupations are the education of the children, food and the daily catch. In the early history of Maldives, it was common to have a sultana as ruler, and it has been suggested that the society was once a matriarchy. Now, under the Islamic law of shari’a, men deal with religious and judicial affairs. Women cannot be judges or priests and they say their prayers in their own mosques. According to the present constitution, the president is the religious and political leader.

Traditionally, Maldivian women never wore burgah and until this century they often went topless. Now, however, an increasing number of women and young girls cover their heads, legs and arms in a tradition known locally as Burugaa. It’s usually the job of young girls to collect water from the well in a metal pot which they carry home on their heads. Their mothers walk to the local village store, Fihaara, which stocks basic items like rice, sugar and onions, as well as a few luxuries like condensed milk, sweets, oil and soap. All women, young and old, clean the compound and the road or path outside it, carefully picking up all the leaves and spreading the coral sand evenly. This is done with a hand broom, “iloshifathi” made from the thin flexible spines of coconut leaves. To earn extra money women make coir rope, a long and drawn out process. The husks of coconuts are first left to rot in swamps for three months or so, then beaten with heavy sticks to release the fibers. The fibers are then washed, dried and woven together, usually across the weaver’s thighs. When several strands are woven together they form an extremely strong and waterproof rope, capable of mooring a large dhoani to its anchor. Formerly Maldivian coir and cables were exported widely to the Far and Middle East. It was also the Maldivian practice to sew the planks of the ships together with coin A ship’s hull held together with nails is rigid and can splinter to pieces against an Indian Ocean reef. If sewn with coir, however, it maintains a certain resilience and flexibility. Women also make cadjan for screens and walls by threading dried palm leaves together with coir. They weave beautiful and intricate mats, especially in the southern atolls, showing the same skill in developing their abstract patterns as their husbands do in building their boats simply by using their imagination and trained eye.

Marriage & Divorce – Education is broadening the horizons of Maldivian women, who traditionally were expected to remain at home and look after the family. Girls usually marry very young, at about 15 or 16. The ceremony often takes place in the groom’s house or in the island office. The bride does not even attend. It’s enough for the husband-to-be, his father, her father or the uncle of the bride and two witnesses to confer with the local judge, gazi, to formalize the marriage. Under Islamic law, men are allowed up to four wives, in the past it was considered a mark of esteem and piety to have as many. But today it is becoming rare for a man to have even two. Each wife is considered equal and lives in a different house. Although some marriages are still arranged, there is an increasing desire for romantic love, partly inspired by Hindi romance films and Western literature. It’s even easier to divorce than to marry at least for men. The husband merely says “I divorce you”, thalaaq not three times as is usual in Islam, but once and then reports the fact to the gazi.

It’s more difficult for women, who must take their case to the gazi and prove cruelty, desertion or adultery. There are strong Muslim sanctions against adultery. The culprits are liable to be beaten. It therefore makes sense to form temporary liaisons within the marriage bond, even for a few months (and in some cases weeks). One well placed inhabitant of Male’ is reputed to have been married eighty-six times. Ten times wed is not uncommon, but four times is the average. Eight out of ten married people divorce at least once. Married couples are usually from the same island and endogamy is preferred. Little fuss is made over weddings. Sometimes a newly married couple arranges a small reception, “Kaiveni Sai”, with tea and snacks and perhaps some dancing with their friends. More elaborate affairs, however, are creeping in. The wedding of a daughter of a wealthy family, for instance, who marries a civil servant in Male’, can be a grand affair, with local dignitaries and up to 250 guests attending a feast. On such occasions, the trees are often decorated with tinsel and colored paper. If there is a generator on the island, the whole compound blazes with lights.

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Climate of Maldives

The Maldives usually straddles the equator and lies outside the infamous cyclone belt in the vicinity of the Bay of Bengal. One would also expect the country to suffer from scorching equatorial heat. However, this is where the sea plays its vital role as a buffer, storing and giving up heat at a much slower rate than solid ground. Indeed, this what today’s science says. At the same time, the Maldives tradition has a very unique method of measuring the weather, obviously this is a forecast by the traditional fishermen. Still today, some of the islanders do believe in this measurement of traditional weather.

Temperatures fluctuate between a minimum 23 Degree Celsius and a maximum 32 Degree Celsius with the thermometer normally hovering round the 30 Degree mark. Sea breezes take the sting from the sun except or perhaps, at mid-day when it reaches its zenith. The islands which extend latitudinal from almost 1 Degree South of the Equator to fractionally over 7 degree North, lie scattered along and on either side of the 73 Degree East longitudinal line, shows little climatic variation. Indeed, its convenient for sun-lovers/seekers, leisure-seekers and holiday-makers who are in search of an escape from the rigorous winter conditions of Europe and elsewhere, where the temperature vary little in every 24 hours, encouraging the idyllic freedom of a total outdoor life all-year-round.

The beauty of the Maldivian weather is that it is during Europe’s worst time of the year, November through to March, that the equatorial tropical climate of Maldives exerts its maximum appeal. As an added bonus, the indoor climate in the majority of the resort hotels is gently moderated by air conditioning. Those who like their lives timed by the four seasons may find the Maldivian climate extremely monotonous. The day-equals-night clock with sunny days throughout the year is seasoned only with the two-monsoons that prevail in the region. The Southwest monsoon tend to bring with it more rain, normally in June and July; while the Northwest monsoon is considered to be good fishing season. A look at the actual yearly statistics quickly shows one that it is not a good idea to upgrade this observation beyond an expectation. Rain can occur at any time and often without the slightest warning! But the rain is normally of the variety that can normally be dealt with by ducking into a shop for a quick browse, unless one happens to be on the beach when a good short freshwater soak can be a good idea.

They say! “….. there can be no paradise without rain.” The weather pattern is mainly determined by the above said two monsoon seasons, in which the winds blow from opposite directions. Heavy rain storms occur mainly between May and October. As in most parts of the world, it is impossible to make precise forecasts, but even in the rainy season the sun shines most of the time. Every day at 6 PM. the sun bids its brief farewell. Here, close to the equator the days and nights last an equal 12 hours. Although the temperature only drops by few degrees at night, it feels pleasantly cool. The relatively high humidity is made tolerable by the gentle but steady sea breeze. The average annual rainfall is 1,967 millimeters (77 inches), although it is more variable in the South. The cloud bursts are so heavy that the islands are often a wash. Even in the rainy season, however, the tropical sun bursts through and quickly dries the coconut leaves and coral sand.

We, Maldivians who live by the subtle changes in the weather, have developed our own complex calendar based on the rising and setting of individual stars matched with the sun or the moon. We have organized our lives around a calendar of Nakaiy – A series of 13 or 14 Day intervals, each with a predictable weather pattern.

Every year brings Two Monsoons, Iruvai (the north-east) and Hulhangu (the south-west) monsoon. To most visitors this simply means the Hot and Dry season. Iruvai which has 9 Nakaiy, the wind blows from the East. The Hot and Wet season Hulhangu which has 18 Nakaiy, is a season of strong winds and stormy weather.

The first Nakaiy in the Hulhangu Season, for instance, is called Assidha (from 8 April to 21 April) when the first rains fall. The following Nakaiy are good for clearing and planting. During the sixth Nakaiy, Adha (from 17 June to 30 June), seafarers steer towards the middle of storm clouds, as they tend to divide and give a clear path. And towards the end of the Hulhangu Season, fishing is generally good.

The first period of the Iruvai Season is Mula (from 10 December to 22 December), when winds blow from the north east and with sunshine. During this period, fishing is usually good on the eastern side and in the northern atolls. Nothing shows as clearly as this subtle and complex calendar of the Maldivians’ profound practical knowledge of nature and their careful adaptation to their environment.

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Geography of Maldives

As we have said in the Maldives Introduction of this website “www.hellomaldives.com”, the Maldivian archipelago is made up of about 1,190 small, tropical, palm and bush covered coral islands stretching across the Equator from 7 degree Latitude North. Together with the Lakshadweep formerly called “Laccadive Islands” to the North and the Chagos Islands to the South, forming part of a vast submarine mountain range, on the crest of which coral reefs have grown.

Measuring 820 km North to South and 120 km East to West at its greatest width, the closest neighbors are India and Sri-lanka. With a population of about 378,000 people, only about 205 islands are inhabited. And more than 100 islands are set aside exclusively for tourist resort development.

