The history of
the Maldives is as mysterious as the country itself.
The moving hand of time has made it difficult to separate
facts from legend, but has historical evidence leaves
little doubt of the richness of life in the Maldives
during the past.
Liberally
sprinkled with stories of people who fought demons
from the sea, brave Sultans and Kings who fought valiantly
for the nation's independence, and huge dynasties
which ruled the country for decades, the Maldives
has a history which captures the minds of both the
serious historian and the imaginative day dreamer.
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Early
Settlers
Legend has it that
a prince and his wife, the daughter of the King of today?s
Sri Lanka, stopped at Raa Atoll during a voyage and were invited
to stay as rulers.
Later King Koimala
and his wife settled in Malé with permission of the
Giraavaru tribe, the aboriginal tribe of Kaafu atoll. Nowadays
Giraavaru people are still easily recognisable through their
clothes and hairstyle, but only a few hundred of them are
left and were resettled in Malé in 1978. Their island,
Giraavaru has been transformed into a tourist resort.
Aryans from India
and Sri Lanka are believed to have settled in the Maldives
from 1500 BC onwards - according to latest archaeological
findings. ?Elu?, an archaic form of Sinhala (spoken in Sri
Lanka) shows great similarities to Dhivehi.
As a favourite stop-over
on the busy trade routes, the Maldives have had many visitors
and influences, trading with Arabia, China and India with
coconut, dried fish and above all the precious cowry shell,
a small white shell found on the beach, used as currency
in countries near the Indian Ocean. These shells were found
as far away as Norway or West Africa showing the extent
of the trade relations of the Maldives.
Conversion
to Islam
Mohamed Ibn Batuta,
a Moroccan traveller who visited the Maldives in the 14th
century recorded an interesting legend on how the country
converted to Islam.
Abul Barakaath Yoosuf
Al Barbary, an Islamic scholar, visited the Maldives during
a time when people lived in fear of the ?Rannamaari?, a
sea-demon, who came out of the sea once a month threatening
to destroy everything unless a virgin was sacrificed. The
unfortunate young girls were chosen by lot, had to stay
in a temple near the seashore and were found raped and dead
in the morning.
The daughter of
the house he was staying at had been selected to be the
victim and he decided to save her. Disguised as a girl
he spent the night in the temple reciting continuously from
the Holy Koran. In the morning when people went to find
out the fate of the chosen girl they were amazed to find
him alive and still reciting the Koran.
When the King found
out that the demon had been defeated through the power of
the Holy Koran he embraced Islam and ordered all the subjects
to follow him.
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