Maldives - Culture & History

Historians believe the Maldives were once Buddhist, like nearby Sri Lanka, but today Muslim culture dominates. Television broadcasts stop five times a day for the call to prayer, foreigners are banned from bringing symbols of other religions into the country, alcohol is prohibited on non-resort islands and modest dress is essential on island tours. Before you panic, swimwear and tropical cocktails are the norm at the resorts. The closest most visitors get to authentic Divehi culture are the cultural shows laid on by resorts, or occasional village tours, which is a shame as the Maldivians are proud of their interesting island customs.

Most shows feature the traditional dance and music known as bodu beru, meaning 'big drum'. Dancers begin with a slow, nonchalant swaying and swinging of the arms, and become more animated as the tempo increases, finishing in a rhythmic frenzy. There are four to six drummers in an ensemble, and the sound has strong African influences. Contemporary local rock bands often perform at resorts, where they do credible covers of the usual old favourites. When they perform for a local audience they may incorporate elements of bodu beru in their music, with lots of percussion and extended drum solos. Cassettes from local bands are sold in Mal? music shops.

Islam is the national religion and all Maldivians are Sunni Muslims. No other religions are permitted, though ancient beliefs survive: for example, islanders fear jinnis - evil spirits which come from the sea, land and sky. These are blamed for everything that cannot be explained by religion or science. Archaeologists have found evidence of Buddhist stupas and ancient sun-worshipping cultures on some of the outlying islands but little trace of these cultures has survived.

Fish and rice are the staple foods of Maldivians with meat and chicken eaten only on special occasions. National dishes include fried fish, fish curry and fish soup. Arecanut (an oval nut chewed with betel leaf, cloves and lime) is the equivalent of an after-dinner mint. Alcohol is only available in tourist resorts, and at the airport hotel. The local brew is raa, a sweet and delicious toddy tapped from the crown of the palm trunk. Apart from coconuts, there are very few fruits and vegetables grown on the islands, so most of the food served at tourist resorts is imported.

Modern History

The sultanate became an elected rather than a hereditary position when the islands' first constitution was drawn up in 1932. In 1953 the sultanate was abolished and a republic proclaimed, with Amin Didi as the first president. Less than a year later Didi was overthrown; the sultanate was returned, with Mohammed Farid Didi elected as the 94th sultan of the Maldives. Around the same time, the British secured permission to re-establish its wartime airfield on Addu Atoll in the far south of the country. In 1956 the Royal Air Force began developing the base as a staging post, employing hundreds of Maldivians and undertaking the resettlement of the Gan islanders. But when Ibrahim Nasir was elected prime minister in 1957 he immediately called for a review of the agreement, demanding that the lease be shortened and the annual payment increased.

This was followed by an insurrection against the government by the inhabitants of Addu and Suvadiva (Huvadu) atolls, who objected to Nasir's demand that the British cease employing local labour. Influenced by the British presence, they decided to cut ties altogether and form an independent state. In 1962 Nasir sent gunboats to the southern atolls and the rebellion was quashed. Britain recognised the islands' sovereignty soon after and in 1965 the Maldives became fully independent.

Following a referendum in 1968 the sultanate was again abolished and a new republic inaugurated with Nasir as president. His autocratic rule ended a decade later when, fearing for his life, he fled the country for Singapore. The progressive Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was elected president in his place. Gayoom has been in power ever since, surviving coup attempts in 1980 and 1988.

Recent History

Recent years have been characterised by modernisation, rapid economic growth, and improvement in most social indicators. The main contributors to this growth have been the fishing industry, tourism and foreign aid. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was elected for a record sixth five-year term in 2003, the same year Amnesty International accused his government of human rights abuses.

The president has been in power since 1978, and faces pressures for political liberalisation and the introduction of multi-party democracy. Pro-democracy demonstrations in August 2004 led to dozens of dissidents being detained without charge, prompting the EU to suspend a multi-million dollar aid package. Many critics of the regime remain under house arrest on deserted outlying islands. Meanwhile, the prospect of environmental annihilation caused by rising sea levels overshadows island life. There has even been talk of the Maldives suing polluting Western nations for damage caused to their islands by rising sea levels linked to global warming.