One would expect the Indian Ocean, like any of the other oceans of the world to have its share of storms, waves and other phenomena related to large bodies of water. The Indian Ocean does fulfill this expectation till one begins to approach any of the coral atolls right in the middle of it. Indeed, the islands of Maldives are low lying and small. And these islands are rarely more than 2 meters (7 feet) above the sea level. Thus extremely vulnerable to surging tides and storms. You can cross most of the islands by a 10 minute walk, only a few are longer than 2 km. And the longest is 8 km (5 miles). Though our islands are protected by coral reefs with the help of storms, winds and waves; inevitably some are washed away. Thus, in 1812 and in 1955 devastating gales destroyed many northern islands. And in 1964, an island in Alifu (Ari) Atoll, known as “Hangyaameedhoo” was inundated by high waves. Further the capital, Male’ was flooded by a severe storm in 1987.

If, as some scientists predict, the sea level continues to rise as a result of global warming, then Maldives, with its ancient and unique culture, may all be swept away within fifty years. Exactly how the atolls were formed is still unresolved. In 1842, after studying atolls in the Pacific and Atlantic, Charles Darwin suggested that they were created when volcanic land rose from the sea and a coral reef grew around its edge.

As the volcano gradually sank back into the sea it left the coral reefs encircling a shallow water-filled lagoon. Islands developed when currents and tides swept coral debris into sand bars, which eventually, were colonized by plants and trees. Although Darwin added a postscript to say that there was something special about the Maldives islands, most scientists accept his theory. More recently, however, Hans Hass has suggested that during hundreds of thousands of years a platform of coral reefs built up on the submerged mountain chain in the Indian Ocean until they burst through the surface. Porous and unstable, the coral platform sagged in the middle, leaving only a ring of the hardest and highest coral the rims of the atolls where debris and sand accumulated and vegetation took hold to form islands. These tiny specks of land separated by great stretches of water have long been a great puzzle.

Just as the early history of Maldives is shrouded in mystery, so no one knows exactly how many islands there are in the archipelago. The British Admiralty chart lists some 1,100 islands, and a recent government count found 1,196. But if sand bars and coral outcrops were included the figure would be close to 2,000. Accurate definition is further confused by the fact that islands come and go. Some combine, others split in two and occasionally islets emerge from the coral reefs. A 1955 storm created three new islands in Shaviyani Atoll, while others have slowly eroded. Around 1960, for instance, the fairly large island of Feydhoo Finolhu in Male’ Atoll vanished through a combination of natural erosion and inhabitants taking away sand. It was later rebuilt.

To compound matters, as yet there is no agreement on what exactly constitutes an island in the archipelago: what, for instance, is the status of a large sand spit? Yet all this is part of the mystique of traveling through Maldives, where you may come across an island which has no name, is not shown on any map and has no human footprint on its shores. Officially, 199 of the islands are populated. Many more show signs of past settlement, and some desert islands are used regularly by neighboring islanders for collecting firewood, coconuts and even cultivation. As a rule of thumb, when the number of males who attend the local mosque falls below forty, islanders move to a more populous island.

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Culture of Maldives

VILLA PARK, Sun Island accommodation is designed to make holidays in the Maldives magical and memorable. Choose from blissful beachfront bungalows with private pools, sunset-view villas backed by tropical jungle and overwater villas offering panoramic views of the horizon.

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Fishing in Maldives

Traditionally fishing has been the main blood-stream of the economy and the islanders’ principal source of income. Even today it still employs half the Maldivian workforce. The fishing Dhoani are privately owned and usually keep a crew of eight or so, although in the north they tend to carry more.

All Skipjack Tuna (Katsuwonus Pelamis) and Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus Albacares) are caught by artisanal fishermen, who fish daily around the vicinity of their home islands in the Maldivian archipelago consisting more than 2000 islands of which around 202 are inhabited. Furthermore there are smaller catches of Frigate Tuna (Anxis Thagard) and from smaller vessels called “Dhoani” ranging 5 – 12m LOA in size and driven by 20 – 60hp engines or sail.

The method used by Maldivian fishermen is referred to as the “Pole and Line” method. This consists of a bamboo or plastic construction pole, 10 to 15 feet in length, with a line and a feathered barbless hook attached to the smaller end of the pole capable of handling a fish weighing below 50lbs.

At the start of a fishing day the fishermen will take their Dhoani out in search of live bait such as small scads, silver side and sardine. The larger size vessels possessing the bait hold that has a fresh seawater circulating system enabling the bait to be kept alive, will obtain about 50lb of bait. Once this is completed the Dhoani will head out to the open sea in search of tuna schools. These are mostly surface schools that are either feeding or are in search of food. When these schools of tuna are sighted the Dhoani crew will begin to throwing hand full of bait either into or around the school of fish. This will bring the fish close to the Dhoani at which time the fisher crew consisting of about six at a time will place their line attached to the pole in the water. Due to the frenzied feeding state of the school they begin to bite at any small object in the water and thus get hooked and hauled onto the deck of the Dhoani, automatically unhooking itself as the hook is barbless. This process will continue untill either the school stops biting or moves to another area.

Favorable conditions prevailing, the Dhoani will be able to load up to its maximum in one stop or otherwise will continue its search for other schools of fish. The large vessels full capacity is about 4 MT, where the fish weight is about 2 – 10 kgs. The majority of the small sized yellow fin tuna run with the skipjack. The larger yellow fin weighing 10kgs and over are not caught using the pole and line method due to the incapability of handling the weight, thus are caught by the trolling method or bottom fishing method which consists of less than 10% of the total catch in the Republic of Maldives.

After a fishing Dhoani is full or they have reached the point of time that will, permit the Dhoani enough day light to deliver its catch, it will go to one of the freezer vessels or collector vessels to deliver it’s catch. These vessels are located throughout the Maldives and are entities that are owned and operated by the “Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Limited (MIFCO)”, which is a wholly government owned entity.

After a period of time the collection fleet will purchase upto over 350 MT of fish, all of which will be frozen on the freezer vessels of the collection fleet and placed in the vessels cold storage untill the fleet stores are upto an approximate maximum of 5,000 MT. Once this has been accomplished the fish is either exported as Frozen Tuna or taken to the sole Tuna processing plant at “Felivaru island”.

Although the operation in “Felivaru island” is capable of obtaining a portion of its own raw fish requirements the collection fleet will supplement approximately one third of Felivaru requirements throughout the year.

All the fish produced in the Maldives through-out the year are produced by local artisanal fishermen averaging approximately 230 days fishing an the deficit is due to local culture, repairs to Dhoani, and weather conditions.

The Maldives do NOT import any of it’s tuna requirements as these requirements are full-filled locally. This process to does NOT permit net fishing except for the purpose of obtaining live bait required by the Pole and Line fleet.

There are over 9,000 registered Dhoani in the Maldives of which only about 3,200 Dhoani are actively engaged in tuna fishing. Again the Dhoani are scattered throughout the Republic and will deliver it’s catches to MIFCO’s collection vessels in their area. MIFCO has approximately 22 areas of collection, excluding Felivaru (the tuna cannery), and on a good day 290 to 360 Dhoani will be delivering within a days time of which the total will be upto 380 MT. The total number of Dhoani is higher than the one delivering daily; and the rest of the fleet that is not delivering to MIFCO’s collection fleet will be using their catch for local consumption or for the production of locally dried, salted and/or smoked tuna.

The tuna industry in the Maldives is a day fisheries and it would not benefit to state the name of vessels as these do not normally have a name but possess only a registration number of which a record is kept by the Ministry of Fisheries. The date of the time of catch is within a 60 day period and the area would be the 22 areas in the Maldivian archipelago no more than 40 miles from a major fishing island.

Furthermore tuna schools in the Maldives are not associated in anyway with any marine mammal such as Dolphins or Whales and there has been no record ever of Dolphin mortality due to tuna fishing. The only Dolphin associated tuna catch known to us is produced in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and in most cases are yellow fin tuna in the open sea.

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Transportation in Maldives

One can find anything between a one-man canoe and a container cargo carrier in the Maldivian waters, depending on where one decides to go in the Maldives. However, when one has to make a decision as to what the star performers are and what the attention grabbers are on the seas, there are a few honorable mentions.

The star performer in Maldivian seas is easily the iniquitous Dhoani. The Dhoani is a unique craft. Each Dhoani is unique by itself in that it is normally hand-built by master craftsmen who work without blue prints and with only the general directions given by the prospective owner as to the dimensions of the vessel. Built of strong wooden planks, which are shaped and pegged to each other round a strong wooden frame, the Dhoani is built to sail in almost all weather conditions. Dhoani are used as fishing vessels and as inter-island ferries throughout the Maldives. It is a well known fact that most sea-wise persons choose a Dhoani over any other type of vessel when the sea gets rough. Traditionally sporting a lateen sail that is extremely versatile, the Dhoani has also recently married well with the marine diesel engine and has become the work house of the sea in the Maldives. Custom-adapted Dhoani serve the tourism industry well as diving boats, excursions craft and supply tenders.

