Naseema Mohamed

Note on the Early History of the Maldives

Very little is known of the history of Maldives, but when we examine the legends and the tangible evidence of her past, we know that this is an old nation. According to an old legend from a southern atoll of Maldives, these islands have been populated for well over 2500 years. This legend was written down in Arabic by Allama Ahmed Shihabuddine (Allama Shihab al-Din) of Meedhoo in Addu Atoll, who lived in the 17th century, during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I. Allama Shihabuddine' s book was called Kitab fi athar Midhu al- qadima ("On the Ancient Ruins of Meedhoo"). The story tallies remarkably with known South Asian history, even mentioning the great Indian ruler, Emperor Asoka. It also corroborates some of the information written in old Maldivian documents and in the copperplates known as loamaafaanu. The story of the heritage of Maldives is told in legends from the past, in facts recorded on old copperplates, in ancient scripts carved on coral artifacts, and echoed in the language, traditions and the different ethnicities of the people.

First Settlers

According to the legend written down by Shihabuddine, the first settlers were people known as Dheyvis, and are said to have come from Kalibanga in India. The legend says that the time of these people's arrival is unknown, but it was before Emperor Asoka's kingdom was established in India (c. 269-232 BC). These people worshipped objects of nature such as the sun, moon and stars. They had no king, but were led by a religious leader whom they called Sawamia (Shihabuddine c. 1650-1687). This legend agrees with the theory that the first religion of Maldives was probably a form of nature- worship.

Archipel 70, Paris, 2005, pp. 7-14