Maldives

The Maldives

“Maldives”: the name alone has the power to evoke the picture of an extraordinarily enchanting and uncontaminated island setting and it has thus become synonymous for the ideal dream holiday, free from the limits of conditioning and the stress produced by the feverish rhythm of modern life. This fame really does see... Read on

The Maldives

“Maldives”: the name alone has the power to evoke the picture of an extraordinarily enchanting and uncontaminated island setting and it has thus become synonymous for the ideal dream holiday, free from the limits of conditioning and the stress produced by the feverish rhythm of modern life. This fame really does seem to be justified even if we simply leaf through brochures at a travel agents, and it is fully confirmed in videos and in the accounts of those fortunate people who have been able to enjoy a holiday there.
As they are islands, and moreover, tropical ones, the image of the Maldives which comes to mind even without the help of documentary pictures is that of great white sand beaches, bordered by tall slender palms, which are mirrored in the extraordinarily warm, clear and calm water. On the horizon the crystalline blue of the sea merges with the cerulean blue of the sky, whilst the scarse human presence on the shore line (in striking difference to the oppressive overcrowding along our coasts) contrasts with the veritable explosion of colours and of vegetal and animal life on the sea bottom, populated by a phantasmagoria of algae, corals, molluscs and other forms of aquatic life.

Unlike other holiday itineraries, both personalised and tourist, which in reality may turn out to be misleading and disappointing, the Maldives do not fail to fulfil the expectations of visitors and appear to correspond fully to the seemingly fantastic and idyllic picture sketched beforehand. Even more than one might imagine, the constant presence of the sea remains the dominant feature in the landscape, due, above all, to the small size of the islands of the archipelago: in fact, no place in the Maldives lies further than a few kilometres from the sea even on the larger islands. In addition to this, in this universe of rocks, shoals and little islands which make up the various atolls, there are no hills or other kinds of altimetric morphology which could in some way limit the view.

History

The importance of the sea is also apparent if we take a superficial look at a map, or better still at a planisphere: the Maldives are located in the central part of the Indian Ocean and are a few hundred kilometres from the nearest coastal state (India): in the great subdivision of islands into continental and oceanic they therefore have every right to be placed within the second category. Despite the fact that their insular character is therefore largely dominant, the Maldives have almost never suffered from excessive isolation as they are located along the principal traffic routes between Europe, Africa and the Middle East on one side and the Indian subcontinent, the Far East and Australia on the other. Thus it is not by chance that evidence exists showing that they were already populated in the IV-V century B.C. However, a series of legends and scientific theories, partly born out by archaeological finds, even advance the hypothesis of the presence of inhabitants at least a millennium before. Written accounts, which thus are certainly reliable, by Pappo of Alexandria and Scolastico of Thebes, and in the VI century A.D. by another Alexandrian, Cosma Indicopleuste, show the islands were already known in the IV century B.C.

The first colonizers of the island almost certainly came from what is now Sri Lanka or from Southern India and were probably of Aryan stock. The mythical Koimala, who having landed on the islands was proclaimed king by the natives, was also of this race. From the very remote past until fairly recent times their religion was Buddism, as is confirmed by the various remains of temples and pagodas, for example those of the atoll of Ari. Conversion to the Islamic religion dates back to 1153 and was performed by one of the many Arab merchants who travelled the route from the East to India: the Berber Abu-al-Bakarat. He dared to challenge one of the terrible sea demons worshipped on the islands (Jinis), preventing, by praying, the sacrifice of a virgin who was intended to placate the anger of the monster. The whole population, filled with admiration at this feat, was converted to Islamism and their chief became the first sultan of the Maldives. The modest tomb of the Arab merchant (Medu Ziyaarath) in the presidential garden of Malé is still a sacred place.

Three great dynasties succeeded one another on the throne of the archipelago until the Portuguese arrived and in 1558 managed to subjugate the islands under the leadership of Captain Andreas Andre (in Maldivian Andhiri Andhirin) and to kill Sultan Alì the Martyr. There were various attempts at rebellion during the Portuguese occupation, which was particularly hard and violent, and they finally had a positive outcome due to the heroic exploits of the three Thakurufaan brothers. Although the eldest was captured and executed, the other two carried out a sort of guerrilla warfare which forced the invaders to surrender, allowing Mohammed Thakurufaan to be crowned as sultan. The Maldives continued, however, to be a target for foreign powers: after various further attempts to land on the part of the Portuguese, the islands were sacked several times by the Moplas pirates who had their bases on the Indian coast of Malabar. The invaders were repelled thanks to the heroism of certain chiefs (prominent among whom were Ibrahim Iskandar I, who constructed various minarets and the mosque of Malé, and Ghazee Hassan Izzuddeen), but eventually the sultans of the archipelago considered it wiser to place themselves under the protection of first the French, then the Dutch of Ceylon, and finally of the English, after they had taken possession of the large island nearby. Right back in 1887, and then again in 1948, the English recognised the full independence of the Maldives, although they shouldered the burden of their defense in exchange for substantial economic benefits and the concession of a aeronaval base on the island of Addu. In modern times the most important historical events for the islands were the agreement with Great Britain which established total independence (signed in 1965), the admission to the United Nations after a few months, the transformation of the sultanate into a presidential republic (1968) and the end of the English presence at the aeronaval base on Gan (1976).