Powerboats of varying designs and sizes have become almost a new culture in the Maldives, especially with the advent of a serious tourism industry in the country. In a country where the International Airport is on an island all by itself, and where all the tourist resorts are on separate islands, the Speed Boat have come into its own in a manner that is purely Maldivian. In addition, the Speed Boat performs well in its more conventional roles in recreational activities like pleasure cruising and water skiing.

When the windsurfer first arrived in the Maldives, some daring young persons began using it as a means of getting around. After a few hair-raising incidents, this highly unconventional practice was banned – a fact that the new visitor must remember, for the temptation is ever so strong. Though now restricted to tamer seas within the house reefs of individual islands, the windsurfer was made famous throughout the country because of this.

Getting around in the Maldives is not restricted to a boat either. Very competent parties operate seaplanes and helicopters that make island hopping easier and faster than ever before, not mention the additional bonus of the breathtaking view of these magnificent islands from the air.

Though bound to the sea by nature, the Maldivian is certainly not immune to the wheel-mounted internal combustion engine. It is quiet normal to have the latest sports car whiz past one on the roads of some of the bigger islands, especially on the capital island of Male’. Motorcycles and scooters of all imaginable forms and bicycles are very common.

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History of Maldives

The Legend & The Mystery

Our islands (the islands of Maldives) were born in the tumult of great geological change. Millions of years ago a great range of volcanoes rose from the floor of the Indian Ocean and burst through its surface. Gradually, when the years pass-by, the tumult lessened and the volcanoes sank back into the depths leaving only small coral reefs in the vast expanse of sea. Thus, forming a glittering necklace of gems stretching across the equator, covering the coral reefs with whitish sand and lush green of coconut palms and hardy shrubs, which were completely deserted. Yet as sailors, ever adventurous, sailed further and further in search of conquest and wealth, they drifted upon them. In some far-off times now remembered only in distant folklore, a strange race of seagoing giants were among the first people to make their homes on these remote and distant islands.

after sometime, still thousands of years ago, the “Phoenicians” sailed through the islands and in the centuries that followed came Egyptian, Chinese, Greek, Roman and Sri Lankan manners. One legend from those misty, long-ago times before the arrival of Islam was that a single dynasty ruled this nation of scattered islands. The story goes:

“Once upon a time, a Prince of Royal birth named Koimala Kaloa, who had married the Ceylon King’s daughter, made a voyage with her in two vessels from Serendib Island. As soon as they reach Maldives they rested a while at “Rasgetheemu Island” in North Maalosmadulu Atoll. “The Maldives Islanders learning that the two chief visitors were of Ceylon Royal descent, invited them to remain; and ultimately proclaimed Koimala their King at Rasgetheemu, the original “King’s Island”. Subsequently Koimala and his spouse migrated to Male’ and settled there with the consent of the aborigines of Giraavaru Island, then the most important community of Male Atoll”.

A mixture of fact and fable, such tales as these lend to the mystery of Maldives before the arrival of Islam in the twelfth century. “The story continues with the king’s order for two of his ships to return home and bring back other people of the “Lion Race”, where upon his son reigned as a Buddhist for twelve years, and was then converted to Islam, ruling for thirteen years more before he finally departed for Mecca. As the legend goes, the king was succeeded by his daughter, who reigned as nominal sultana until her son married a lady of the country. From then the subsequent Rulers of the Maldives were descended”.

Although official Maldivian history only begins in the twelfth century, literary it works and archaeological remains provide clues to earlier pre-Islamic eras. Maldives was a stopping-off point for many great seafaring civilizations which roamed the high seas long before European maritime history began . Since it was the Egyptians who taught the Romans how to cross the Indian Ocean, it may not be too fanciful to imagine the proud Egyptian papyrus ships with their colorful square sails navigating through the Equatorial Channel along the highway of the sun. Perhaps the Maldivian men modeled the elegant curved bows of their boats from the Egyptians, and the women the beautifully embroidered collar pieces of their dresses.

Early Travelers

These ancient seafarers made fairly accurate, estimates of the number of islands in the archipelago. The first reference to Maldives is in the second-century writings of the Greek astronomer, mathematician and geographer, “Ptolemy”. He refers to it as “1,378 little islands” west of Taprobane (Sri Lanka). Pappus of Alexandria, who lived at the end of the 4th century, follows Ptolemy with a mention of Taprobane and “1,370 adjacent islands”. Scholasticus, the Theban who lived about the same time and visited the Malabar Coast, mentions “A Thousand Islands” and their treacherous nature since they had “loadstone rocks which attract iron-bound vessels to their destruction”.

The great Arab travelers who crossed the Indian Ocean was the Persian merchant Sulaiman, who lived in the 9th Century. “In the sea known as “Sea of Herkend”. He wrote; “there are nearly 1,900 islands, adding that the ruler of these islands is a woman and that their wealth consisted of cowries”. Al Mas’udi, the Arab traveler who visited Sri Lanka at the beginning of the twelfth century, claimed that between the “Sea of Herkend” and the “Sea of Lar” there were many separate islands: “There are 2,000 counted islands here. To be more accurate there are 1,900 islands here.”

The Chinese were also among the early great navigators. Dating perhaps from the fifth century BC, the Shu-Ching or Classic History records “Weak Waters” in the area. Fah-Hian, who visited Sri Lanka about the year AD 412, mentions the small islands of Maldives. Ma Huan, who traveled with Cheng Ho’s great expedition to East Africa in 1433, states in The Overall Survey of the Ocean’s shores that Maldives is the “Three Thousand Weak Waters” referred to by tradition. He also identifies some of the islands and tells how foreign ships travel from far to purchase ropes. At the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Chinese were certainly familiar with the archipelago. They called the sub-merged mountain chain Liu-Shan (Liu-Mountains) and wrote about its geographical position, climate, products and customs .

One of the copper plate books called “Laomaafaanu” Records the early Islamic Dynasties.In comparison with Eastern civilizations Europeans were latecomers to the Indian Ocean. “Vasco da Gama” was the first to reach the eastern waters in 1498. Nine years later “Dom Lourenco de Almeida” discovered Maldives for Portugal. When the French brothers, Jean and Raoul l’armentier, aboard the Pensee and Sacre’, landed on the southern island of Fuah Mulaku in the equatorial Channel, they were warmly welcomed. In particular the headman impressed them with his geography: “The chief Priest, who was a man of much discretion and knowledge showed the Captain in what quarters lay the countries of Adam [Mesopotamia], where Christians placed the Garden of [Eden], Persia, Ormus, Calicut, Muluque, and Sumatra; and proved himself to be both learned and well-traveled.” Such knowledge clearly reflects the extent of Maldives’ trading connections at the time. These early literary references present a tantalizing glimpse into Maldives’ ancient past, but only recently has a more substantial picture begun to emerge.

Recorded Maldivian history begins about the time of the islands’ conversion to Islam in the year 583 of the Holy Prophet (AD 1153). History before this date was long suppressed and most pre-Muslim artifacts destroyed. In such a conservative Islamic society, the general feeling was that it was better not to unearth what was buried. Now a new generation of Maldivian historians, encouraged by politicians and religious leaders, has begun to explore Maldives’ pre-Islamic past in search of a greater understanding of their country. While its recorded history is short, Maldives takes pride in the fact that its actual history is as old as that of its neighbors on the Indian subcontinent.

Archaeology

The first person to study pre-Islamic history in Maldives was the British civil servant “H.C.P. Bell”, who arrived on the wreckage of his ship in 1879. He returned twice to investigate “the pre-existence of Buddhism in the Group”. The monographs of this commissioner of the Ceylon Civil Service show a great love of his subject; “Ancient Ceremonial bath with closely fitting stones dressed in a manner known to a few pre-European civilization”. During the early 1920s, Bell recorded many archaeological sites in the outlying atolls. In particular, he came across many large rounded mounds of coral stone and rubble, known locally as “hawittas”, which he thought were the remains of ancient stupas similar to the Buddhist Dagoba temples in Sri Lanka. With local help, he excavated some of the hawittas and found many Buddhist statues, which confirmed his view that Maldives must have been Buddhist before its conversion to Islam. He also came across Hindu statues of Shiva and other artifacts in the southern islands, which suggest that Hinduism from south India was influential there. Although Bell was little more than an amateur, he left a unique record containing much curious archaeological, historical and cultural data. Most of the hawittas that Bell recorded still stand, but as local villagers use the stone for building, many are now half their size. On some islands the mounds are also called “hatteli”, meaning “Seven Pots”, which probably refers to the spires that resemble seven superimposed kettles also found on Buddhist dagobas in Sri Lanka. When asked who they think built the hawittas, the islanders inevitably reply “the Redin”. Although no one seems to know exactly who the Redin were, some suggest that they were large people with light skin, brown hair and hooked noses. They may well have mixed with visiting sailors during the centuries. Whoever they were, they put an enormous amount of effort skill and wealth into the temples that they built throughout these remote islands. According to legend, they were also phenomenal sailors. One story tells how the mythical Redin would cook their food on an island in the north only to travel to another island in the south to eat it.