The December 2004 tsunami sent waves up to 5m high surging over the Maldives. As the highest point on the islands is just 1.5m above sea level, much of the area was completely devastated and had to be evacuated. Some 20,500 islanders were displaced from their homes and 81 people were killed, including three tourists. A further 27 people are missing, presumed lost in the disaster.

The east coast was hardest hit, particularly in the North and South Mal? Atolls, although the capital, Mal?, was mostly unaffected. In the far south, Vilufushi in the Thaa Atoll and Kolhufushi in the Meemu Atoll were badly damaged. In the north, Kandholhudhoo island in the Raa Atoll was completely destroyed, displacing 3000 people from their homes. Several thousand residents of the worst effected islands are still homeless, staying in temporary accommodation or the homes of neighbouring islanders. The slow pace of reconstruction of replacement housing is causing some resentment, and there are signs that the welcome for refugees is wearing thin. Some people have even suggested that the islands affected by the disaster were punished by god for allowing alcohol and other Western vices to take root in these Muslim islands - not exactly a positive direction for a nation economically dependent on tourism. According to the UN, even though a majority of resorts are now open to tourists, the Maldives will suffer the worst economic effects of all the nations struck by the Indian Ocean tsunami. This is partly due to its dependence on tourism and fishing and partly a consequence of the costs of reconstruction over such geographically spread-out islands.

Politics may prove an even bigger issue for the Maldives. In April 2005, the exiled opposition leader Mohammed Nasheed returned to the Maldives and was promptly arrested, along with 100 supporters, for alleged treason against the Gayoom regime. Independent journalists have reported summary raids on island communities by the security services, who are banned from reading independent newspapers and listening to independent radio stations by a Gayoom edict. With supporters of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party now being arrested at an unprecedented rate, many locals are asking whether the protectionist policies of the Maldivian government are just a ruse to keep the people living under a dictatorship.

Pre 20th Century History

The first inhabitants probably arrived in the archipelago from Sri Lanka and southern India before 500 BC. Some archaeologists - including the explorer Thor Heyerdahl - believe that an ancient race of sun-worshipping people called the Redin were the first settlers; their custom of orienting important buildings towards the sun is still evident today in the layout of many Maldivian mosques. Most experts agree that these early settlers were absorbed into the Buddhist culture brought to the Maldives by settlers from Sri Lanka and India after 500 BC.

Arab traders en route to the Far East recorded visits to the Maldives from the 2nd century AD onwards. Known as the 'Money Isles', they provided enormous quantities of cowrie shells, an international currency of the early ages.

The conversion to Islam, in 1153 AD, is a watershed in Maldivian history. According to legend, a sea jinni (evil spirit) called Rannamaari demanded regular sacrifices of young virgin girls in Mal?. Abu Al Barakat, a visiting North African Arab, took the place of a sacrificial virgin, and drove the demon away by reading from the Koran, the Islamic holy book. The Maldivian king at the time was sold on Islam, and Barakat later became the first sultan. A series of six sultanic dynasties followed - 84 sultans and sultanas in all. At one stage, when the Portuguese first arrived in the 16th century, there were actually two ruling dynasties: the Malei and the Hilali.

The Portuguese, eager for a greater share of the profitable trade routes of the Indian Ocean, were granted permission to build a fort and a factory in Mal?, but it wasn't long before they wanted more from the Maldives. In 1558, Captain Andreas Andre led a Portuguese invasion which killed Sultan Ali VI. Andre ruled Mal? and much of the country for the next 15 years. Portuguese occupation came to a sticky end in 1573 when an island chief, Mohammed Thakurufaan, led an attack on the main Portuguese garrison and slew the lot.

In the 17th century, the Maldives came under the protection of the Dutch and later the British, but neither established a colonial administration. In the 1860s Borah merchants from Bombay set up warehouses and shops in Mal?, and quickly acquired an almost exclusive monopoly on foreign trade. Sultan Mohammed Mueenuddin II, weary of the Borahs' economic grip, signed an agreement with the British in 1867 which guaranteed the islands' full independence. The Maldives subsequently became a British protectorate, which allowed the British to establish defence facilities on some outlying islands.