The Maldives are now, therefore, a presidential republic, provided with a parliament which has legislative powers (Majlis), which stays in office for five years and is elected on a territorial basis by the 19 atolls which make up the basic administrative units. The population amounts to about 270,000 inhabitants, a quarter of whom live in the capital Malé. They are largely of Sinhalese origin, but their primitive somatic characteristics have become much less distinct during centuries of contacts with the Arab and African world: their chief characteristic is low stature which makes them easy to distinguish from the Indians of more recent immigration. A psychological and sociological profile would reveal a very simple and peaceable disposition, and normally they also appear to be blessed with extreme good spirits and scarse aggressiveness. With a pinch of irony and malice, this natural predisposition towards optimism and cheerfulness can perhaps be explained at least in part by the simple fact of a very widespread custom in the Maldives, that of legally ending conjugal relations which do not work with extreme ease, thus putting an end to many reasons for argument and worry. Given the extreme simplicity of the legal action (it is only necessary to say three times in quick succession “I divorce you” before a public official, called a gazi, who will draw up the act ), the frequency of divorce is very striking, so much so that some people manage to perform this act up to twenty times in their lives. In spite of this, the character of the islanders is all in all particularly romantic, as is testified by their great love for music and poetry, which is expressed in particular in choral singing, dancing, ballads, verse and prose.

This artistic and poetic entertainment tends to exalt, above all, love for nature and its deep harmony, and an efficient instrument of expression is found in the notable level of elaboration which has been reached both in the written and the spoken language. The spoken language (Dhivehi) derives from the aggregation of Arabic, Indian and English words into the primitive sinhala language (Sinhalese) and thus it has a very rich and expressive vocabulary. The written language (Thaana) was introduced in the XVI century by the legendary hero Thakurufaan and is made up of 24 letters, which are graphically similar to those of the Arabic and Persian alphabets, but are, all in all, simpler: its evident Arabic origin also shows clearly in the fact that it is read from right to left.

Nature

From the preceding short historical summary, and in particular regarding the martial events, the extremely important strategic role of the Maldives stands out clearly. In recent times they have even been described as the “aircraft-carriers of the Indian Ocean” and have whetted the appetites of the greatest world powers (Great Britain, United States, Soviet Union, China).

From this point of view, their capacity to maintain relative political and administrative autonomy appears quite extraordinary, if one considers the enormous dispersion of the archipelago and the exceptional number of islands of which it is made up: we are talking, in fact, of about 1192 officially recognised islands (of which little more than 200 are permanently lived on) , but their number rises to over two thousand if one counts the minor cays. The dimensions of the islands are, in fact, generally very small, a fact which can clearly be seen from the total surface area of the whole archipelago: just 298 square kilometres of land, more or less the surface area of the Tuscan archipelago. This myriad of rocks and small islands is furthermore spread out in a vast area (almost 90,000 sq.km.) which extends for over 800 kilometres in a latitudinal direction and 130 in a longitudinal direction, giving rise to a long island axis, positioned in a North-South direction. The very name “Maldives,” however much it is of debatable interpretation, seems to refer to the morphologic layout of the archipelago or to the very large number of islands of which it is composed, deriving from the Sanskrit malodheep (garland) or mal dvipa (a thousand islands).

Both the unusual arrangement of the islands and the extraordinary quantity of them are directly attributable to the very origin of the archipelago, largely linked to the action of coral-producing polyps. In fact, these are coral reefs and islands which have developed for the most part in the characteristic atoll structure: even this word, which as is known, indicates a typical ring arrangement of the coastline, comes, not by chance, from a word of Maldivian origin (atholhu). In the Maldives almost all the land above sea-level is, in fact, positioned in a garland around the 26 main atolls which make up the archipelago and bound inner basins of wonderfully calm, transparent and crystalline water. The temperature of the water, generally higher than that of the surrounding ocean (by virtue of the strong irradiation of the sun on the shallows of the lagoon), favours the presence of luxuriant and exuberant underwater flora and fauna.
Much has been written about the origin of the atolls, but the most credible theory remains that of the great naturalist and geographer Charles Darwin who guessed that the ring-shaped arrangement of the madreporic reefs was probably due to the gradual submersion of a pre-existing island, often of volcanic origin, either due to it sinking, or due to sea levels rising during the present interglacial period: the development of coral-producing colonies, in fact, can only take place in moderate depths where the presence of dissolved oxygen and of sunlight are greater, for which reason the polyps were obliged to progressively raise their constructions along the old perimeter of the submerged island.