More light was cast on the enigma of Maldivian history in the early 1980s when President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom invited the explorer and author “Thor Heyerdahl”, of Kon Tiki fame, to investigate some archaeological sites. Heyerdahl, who visited many of the areas recorded by Bell. He discovered some new sites by following local advice. Heyerdahl found some superb craftsmanship. On the island of Fua Mulaku, near the equator, walls made from carefully cut and fitted stones reflect techniques known only to a few pre-European civilizations. The dressed stones in one sunken ceremonial bath fitted so closely that a knife blade could not slide between them.

Early Settlers

Historians have argued that Maldivians are a mixture of Dravidians from south India and Sinhalese from Sri Lanka. But recent evidence suggests a more complex picture. There may be links with the Naga and Yakka people who developed the pre-buddhist civilization in Sri Lanka, as well as Dravidians from south India. It is also thought that Aryans from North West India settled in Maldives two and half millennia ago, colonizing Sri Lanka at the same time. Sinhalese Buddhists undoubtedly came from Sri Lanka at a later date . Although the principal cultural affinities of Maldivians are Sinhalese, there is a Tamil substratum. A man-beast myth in Maldives that explains the origin of the people is similar to the Sinhalese myth of the “Lion People”.

At the same time the “Giraavaru” people, who believe themselves to be the aborigines of the islands, claim descent from the Tamils. While the Dhivehi language resembles early Sinhala, most words relating to the sea and the family have a Tamil root. Whatever the exact pattern of settlement – and historians may never know – the great variety of physical types in Maldives suggests that different groups reached these remote islands independently in prehistoric times. Later, Indonesians, Malays, Arabs and Africans all added to the racial and cultural melting pot.

The history of Maldives after the arrival of Islam in the twelth century is clearer but there are few records. The Koimala legend of the founding of the royal dynasty in Maldives, foreshortened by many centuries, underlies the close link with Sri Lanka and recognizes the existence of Buddhism in the archipelago before the arrival of Islam. The official story is taken up in the Tarikh, a history of Maldivian sultans from AD 1153 (the date of the Islamic conversion) to 1821. There exists, however, a copperplate book, the “Isdhoo Loamaafaanu”, which begins in the year AD 1105, when “the great King, Sri Maanaabarana of the house of Theemu, the Lord of the Lunar Dynasty became the King of this country”. It lists the names of the four Buddhist kings before Islam and the length of each ruler’s reign.

The Arabs

At this time the Arabs, who plied the Indian Ocean centuries before Vasco da Gama first rounded the tip of Africa, most Maldivian cowries have been found as far north as the Arctic Circle in Norway and as far west as Mali, influenced Maldivian history. Maldives, or Dibajat as they called it, was a strategic center pot on the sea routes to Malacca and China. The Arab seafarers, who landed for water, dried fish and coconuts, often stayed for long periods of time. The Arabs also collected sacks of cowrie shells, which could be found in abundance on the shores of the islands, as ballast. In medieval times cowries were used throughout the Indian Ocean as small change.

According to legend, an Arab converted the Buddhist king, Theemugey Maha Kaliminja to Islam. The story goes that when Abu al-Barakat arrived in AD 1153 he found a “colony of ignorant idolaters”. By exorcizing the demon god “Rannamaari”, who came from the sea on Male’ Island every full moon to rape and kill a local virgin offered as a sacrifice, he won the gratitude and admiration of all. He did this by dressing as a girl and spending all night reading aloud the Qur’an. It was all too much for the sea monster, who departed forever.

The Maldivian ruler was so impressed that he converted to Islam and persuaded his subjects to do the same. The old idols were broken and the temples razed. The famous Arab traveler Ibn Battuta, who relates the story, read the hero’s name from the carved inscription in the Friday Mosque in Male’ as “Abu-al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari” from Berber land in North Africa thereby identifying him as one of his compatriots. Modern scholars, however, argue that it reads “Al Tabreezi” from Tabriz in the Persian Gulf. It has also been suggested that it could refer to Beruwela in Sri Lanka. Such esoteric debate in no way diminishes the veneration accorded to the bringer of Islam, whose grave on Male is a holy shrine. A political interpretation suggests that Maldives adopted Islam because the ruling elite were unable to hold Buddhist Sri Lanka at arm’s length without the support of their powerful Islamic neighbors in the Indian Ocean.

Certainly twelfth-century Arabs were received with great hospitality and some were appointed gazis (chief judges of the Islamic law) as well as sultans. King Kaliminja became Sultan Dharmas Mohamed Ibn Abdulla. During the next thirteen years of his reign he set about introducing Islamic law throughout the islands before sailing away on a pilgrimage to Mecca, never to be heard of again. Almost sixty years elapsed before the conversion to Islam was complete. Indeed, according to the Isdhoo loamaafaana, the next King, who came to power in AD 1179, sent an expedition to the southern island of Dhabidhoo in Laamu Atoll to bring the Buddhists to heel. “The Great King, Srimat Gadanaditya, an ornament to the Lunar Dynasty, resplendent as gold, firm as an Asala [stone pillar], defender of the entire hundred thousand of islands, brilliant as the sun, moon and stars, virtuous in every manner, lord of love, mine of jewels, adorned with a crown set with gems, – On the fourth year of his becoming the sole monarch he, having destroyed the shrine erected previously by the infidel Kings of Dhanbidu, uprooted the Buddha images, and caused the infidel Kings to read the Shahadat [a Muslim creed].”

Maldivian Queens

Women have always played a significant part in Maldivian society and matrilineal inheritance was well-established in early times. The country may also have been ruled by matriarchy. At the turn of the 10th century both Sulaiman the Merchant and Al-Mas’udi record the fact that the Maldive islands were ruled by a queen. And at the beginning of the twelfth century Al-Adrisi wrote:-

“It has always been a custom with them that a woman arbitrate, a custom from which they do not depart. This queen was called, Dmhra. She wears garments of woven gold, and her headwear is a crown of gold studded with various kinds of rubies and precious stones. She wears gold sandals. In these islands nobody wears sandals, except this queen alone, and if anyone is found wearing sandals, his feet are amputated. On ceremonial occasions, and the feast days of her sect, this queen rides with her slave-girls behind her, in full procession of elephants, banners and trumpets, while the king and all other ministers follow her at a distance”.

In Islamic convention no woman can be a religious leader. Nevertheless, unlike other Muslim states, Maldives continued to be ruled by a succession of sultanas. Sultana Khadeeja Rehendhi Kabaidhi Kilege, who ruled on three separate occasions between 1342 and 1380, was one of the most memorable. Many people believe she came to power after murdering her young brother, and when she was overthrown by her husband in 1363 she killed him as well. In 1373, her position was usurped by her second husband. He suffered the same supposed fate as his predecessor. Triumphant over the dead bodies of her treacherous husbands, she ruled alone until she died in 1380.

Ibn Battuta

It was during the reign of “Khadeeja Rehendhi” that “Ibn Battuta” came to the islands, one of many Arab traders landing in 1344 for provisions and the cowrie shells that served as currency throughout south India and Africa. His writings give the earliest descriptive account of Maldives and its inhabitants. Ibn Battuta declared that the islands were the most agreeable he had ever seen and “One of the wonders of the world” – quite a statement from a man who had visited 92 countries.

Ibn Battuta remained in Male’ for about ten months and left a detailed record about the country, its form of government, customs and religion, painting a favorable picture. “The people of Maldives are upright and pious, sound in belief and sincere in thought; their bodies are weak, they are unused to fighting, and their armor is prayer”. “Once when I ordered a thief’s hand to be cut off, a number of those in the room fainted”. The Indian pirates do not raid or molest them, as they have learned from experience that anyone who seizes anything from them speedily meets misfortune.

Since they were such bad soldiers, the sultana’s army of about 1,000 men were mainly mercenaries from neighboring islands paid in rice each month. Ibn Battuta found the women particularly attractive and made full use of the custom that “any newcomer could marry if he so desired, then on leaving he simply repudiated his wife”. It was easy to get married in these islands, he noted, “on account of the smallness of the dowries and the pleasure of their women’s society. When ships arrive, the crew take the women as wives, and when they are about to set sail they divorce them. It is really a sort of temporary marriage. The women never leave the country.” It was common for young girls to hire themselves out as servants to the wealthier families. There were also slave-concubines, Battuta was given two. Although well-received at first, eventually Battuta fell out with the sultana’s husband who, as the wazir (prime minister), feared Battuta’s growing influence and resented his haughty independence.

