Maldivian Folklore

Maldivian mythology or Maldivian folklore is the body of myths, tales and anecdotes belonging to the oral tradition of Maldivians. Even though some of the Maldivian myths were already mentioned briefly by British commissioner in Ceylon HCP Bell towards the end of the 19th century, their study and publication were carried out only quite recently by Spanish writer and artist Xavier Romero-Frias, at a time when that ancestral worldview was quickly disappearing.

The Maldives lie in the warm equatorial area of the Indian Ocean surrounded by very deep waters. This nation is made up exclusively of coral atolls. There are about 1,200 small flat and sandy islands, but only about 200 of them are inhabited.

The Maldives have been continuously populated for millennia; therefore the folklore of these islands is very ancient.

The main myths of origin are reflecting the dependence of the Maldivians on the coconut tree and the tuna fish.

A legend says that the first inhabitants of the Maldives died in great numbers, but a great sorcerer or fanḍita man made coconut trees grow out of the skulls of the buried corpses of the first settlers. Therefore, the coconut tree is said to have an anthropomorphic origin according to Maldive lore.

The coconut tree occupies a central place in the present-day Maldive national emblem.

The tuna fish is said to have been brought to the Maldivian waters by a mythical seafarer (maalimi) called Bodu Niyami Kalēfanu who went close to the Dagas (the mythical tree at the end of the world) to bring this valuable fish.

These myths tell that the end of the Maldives will be a great catastrophe where the islands will be submerged by the surrounding ocean. Similar myths are found in the Andaman Islands as well as in the Nicobar Islands.

The first settlers in the Maldive Islands were Dravidian people from the nearest coasts, which are in the Indian Subcontinent and coastal Ceylon. The people of Giraavaru, an island located in Malé Atoll (now a tourist resort, after its inhabitants were removed) considered the first settlers, claim ancestry from the ancient Tamil people.

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Wikipedia