Contrary to common belief, however, the colonies of polyps only provide the frame of barrier reefs, whilst a large part of the organogenic calcareous rock which makes them up (about 90%) derives from other marine organisms, for example alghe and molluscs, which find protection in the gorges of the reef. The action of sea and wind then deposit large quantities of debris on the submerged madreporic reefs until they completely emerge and the growth of pioneer surface vegetation starts. These sands, also of organic origin, are generally very white and they also settle along the sides of the lagoon, giving rise to the magnificent beaches which characterise madreporic islands. In many cases the calcareous ring of which the atoll is made up is discontinuous, which makes the coastal setting even more magical and allows boats and open-sea fish to enter the inner lagoons.

Precisely because of this particular morphological origin, because of the lack of hills to shelter them from the wind and because of their position in the middle of the open ocean, the Maldives would seem to be particularly exposed to the risk of hurricanes and cyclones, which are frequent in other subequatorial and tropical areas. This risk is however only seeming, in that the climate appears conditioned by the presence of the monsoon wind which blows periodically from or towards the continent. In winter the earth monsoon from the north-east prevails; it is dry and relatively cool, and brings clear skies from December to April. In the summer, on the other hand, the sea monsoon arrives, blowing from the south-west and loaded with humidity derived from the evaporation of the ocean; it brings rainy and unsettled weather from May to October. The absence of hills, which would cause the cloud mass passing over on its way to the Indian subcontinent to rise and instantaneously discharge its water content, limits the quantity (about 2000 mm of rain per annum) and above all the violence of rainfall. It is for this reason that even in the more humid period the rains do not arrive with the devastating violence with which they usually hit the not far away coasts of Bengal, Malabar and Coromandel. Sea storms, which may take place above all during the change of season linked to the inversion of the monsoon, are furthermore kept under control by the natural defense provided by the coral reefs, which limit the force of the waves in the inner lagoons.

Generally speaking the climate of the Maldives can be described as hot and humid, with average air temperatures which oscillate between 26 and 33°C. The heat is, however, mitigated by the presence of gentle and constant sea breezes which make staying here very pleasant for tourists. The same can be said for the sea water which, in addition to its already much-praised qualities of transparency, limpidity and colour, has a temperature which never goes below 24°C and thus allows the presence of a very rich underwater life.

Despite the quite high air and water temperatures which are constant throughout the year, the coral islands which make up the archipelago of the Maldives only have luxuriant vegetation in some places: the scarcity of vegetal soil and the lack of fresh water, both surface (rivers and lakes) and underground (springs), along with their small size (most of the islands measure less than a square kilometre surface area) and the very nature of the coral reefs of the islands, greatly limit the growth of large and flourishing plants and trees; however, the magnificent coconut palms which border the lagoons, some areas of rain forest (from which fine wood is obtained) and the mangroves are an exception.

Economy

The cultivated areas are not very extensive and are unable to provide even the basic food necessities for the inhabitants: for this reason, and to supply the high demand for foodstuffs occasioned by the development of tourism, large quantities of agricultural produce, particularly rice, are imported from other countries. Despite this, all the islands which are inhabited all year round have, of course, small plantations for the sustenance of the local population, where grains (above all millet, maize and sorghum), tuberous plants ( cassava, taro and sweet potato), flour plants (bread-fruit tree), vegetables (particularly onions and peppers) and fruit (bananas, mangoes, papayas, pineapples and other typical tropical fruit largely destined for tourist consumption) are cultivated. But the principal agricultural resource of the Maldives is still the coconut palm, which probably originated on these very islands, and which even grows spontaneously from the fruit which falls to the ground from the parent tree. It is not by chance that the coconut palm appears in the Maldives’ national coat of arms and that it is explicitly described as “Dhivehi ruh,” which means the palm of the Maldives. The economical and cultural importance of the coconut, after all, goes much further than the simple production of the fruit (which, however, are also exported). It plays an important characterising role in the traditional and particular life style of the islanders: in other words, for the people of the Maldives the coconut palm has an importance comparable with that of the bison for the Red Indians of the Great Plains in America or the reindeer for the Laplanders. It supplies a part of their food, oil and copra, wood for houses and boats, leaves to make mats and vegetal roofing, the fibres for ropes and fabrics and even a strong non-alcoholic drink “Toddy”.