After marrying the sultana’s mother-in-law – “one of the best of women” Battuta became gazi and enforced a strict inter-pretation of Islamic Law. He changed the practice of divorced wives remaining in the homes of their former husbands; enforced (on pain of public beating) the observance of Friday prayers; and tried, unsuccessfully, to make women cover the top of their body. As a gazi he received the entire income of three islands. His marriage to three other well-connected wives soon raised the wazir’s fears that he was becoming too powerful. These were unfounded, however, for after about ten months Ibn Battuta decided he had had enough and sailed for Malabar. On his way he stopped at Mulaku in Meemu Atoll, and although he was there for only 70 days he found time to marry two wives. Eventually, on 22 August 1344, Battuta left but not without a final sense of regret. Like so many travelers since, he came across a tiny island where a weaver and his family lived alone. “And I swear I envied that man, and wished that the island had been mine, that I might have made it my retreat until the inevitable hour should befall me”. Battuta returned only once to Maldives, to see his son, but decided it was best to leave him with his mother.

The Ali Rajjas

By now trade with the Indian subcontinent was largely in the hands of the Muslim merchants along the south-west coast of India, who were called the “Sea Kings”, or the Ali Rajas of Cannanore.

They maintained such a stranglehold over trade that they were also known as the “Lords of the Maldive Islands”. After Sultan Kalhu Muhammad was deposed for a second time early in the sixteenth century, he appealed to the “Sea Kings” to reinstate him – which they did in return for a regular tribute. Their monopoly, however, was soon threatened.

The next sultan, Hassan IX, impressed by the Portuguese, traveled to Cochin, India, in 1551 to learn more about Christianity. On New Year’s Day, 1552, he was baptized a Christian. Two years later he married a Christian woman from Goa. Keen to convert his ministers and chiefs to Christianity, he invited them to Cochin, but others rebelled and seized two expeditions of loyal subjects which tried to reach him. It was not until 1558 that a third expedition reached Cochin.

The Portuguese

The Portuguese mariners and traders who followed Vasco-da-Gama into the Indian Ocean demanded a share of the profitable Indian Ocean trade routes. In particular, they were impressed by the Maldivian trade. After, Vincent Sodre, Vasco da Gama’s commander, came across some Maldivian ships in 1503, a chronicler related. “When he was off Calicut, he sighted four sails, which he overhauled and took.

They proved to be gundras, barques of the Maldives islands. Gundras are built of palm timber, joined and fastened with pegs of wood without any bolts. The sails are made of mats of the dry leaves of the palm. These vessels were laden with Cairo and carry good stores of silks, both colored and white, of diverse fabrics and qualities, and many brilliant tissues of gold, made by the islanders themselves, who get the silk gold, and cotton-thread from the numerous ships that pass among the islands on their way from the coast of Bengal to the Straits of Mecca. “Their ships buy these stuffs from the islanders, supplying them in exchange with the materials whereof they are made. Thus are these islands a great emporium for all parts”.

In 1517 Sultan Kalhu Muhammad signed a treaty which allowed the Portuguese to establish a trading post in Male’. When it was burnt down the following year (with the help of corsairs from Malabar), a Portuguese armada under Joao Gomes Cheiradinheiro landed 120 men in Male’ to establish a fort.

War of Independence

The Portuguese returned to take over Maldives from Sultan Ali VI, who had been in power for only two and a half months. His death during the struggle is now a national anniversary celebrated as “Martyr’s Day”. The Islands came under the rule of the leader of the Portuguese expedition, Captain Andreas Andre, known locally as “Andiri Andiri”.

The Tarikh relates: “The Maldivians then submitted to Andiri Andiri, who proclaimed himself Sultan”. He sent Christians to take charge in all parts of the Maldives, and enforced submission. The Portuguese ruled most cruelly for 15 years, committing intolerable enormities. “The sea grew red with Muslim blood, the people were sunk in despair”. At this juncture God Almighty moved the heart of Khatib Muhammad, son of Khatib Hussain of Utheemu to fight with the infidels and to end the crying wrongs.

Praying to God for wisdom to conquer, he took council with his younger two brothers. The 3 of them (Ali Thakurufaanu, Mohammed Thakurufaanu and Hassan Thakurufaanu) started a guerilla war. Eventually, after 8 years of guerilla war, the three sons of the island chief of Utheemu led a successful rebellion, with the help of the Ali Rajas of Cannanore, Although the eldest of them Ali Thakurufaanu was captured and beheaded. On the eve of the Portuguese deadline for all inhabitants to become Christians or face death penalty the rebels landed on Male’, massacring more than 300 Portuguese.

Utheemu Dynasty

Muhammad Thakurufaanu, the second son of the chief of Utheemu, was declared sultan in 1573, founding the Utheemu dynasty, which reigned for 127 years through 7 sultans. Never again was Maldives ruled by a foreign power. Thakurufaanu is now remembered as a national hero for his role in regaining the country’s independence. Not all subsequent rulers, however, were benevolent.

The Frenchman, Francois Pyrard de Laval, a purser shipwrecked for five years when the Corbin ran onto a reef in 1602, left a fascinating and detailed account of the sometimes cruel Maldivian ruler of the time. During his captivity he learned Dhivehi, and his three volume work published in 1619 remains a mine of curious information about Maldives and a valuable historic archive. Pyrard finally escaped when a ship from Chittagong in Bengal, intent on salvaging the cannon on board the Corbin, arrived. Armaments at this time were more important than men.

One of the last of the Utheemu dynasty was Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I, who ruled from 1648 to 1687 and repelled several pirate expeditions from south India, raised many fine buildings, and introduced new customs. He came to a sticky end after falling for a beautiful slave girl, Mariam Kabaafaanu. As his concubine she bore him a son. When he was chosen as the sultan’s successor, some people believe she poisoned her lover to allow her 6 year-old prince to become sultan. She later seized power for herself and appointed her brother as wazir. She took many lovers, encouraging the women of her court to do the same. Her death was as dramatic as her rise to power: sailing to meet the fleet which had defeated a pirate expedition from Malabar, a spark from the victory salute blew up a powder magazine, destroying the royal vessel. The sultana’s body was never recovered and her son died soon after.

The Dutch & The British

During the 17th Century the Dutch ousted the Portuguese as a principal force in the Indian Ocean. Anxious to befriend the new superpower, in 1645 Maldives established diplomatic ties with the Dutch Governor of Sri Lanka and exchanged tribute a practice which continued for two centuries. In return for cowrie shells the Dutch promised an annual supply of spices, areca nut and ammunition

In 1796 the British took over from the Dutch in Sri Lanka, and trade between Male’ and Colombo increased. At that time the sultan of Maldives took himself very seriously. A letter to the governor of Sri Lanka, asking him not to welcome any enemy but to take care of any shipwreck from Maldives, opens with the words: “Hail! The glorious, renowned, most wise, nobly-born ruler, comparable to the moon and the sun, the heroic warrior Sultan Hasan Nur-ud-din Iskandar, the warrior, the great King of the earth, to the King styled the Governor in Colombo, many thousand greetings from here”.

Sri Lanka became the main buyer of Maldives major export dried tuna fish but by the middle of the nineteenth century the archipelago was nearly bankrupt. Bohora merchants, who were invited from India, rapidly dominated the economy. They monopolized the import and export trade, which consisted of rice, sugar, cotton, dried fish, coconuts and tortoise-shell. Eventually one firm “Carimjee Jafferjee and Company” gained complete financial control, creating so much resentment that in 1887 local businessmen set fire to the company’s stores and god-owns in Male’. To end the troubles the young Sultan Muhammad Muinuddin II signed a treaty with the British governor of Sri Lanka on 16th December 1887. Maldives became a British Protectorate, but the British promised to refrain from interfering in local affairs and administration.

Modern History

The turbulent political history of Maldives continued into the 20th Century when plot and counterplot prevailed. In 1932 Muhammad Shamsuddin III, who had been recognized by the British over his rival, was persuaded to accept the first written constitution in Maldivian history. It not only limited his powers but also introduced the principle of elections. When he tried to repudiate it he was replaced by Sultan Hassan Nuruddin II.

At the outbreak of the Second World War the British established two airstrips, one at Gan in the south and the other at Kelaa in the north. In 1942, the Maldivian constitution was again rewritten, but the Sultan was forced to abdicate the following year. Sultan Abdul Majeed Didi took his place, but he was old and soon retired to Colombo. Prime Minister Muhammad Amin Didi assumed almost complete control of the government, introducing a modernization programmed that included a National Security Service and a government monopoly over the export of fish.

