The Maldive Islands :

Lowest country on Earth

The Maldive Islands or the Maldives is an island nation in the Indian Ocean. Of all the islands in the Indian Ocean, The Maldive Islands is the closest to us - about 435 miles/700 km to the south-west of Sri Lanka. It is a double chain of coral islands stretching for about 550 miles/880 km north-south between 1.6 north and 1 south latitudes. East-West they extend for about 80 m/130 km between 72-74 east longitude.

There are about 1,192 islands scattered over an area about 850 km but only 200 are inhabited. The Maldives is the lowest country in planet Earth. The average ground level is 1.5 metres/ 4 ft inches above sea level and the highest point is 2.3 metres/7 ft 7 in. This the lowest ‘highest point’ in the world. 5 metres above sea level.

These islands are in atolls - 26 in all. The atolls have names like Male, Ari, Adhdhammati, Addu, Kaafu and Tua Malaku. The islands too have names viz Dhabidhoo, Vakarufalhi and Gan.

What is an atoll? An atoll is a horseshoe or ring shaped reef of coral enclosing a lagoon; and in that lagoon are tiny islands. In Addu atoll, the western most atoll, the islands are connected by a road running over the reef. This is called Link Road and is a miles long. The atolls are separated by channels.

The people

The earliest settlers were very likely from Lanka because Divehi the language of the Maldivians is a form of Sinhala, which has separated from the original language at an ancient date.

The present population is a mixture of Sinhala, Dravidian and Arab while the natives of the northern and central atolls are mixed with Dravidians and Arabs. The southern clusters of islands are inhabited by people who didn’t have contact with forcigners and therefore they preserve the primitive type closely resembling the Sinhala villager.

The population in 2010 was estimated at 313,920.

There is a vast number of foreign employees living in The Maldives. In April 2006 they numbered 70,000. In addition, there are about 33,000 illegal immigrants mostly from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. The foreigners make up one third (1/3) of the population.

The tourist resorts are not on islands where Maldivians live. Outside the service industry, the only place locals and foreigners are in contact is in Male, the capital.

Language

The official language is Divehi, which as stated earlier, has similarities with the ancient Sinhala language ‘elu’ (pure Sinhala with no mixture with Pali or Sanskrit). The first known script was called ‘Eveylu akuru’ (note ‘elu’ and eveylu-aren’t they similar in sound!). The historical recordings of kings - Raadhavalhi - (compare Sinhala Rajavaliya ) was written in eveylu akuru . Later a script called Dhives akuru was introduced and used for a long time. The script now used is called Thaana and it is written from right to left.English is now widely used in commerce and increasingly as the medium of instruction in government schools.

Religion

The early Maldivians were Buddhists. There are a number of ruins of Buddhist temples and sacred places.

The people also worshipped natural forces, especially the sea that surrounded them and at whose mercy they were. The power of the sea was symbolised as a god to whom virgins were sacrificed. He had a name Rannamaari (History of The Maldives issued by Dept of Information, Male 1982).Conversion to Islam came about through the gradual contact with Arabs who, in their wanderings in the Indian Ocean stopped at Male.

It was in 1153 that the king officially accepted Islam. This was the year when Prakrama Bahu i was on the throne at Polonnaruwa.

Now Islam is the official religion and to be a citizen of The Maldives one must be a Muslim. However, never in the history of the Maldives were women kept in purdah. Ibn Batuta the famous N. African traveller was in The Maldives in the 1340s. Describing the local conditions he remarked on the freedom the women had, a feature that has been notable throughout Maldivian history.

Vegetation

Only a few plants like shrubs and flowering plants grow on the beaches but there is more vegetation inland. Mangroves and banyan grow here.The coconut palm, the national tree, grows almost everywhere.

To make up for this limited vegetation and wildlife, there is an abundance of marine life. There are over 2,000 species of fish, of which tuna is the main fish. Sharks are also plentiful.

Occupations and industries

Fishing and processing fish, especially the tuna was the major occupation and industry until the 1970s. We in Sri Lanka call this processed tuna Maldive fish. Tuna is now processed in places like Dikwella in Sri Lanka, but we still call it Maldive fish. As coconuts are plentiful, coir making is a popular industry and copra is another product. Lace-making is also popular.

Tourism

Today tourism is the main income earner, accounting for more than 60 percent of foreign exchange earned. Fishing is the second. Until the early 1970s, The Maldives was an unknown territory to tourists. The first tourist resort was opened in 1972 on Bandos island and Kurumba village. Today there are 89 resorts. The tourist industry has become the main source of livelihood of the people and the country’s biggest foreign exchange earner.

Tourists arrive at the Male International Airport from all over the world. From the Male airport helicopters take the visitors to the island resorts, with their thatched bungalows. They can also go by speedboats, if they wish to, enjoying the salty sea-breeze.

The Maldives remained an independent country throughout history, except for 15 years of Portuguese rule (1553-1573) and the two months of Mopla rule, in the mid 18th century. Moplas are pirates from S. India. After the conversion to Islam, the king who ruled the country was called Sultan. The Sultan was all powerful. His word was law but only as long as he used the laws for the benefit of the people. The people could by custom dethrone a Sultan if he went against the people. He had a council to assist and advise him.

In the 17th century, the country became a Dutch protectorate. The Dutch were then ruling the low country of Sri Lanka, and in 1796, after the British took over the low country from the Dutch, The Maldives became a British protectorate. But there was no governor or representative stationed in Male. As the country was a protectorate of Britain the Maldives paid an annual tribute to Britain. It was a colourful scene. Maldivian officials in their national dress came in procession with the tributes from the harbour to the Governor’s house in Colombo.

This was an annual event until Sri Lanka got independence in 1948. In 1953 the Maldives was proclaimed a Republic; but seven months later, went back to a Sultanate, and remained a Sultanate until 1965, when Tthe Maldives got full political independence from Britain. (Ceased to be a British protectorate).

The Sultan was still head of State. In 1968 the Sultanate was abolished and the new Republic of The Maldives - Dhivehi Raajeyge Jamhooiriyya - was proclaimed with a President as Head of State.

Sumana Saparamadu

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Fact File

Republic of Maldives :

Government - Presidential Republic
Capital - Male
Official Language - Dhivehi
People - 100 per cent Dhivehis (excluding foreigners)
Population - 298,968 (2006 Census) - 313,920 (2010 estimate)
Currency - Maldivian Rufiyaa
Independence from Britain - July 26, 1965
Demonym - Maldivian
Member of Commonwealth Member of SAARC