It is not without reason that the rent of an island is still established on the basis of the number of palms on it. However, for centuries the main economic activity in the Maldives has been fishing and it has only recently been undermined by the development of tourism. The Indian Ocean as a whole has over 700 species of fish most of which are present in the waters of the Maldives, which can for this reason be likened to a real natural aquarium: the shallows of the archipelago are populated by thousands of marine organisms with extraordinary colours, and of all shapes and sizes, giving the impression of a underwater paradise. This abundance of fish, favoured by the presence of relatively warm and shallow water, well oxygenated by the currents, has been exploited by the island population for centuries; their economy and their life-style have been built on fishing. More than a fifth of island labour is still employed in the fishing sector today and from this sector a sixth of the entire gross national product is obtained. Even in the remote past, however, the catch was smoked or dried in the sun and exported to the coasts of India and the now Sri Lanka, under the name of “fish from the Maldives”.

Today fishing still largely takes place in the traditional boats hollowed out of coconut palm wood, called “dhoni”, which carry 8-10 fishermen headed by a boat leader (keolu). For this reason, above all at dawn and sunset, the sea of the Maldives appears to be full of dozens of little sail’boats and rowing boats which make the coastal panorama even more enchanting. Even today the fishing techniques normally used are, in fact, still the traditional ones (fishing-lines and small nets), even though the government is trying to modernise both the production systems and the means employed. In order to avoid competition with the states nearby and particularly those with more advanced technology (above all Japan), the territorial waters have been extended by unilateral measures to 200 miles from the coast. This drastic measure to protect the ocean’s fish in general and the archipelago’s shoals of fish in particular, has been accompanied by the construction of modern plants for the preservation of fish which, today is exported mostly salted, frozen and tinned to the countries of the Far East (Japan, Korea, Singapore) and to Europe. The largest and most important catches from an economic point of view are mackerel and, above all, bonito, a type of small tuna fish which, once it is smoked and salted, is not only a nutritious and appetizing food, but is believed by the islanders to possess great strengthening and stimulating powers, to the extent of instilling exceptional physical energy and strength in whoever eats it.

The Maldives sea also provided, at least up to the sixteenth century, another basic resource from an economic point of view. This was the shells of the Cyprea moneta variety which due to their beauty and as their name states, were for centuries the principal currency for trade on the Asiatic and African coasts of the Indian Ocean. The official foreign currency of the state became the rufiya a long time ago, but the shells which made the Maldives known as the ancient “money islands” are still collected by the natives to make necklaces and souvenirs.

As far as the other economic activities are concerned it is worth noting that within the secondary sectors modern-type industries have in some cases taken the place of the old traditional craftsmen: for example, in the field of the construction of fibre glass pleasure craft and in that of the preservation of fish. Numerous forms of artisan production still remain, however, for example the production of ropes, wooden and metal objects and utensils, fishing boats in coconut palm wood and even the building of the very houses, constructed in palm wood on foundations of blocks of calcareous rock, hewn with an axe from the coral-reefs. The typical local handicrafts, which are mostly produced by women, appear to be largely destined for the tourist market and consist above all of coral, mother-of-pearl, and shell necklaces, objects made of varnished wood, coconut fibre carpets and mats, embroidery and arabesques.
The main source of income is now tourism which can count on about 200,000 visitors yearly, by far the largest part of whom stay in the seventy or so hotel structures spread out on the main islands: in order to prevent an excessive impact on the environment and to limit the spread of modern and exclusive establishments (private clubs, residences, etc.), the government has set extremely severe taxes on building these on the islands which are not permanently lived on. It is worth mentioning that the discovery and the widespread tourist enjoyment of the naturalistic treasures of the Maldives was largely the work of Italians. Even now Italian tourists are a fifth of the total number, preceded only by Germans (almost a quarter), and European tourists taken all together are abundantly predominant.

In addition to the extraordinary beauty of the natural surroundings and a notable series of good quality reception structures, tourists can also count on a rich programme of cultural and folkloric entertainment, which have their origin largely in Islamic tradition or in pre-existing tribal beliefs of an animistic type: even now, for example, fear of demons and monsters is particularly strong and thus they are exorcized by special witch-doctors (hakeem) using rites, antidotes and potions. The society of the Maldives is nevertheless pretty pervaded by the Sunnite Muslim culture, strongly present in schools, religion and politics and in the usages of daily life: the very Constitution defines the Republic of the Maldives as Islamic and the national flag clearly shows a white Crescent on a green background, bordered with red. Precisely because it is the state religion, Islamism has a fundamental role in the Maldives, and is present everywhere, even if it has particularly liberal attitudes and characteristics and is directed towards tolerance: nobody questions the daily prayers, the Ramadan celebrations and the Koranic law, but the women are, for example, exempt from wearing veils to cover their faces. From an strictly folkloric point of view the folk dances in costume, accompanied by traditional music mostly performed on percussion instruments as in the “bodu beru,” in the “thaara,”or in the “kadhaa maali” are particularly fascinating for tourists.

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