The sultanate was abolished in 1953 when “Amin Didi” was elected as the 1st President of the new Republic. Food shortages and his controversial ban on “Smoking and Importing of Tobacco” led to riots and he died on (Vihamanaafushi) Island now “Kurumba Village Island Resort” soon after his arrest. The instability continued with the abolition of the republican constitution when Muhammad Farid Didi, son of the former Sultan, came to power in 1954 as the country’s 94th and the last Sultan.

Two years later the British were given a 100 year lease of Gan air base, but it was revoked in 1957 by the new prime minister, Ibrahim Nasir. This angered the inhabitants of the three southernmost atolls who had benefited from the base. In 1959, claiming the government in Male’ treated them like serfs, they formed the secessionist state of the “United Suvadive Islands”. Abdullaa Afif Didi was elected president, a people’s Council was formed and a trading corporation and a bank established. Initially Nasir agreed to a better deal with the British, but in 1962 he sent gunboats to the southern atolls, forcing Abdulla Afif Didi to flew to Seychelles. Other leaders were exiled on outlying islands. Eight years later Ibrahim Nasir was elected President of the second Republic.

Maldives became fully Independent on 26 July 1965, Later the same year on September 21st Maldives became the 117th member state to the United Nations. Following a referendum in 1968 the country adopted another Republican constitution, but a 1972 amendment gave the president far greater powers in an Islamic State. Its English name was changed from “Maldive Islands” to the “Republic of Maldives”. The legal code remained based on the Islamic code of Shrari’a. Under the new constitution, Nasir governed with an iron hand.

The main market for Maldives’ biggest export dried tuna fish collapsed in 1972 after Sri Lanka imposed foreign currency controls. When the tourist industry was launched in the same year, Nasir was accused of using government cash to set up his own hotel and travel agency. The benefits from the new industry reached few people. After a large crowd gathered to protest against rising prices in 1974, Nasir ordered the police to open fire to disperse the crowd, though no one was killed.

When Ahmed Zaki was elected Prime Minister for a second term, he was banished with other government officials in the hope of forestalling any attempt to remove the president. Nasir declined his nomination for a third term in office, and departed to Singapore with a great deal of the national exchequer in 1978, after Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the first Maldivian ambassador to the United Nations, was elected the new president. Nasir, accused of corruption and theft, was condemned in absentia to twenty-five years banishment.

Modern Society

Change is most profound in the capital and nearby islands, where the influence of the outside world is felt strongly. The days when Maldivians relied on the wily merchants of southern India or Sri Lanka to manage their economy have long gone. They now run their own businesses and there are a growing number of wealthy entrepreneurs on Male. Government officials work in the morning, but do other jobs in the afternoon. As they become more dynamic, they also learn what it is to work under pressure.

In the 1980s the economy grew rapidly. Fishing is still the backbone of the country, employing about 40% of the workforce. Maldives National Ship Management limited handles 60% of the imports and operates 10 cargo and container vessels. The tourism industry has expanded and is now the major foreign exchange earner.

Although there are new schools and health clinics in the outer atolls, Male’ remains the hub of the scattered archipelago, and while no one goes without food or shelter, Maldives is one of the poorest countries in the world. Still predominantly an Islamic seafaring nation, Maldives is rapidly entering the modern world. In the 1970s the country’s ornate doors began to creak open. As tourists continue to discover this “lost Paradise” in the midst of the Indian Ocean the ancient ways and rhythms of these unique islands are slowly being disrupted. With the dawn of the century it is difficult to say what the long term effects will be. What is certain is that the enigma that is Maldives will remain for a long time to come

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Seas of Maldives

Corals and Reefs of Maldives – Tropical warm seas contain the great reefs of coral growing in shallow water. The so-called coral islands found in the south seas, of which the Maldives is a prime example, are made from the limestone skeletons of millions of these invertebrate marine organisms which belong to the class “Anthozoa” (anthos flower, zoion animal) and which live in colonies, sharing the work of feeding, cleaning, and defense.

Each unit of the coral is known as a “polyp” which secretes the stony skeleton which is almost pure “Calcium Carbonate”. Corals along with sea anemones and jellyfish are collectively called coelenterates, Greek for cavity, which aptly describes their basic body structure. All concentrates are simply a hollow sac with a mouth at one end surrounded by tentacles. These tentacles armed with stinging cells help them to paralyze small swimming animals which are then pushed into its mouth. The polyps of some of the corals do not have long tentacles, thereby passing the food to its mouth by the cilia coating the tentacles. Corals feed by photosynthesis of marine algae living on coral tissue. They also follow a carnivorous diet, plankton being the favorite.

There are several kinds of corals of which the stony coral (Order Madreporaria or Scleractinia), numbering around a thousand species, is the most widely distributed. Living either solitarily or in colonies, stony corals occur in all tropical oceans, growing best upto 30 meters. These corals are also sometimes seen at an incredible depth of 20,000 feet. Stony corals make up vast coral reefs and Atolls, some of them as old as 70 million years. When one polyp dies another takes its place and continues to grow untill the reef is created.

However since then by nature are slow in their growth (averaging about 5 to 28 mm a year), a damaged or destroyed reef requires a long time to rebuild. The most common and most popular types of stony corals include the mushroom, the brain, the staghorn, and the star corals, all named so for their distinctive shapes. The 1,200-odd species of horny corals (Gorgonacea) thrive in shallow tropical waters. Their branches, sometimes ribbon-like, can grow to lengths of occasionally upto 10 feet. The rose coral belonging to this class is used in making interesting pieces of jeweler. The one living species of blue coral (Coenothecalia) occurs on the reefs of stony corals. Colonial oceans where they form large lumps, some of them spanning two meters in diameter.

Other kinds of corals include the black and thorny corals (Antipatharia), numbering a hundred species; and soft corals, a widely distributed group. Soft corals are not true corals. One important distinguishing factor is their tentacles which, instead a being simple as in true corals, are fringed and each polyp has 8 tentacles instead of the usual 6 or a multiple of 6. A close relative of soft corals is the beautiful organ-pipe coral, which when it expands resembles a delicate flower. The organ-pipe consists of a mass of vertical tubes, joined at intervals throughout their length by thin horizontal plates. The purplish skeleton contains a pale lilac-colored polyp.

Though almost all corals are sedentary, ie; animals permanently fixed to the substratum, there is a species of walking coral. Though dubbed so, it actually does not move on its own, but represents a fine example of symbiosis. The Heteropsammia Michelinii has a marine worm living in its limy skeleton and as this worm moves around, foraging for food, it drags the small one-inch-long coral with it.

The reef islands of the Maldives is the result of a process of coral formation known as “accretion”. Rubbles of reef rock broken off from the reef by heavy cyclonic storms and waves create reef-top shoals. Due to the normal action of waves and ocean currents other materials begin to gradually accumulate. Beaches develop around these shallows with the wind heaping up the lighter materials into dunes. The material being almost entirely made of Calcium Carbonate readily dissolves in rainwater and the dissolved lime is then redeposit around the loose materials, cementing it together. Soon such newly-formed islands are inhabited and colonized by plants and animals.

Corals exemplify some of the richest known ecological communities supporting countless other living organisms, intertwined in the complex web of food and resource competition. Seaweeds grow on the skeletons of dead coral together with sponges and other animals. Molluscs graze on algae while predators crush as Reef Sharks, Groupers, Rock Cod, Lionfish, Scorpion fish, Stonefish, and Eels lurk amongst the coral jungles which provides them with a perfect hunting ground. At times corals themselves end up in the beak-like jaws of parrotfish or other predators like butterfly fish, commonly found denizens of this spectacular microcosm.

Reefs prevent soil erosion. And with their brilliant hues and sculpted shapes corals and beauty, enticing people to dive underwater to appreciate some of nature’s most magnificent of creations. Corals constitute a very delicate ecosystem which requires our tender care and nurturing.

Visitors are advised not to pickup corals from the sea or attempt to export them.

Sharks – For centuries man’s fear of the wild has been attributed to the lack of knowledge and little understanding of the beast. The Shark is no exception to this, and even in this modern age, people continue to believe that all sharks are dangerous and are man-eaters. Like the lion in the jungle, the shark is seen as the lord of the oceans.

It was Herodotus, the father of History, who recorded in his histories the presence of this creature some 2,500 years ago. His writings gave a mythological touch to the shark. Nearly a century after him, his fellow countryman, Aristotle, the reputed Greek Philosopher and scientist, wrote his observations on the behavior of sharks in “Historia Animalium”. This information remained as the most thorough study of the subject untill the 18th Century.

Long before man appeared on earth, sharks roamed the ocean. Fossil studies indicate sharks to have appeared in the Palaeozoic era at least 400 million years ago, and their comparatively low degree of evolutionary adaptation proves their age-old superiority over their environment and competitors. Today there are 344 known species of shark. Even there are many tragic stories, recent research reveals that most sharks do not attack humans.

Among the sharks that inhabit the Maldivian waters are the Grey Reef Shark, Nurse Shark, Silver-tip Shark, White-tip Shark and the Black-tip Shark. The “Grey Reef shark” belong to the category of active predators and therefore they have elaborate ears and a lateralis system which can alert and locate the source of sound quickly and accurately. They also have a very strong sense of smell.

They are known to have attacked humans in other seas but not in the Maldivian waters. Maldivian divers believe that this is because these waters around the archipelago are abundant in food. They also agree that sharks have far more reason to fear humans than humans have to fear sharks.

Eels – Eels live in holes and crevices in the corals. They have a serpentine motion. Eels are strong animals with sharp teeth. They feed on fish and crustaceans, mostly at night. Unless provoked they do not attack divers. Moray eels are common in the Maldivian waters. They are curious of human beings.

Turtles – Turtles differ from all the other species discussed in this web site www.hellomaldives.com. They are reptiles. Sea reptiles are the most threatened of all the animal groups. The hawksbill turtle illustrated in this section has been hunted by man to make jewellery and ornaments and is in danger of extinction. Females deposit a clutch of eggs on the sandy coasts of the Maldives. when hatched, the young turtles swim away, but only a few will survive to reach adulthood. The Maldivian waters are one of the richest in hawksbill turtles.

Ambergris – The sea gives life to many myths and legends but few stories can match those that are born from the valuable nuggets of ambergris that can be found floating in the sea or washed on the beaches of islands. Ambergris is a waxy substance produced in the intestines of sperm whales. Sperm whales eat deep-sea squid and it is believed the undigested beaks of the squid cause irritation to the internal organs of the whale. In response, the whale produces a secretion, which coats these beaks. It is this highly prized secretion, which is passed out at either end that is of such value. When heated it gives out a particularly agreeable perfume. It is used for medicinal purposes and perfumes.

The Chinese of the 10th and 11th century called ambergris ‘Dragon Spittle’ and they collected most of it from the Liu Mountains (Maldives). Sheng-tseng wrote: “There are a great many coiled up dragons among the rocks of these islets. In spring they vomit spittle, which flocks of birds collect and swarms of fish suck up. The yellow kind is like fish glue, the black like the dung of bats, the white resembles pai-yao-chien.”

The Arabs thought differently. Suleiman, wrote in the ninth century: “The sea throws up on the shore of these islands big lumps of amber: some of these pieces have the form of a plant, or nearly so. Amber grows at the bottom of the sea like the plants; when the sea is much disturbed, it throws up the amber in pieces like pumpkins or truffles.”

The Portuguese soldier Barbosa, in the east between 1501 and 1517 was intrigued by it and wrote: “I have oft times asked these Moors what thing this ambergris was, and hence it sprang. Among themselves they hold it to be the dung of birds, and they say that in this archipelago among the uninhabited islands there are certain great fowls which alight on the cliffs and rocks of the sea, and there drop this ambergris, where it is tanned and softened by the wind, the sun, and the rain, and pieces both great and small are torn by the storms and tempests and fall into the sea until they are found or washed up on the strands or swallowed by whales.”

An anonymous Portuguese writer writing prior to 1505, found out the true source of ambergris. He wrote: “On the shores of the Dyve islands, dead whales are to be found. They are often thrown ashore by the waves and the inhabitants cut them and make oil of their meat. Some of these whales have pieces of ambra like pinecones, big and small ones, 20 to 40 or even 100 and sometimes up to 200 pieces joined in a big sticky bunch. This ambra they must deliver to the sultan, if they do not they are sentenced to death. Nobody tries to steal it as it is under penalty of death.”

The value of ambergris is such that when one becomes suddenly rich it is commonly said that he has found ambergris, as though it were treasure. It was only the rich or royal, however, that kept it. In 1599, the English pilot, John Davies reported being greeted near Male by a “gentleman and his wife”, and mentions that in the woman’s casket were jewels and ambergris. The man, who was dressed “in the Turkish manner” and had rings with rich stones is believed to have been Sultan lbrahim Ill.

The freedom of the people has been bought with ambergris. In 1754 a piece weighing 152.8 kgs was presented to the French in return for their services in defeating a fleet of Malaabar vessels that had been plundering the islands.

Ambergris found today is worth around US$ 2.50/gm and if exported is taxed 100% by the government. In March of 1995 a piece weighing 187 kgs, the second largest piece found this century, was found by fishermen off the island of Kelaa, in North Thiladhunmathee Atoll. The largest piece of 214 kgs was found in the early 1980s. Needless to say, finding a piece of ambergris is like unearthing a nugget of gold. However, the fortunate discoverer must grab hold of it first try once touched it sinks to the bottom and takes days to surface!

Fish – Man has caught and eaten fish since the stone age. For over a millennium the variety and the beauty of fish has been admired by poets, philosophers, writers, and naturalists. But it was only in the last century that serious studies began on fish speciation and classification. Fish are found in an extraordinary range of habitats, from mountain streams to hot springs and at depths below 7,000 meters. There are some 20,000 species of fish and the Maldivian reefs and seas boast over 2,000 species.

Fish show amazing diversity and are unique in their variety of breeding and development patterns. They possess specialized sensory organs, nostrils, eyes, nerve endings or other senses to gather information. fish can also monitor temperature,, light, color, dilution, gases, pressure or depth, water currents, vibrations, etc. External fertilization is common where the male fertilizes the eggs laid by the female and left to develop. The fish also has the ability to live with an array of other species forming symbiotic or other relationships.

No fish is immune from attack. However, through the ages fish have devised their own systems of defense. One is schooling, a behavior where the fish gather together when a predator appears. This confuses the predator as to which fish is to be singled out and attacked. When pursued, a fish can suddenly go into sedentary existence on the bottom of the sea. But the fish can then become a potential prey of the bottom dwelling predators. Camouflage, where a fish can blend with the background or mimicry where the fish can mimic the appearance of another animal is another way of surviving. Some fishes can erect their modified barbed spines in case of danger or the sharp spines of the dorsal fin can appear as a mode of defense. The waters around the Maldives are abundant in rare species of biological and commercial value.

Rays – Rays are formidable creatures if the ocean, Manta Rays, Sting Rays and Eagle Rays are the commonest rays in the Maldivian waters. The Manta Ray, shown to the right is the largest ray in the World. Manta rays are also known as “horned rays” because of the two small fins on their head. They take in small fish and plankton while swimming and drain out the water. Manta rays are not aggressive.

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Gateway of Maldives

The majority of visitors to Maldives arrive by Air. As you get off the plane, the first thing you notice is that Male’ International Airport (Hulhule the Gateway to Maldives) is an island by itself.

As you can see from the top picture, “Hulhule” looks more like an aircraft carrier from air is just over a kilometer or about ten minutes by Dhoani (slow boat) from Male’ (the capital city). Hulhule rates fairly well in comparison with the region’s other Airports, especially after the recent development of the new Arrival and Departure Terminal.

When the first amphibian British aircraft landed near Male’; we, Maldivians not even dreamt that within less than a generation air travel could be the usual form of International travel and that the Maldives will have its own International Airport.

In 1960, a survey of the island “Hulhule” was made to built an airstrip. Within the next six years and a year after independence, the Maldives had built its first airstrip mobilizing voluntary labor from within a community of people who still talk about the good olden days. In early 70’s there was only an Air Ceylon or Ceylon Air Force aircraft landing to Hulhule Airport, in addition to an occasional Royal Air Force flight from Gan where the British had built an air base.

With the advent of tourism the number of visitors and flight to the Maldives multiplied dramatically and Hulhule Airport had to be upgraded, which we did gradually. By 1978, Boeing 737’s landed regularly in Hulhule though the Airport was ill-equipped to handle such aircraft and the volume of passengers Arriving and Departing. It was decided that Hulhule should be upgraded and made an International Airport as a priority and expanded in phases.

Finally, a “Hulhule Airport Construction Project Unit” was established to oversee the development of the airport and finally in 1981, Male’ International Airport was declared opened by the President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. The opening of the Male’ International Airport provided the gateway to the Maldives. The International Airport is well facilitated and today at the height of the tourist season, around 50 flights a week, including Schedule and Charter Flights from not less than 16 International Airlines, arrive around the globe. A modern in-flight catering center has been added in 1989, Sea Plane and Helicopter service is now available from the airport to some of the islands.

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Religion in Maldives

Islam, central to the life of Maldivians, not only lays the cultural background and life style, but lays down the smallest details of everyday behavior. Until recently, pre-Islamic history was ignored. But while the contribution of pre-Islamic culture is now appreciated, a non-believer still cannot become a citizen of the Republic of Maldives.

The president is the religious as well as political leader. The law is based on the Muslim code of shari’a, which applies the principles of the Qur’an to society as interpreted by a gazi (judge). Indeed, like all Muslims, Maldivians do not distinguish between law and religion, shari’a, the nearest word for law, means the way, the true path of enlightenment. The main events and festivals in Maldivian life follow the Muslim calendar. From the age of 3, children are taught the Arabic alphabet, memorize extracts from the Qur’an, and learn the basic principles and history of Islam. As they grow older they will be expected to say prayers with the family. On Fridays the boys go with their father in their best clothes to the local mosque, girls go with their mother to a mosque for women, if there is one, or pray at home. When they grow up, the ambition of all Maldivians is to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Advent of Islam in Maldives – When King, Dhovimi Kalaminja (Sri Bavana MahaaRadhun) was ruling Maldives, an Arab named Abul Barakaath came to Maldives from North Africa. At that time there was a practice of offering a virgin every month to a spirit called “Rannamaari”, which was said to appear from the sea. Abul Barakaath made the spirit not to appear any more by reciting the Holy Qur’an. Convinced by the faith of Islam, the King and the people became Muslims. After sometime the King went to Mecca and nothing was heard of him again. His descendants ruled Maldives. Abul Barakaath was burried at Male’ and his tomb lies adjacent to the Hukuru Miskiy (Old Friday Mosque).

Islamic Beliefs – Belonging to the Sunnis, the largest and most traditional Islamic sect, Maldivians believe that “There is only one God, Allah – the Almighty”, confident that Allah is one, supreme and all-powerful above everything. They also believe that “Muhammad” is the messenger of Allah. In a long line of prophets which includes Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus. Muhammad is considered the last and greatest. Mohamed is not divine, the arch-angel “Gabriel” brought Mohamed the message of Allah, and Mohamed is man at his best. It’s the aim of all Muslims to practice Islam.

At the same time, Maldivians follow the liberal Shafi’ite school, founded by Al-Shafi’i, an Arab-born Persian descended from the Qurayishi tribe. He usually gave equal weight to the Qur’an, and to the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad as written down in the “Hadith”. In some cases he preferred to rely on the latter in interpreting the principles of Islam for society. Maldivians, therefore, share similar beliefs to the Muslims of the East Indies, East Africa, lower Egypt and southern Arabia.

All Maldivians believe in an afterlife and a final judgement that decides whether they go to hell or heaven. Only right conduct can assure the latter, which entails keeping to the five pillars of the religion, to repeat the creed “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah” (La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad rasul Allah), to say prayers five times a day (at dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset and after darkness), to give alms to the poor, to make a pilgrimage to Mecca if possible at least once in a lifetime, and to fast during the month of Ramadan.

Islamic Justice – In applying shari’a, or sariyathu as it is locally known, Maldives is fairly lenient compared with other Muslim states. The women do not generally observe purdah or cover themselves. Neither is punishment for breaking Qur’anic law too severe. When Ibn Battuta became the gazi chief minister of justice and ordered tile traditional Islamic punishment of cutting the hand off a thief, several Maldivians in his presence fainted at the thought of it. Only once, during the reign of Mohammed Amin Didi in this century, have thieves had their hands cut off. Maldivians are peace loving. Violent crime, like murder or rape, is extremely rare. In the old days a murderer would be flogged through the streets before banishment for life to a remote island.

Prisons for serious criminals and political detainees have been established only recently. People are still flogged with a dhurra, (a taut leather strap with flat copper studs down the sides). Anyone caught committing adultery undergoes flogging on the thighs. The most common and traditional punishment is house arrest or banishment to another island, far away from family and friends. Anyone caught drinking alcohol is usually banished for a year. Fines are imposed for petty crime. If a banished person works hard they can become a respected member of the local community. With a new sense of self-esteem, it is extremely rare that they commit a crime again.

Tribute to Islam – Dominating the Male skyline from the sea is the shining gold dome and thin minaret of the new and striking Islamic Centre. Located between Medhuziyaaraiy Magu and Ameer Ahmed Magu, it was opened in 1984 and contains a library and conference hall. Its central feature, the grand mosque, holds more than 5,000 people. The main prayer hall has woodcarvings and Arabic verses inscribed by Maldivian craftsmen. The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs of Maldives is also located in this center. Named after the national hero, Sultan Muhammad Thakurufaanu, who ousted the Portuguese in the seventeenth century, the Islamic Centre not only honors the Muslim faith but reflects the new prosperity that is enveloping the islands.

There are several other Islamic monuments on Male’. Opposite the old Friday Mosque sits the Medhu Ziyaaraiy memorial, which commemorates the person who converted Maldives to Islam in AD 1153 one Al-Sheikh Abu-al-Barakat Yusuf al Barbari, also referred to as Al-Sheikh Abdul Rikaab Yusuf al- Thabreyzee. Nearby is the most beautiful mosque on Male’ the Hukuru Miskiiy or Friday Mosque built in 1656 during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar. The interior and exterior walls are intricately carved with Arabic verses and ornamental patterns. The architecture is influenced by the aesthetic values of Islamic traditions and the workmanship of the master carpenters, Masons and artists of the Maldives. The Friday Mosque is built with intricately carved coral stones, mainly brain corals, fitted into each other with hewn grooves carved in the stone so fine that a Dutch captain Fredrick de Houtman (Forbes, A.D.W. 1979) described it by saying that “One could hardly get a needle between the joints”. The compound encloses the ancient tombstones, all beautifully carved, of many past sultans, sultanas and dignitaries. In 1675 the same sultan, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, inspired by the minarets he had seen on a pilgrimage to Mecca, built the nearby Munnaaru Minaret, where the chief mudhimu, or muezzin, on the island called the faithful to prayer before the Islamic Centre was built.

The most remembered episode in Maldives’ past is commemorated by the Bihuroszu Kamanaa Miskiiy, the tomb of Muhammad Thakurufaanu, who in 1573 was instrumental in regaining the country’s independence from the Portuguese. That day, the first of the Islamic month of the Rabeeu’l Awwal, is celebrated as Maldives’ National Day. Thakurufaanu, who died in 1585, is also remembered for minting the country’s first coins, improving education and religious services, and expanding trade.

Sultan Ali Vl, Popularly known as Ali Rasgefaanu, he ruled the country only two and a half months before he was killed in the Portuguese invasion of 1558. The memorial is on the spot where the sultan fell after being hit by an enemy arrow. He was standing in the shallows, but land reclamation has brought the memorial inland. Successive rulers used the inspiration of Sultan Ali and Muhammad Thakurufaanu as national heroes to weld the scattered people of Maldives into one nation.

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Immigration in Maldives

Entry & Health – The majority of visitors to Maldives arrive by Air. Male International Airport, situated on the Island of “Hulhule” which is just over a kilometer or about ten minutes by boat from Male’ the Capital. All visitors coming from Yellow Fever and Cholera infected areas, require an International Certificate of inoculation.

Visa – No Visa is required in advance. A tourist visa of 30 days will be granted free of charge at Male’ International Airport to all visitors with a valid travel document. All visitors who enter the Maldives should fill an Entry Card which is usually provided at the Airline and be in a possession of a Return Air Ticket and at least US$ 50.00 per intended day of stay in Maldives. Any amount of Foreign currency can be brought in without declaring and can be taken out without any restriction. During the period December to March when most of the resort islands are full, it is advised that all visitors have confirmed hotel reservations before arrival.

Departure Formalities – On departure all visitors should fill and surrender the Exit Card at the Immigration counter along with the Airport Tax coupon. Airport Tax can be purchased at Male’ International Airport before Check-in at the Airport for US$ 10.00 per person.

Important Notice – It is very important that Visitors arriving in the Maldives to observe and note the following items which are Strictly Prohibited by Law to Import into the Country. If the Authorities find the following items on you, you will be prosecuted according to the Maldivian Law.

Prohibited By Law

It is strictly prohibited to import the following items into the Maldives.

* Weapons and Gunpowder of any kind.
* All addictive drugs. (severe penalties are imposed for drug related cases).
* Spear Gun, Harpoons, or Hazardous Chemicals.
* All types of Poison and Acids.
* Dangerous Animals, Dogs, Pigs/Pork or Liquor. (It is advised not to purchase Liquor on the Flight to Maldives)
* Pornographic materials in any form.
* Products made out of Endangered Species.

Liquor and Pork products are available at the Resort Hotel for visitors.

It is strictly prohibited to Catch or Hunt Sea Turtles, Dolphins or any Endangered Species.
Using of Harpoons or Spear Guns, Removing of Black Coral from the sea bed is strictly prohibited.
To Import / Export products made out of Black Coral, Sea Turtle or any endangered species is strictly prohibited.

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Rannalhi - Adaaran Club Rannalhi sits exclusively at the tip of the South Male atoll within the exotic collection of islands known as the Maldives.

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