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• 7
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HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
LIBRARY
MUSEUM OP COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY
Bequest of
WILLIAM McM. WOODWORTH.
JiULu.
V<\\J
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N^o>t rfc atiftv
XLIII.-1881.
THE
MALDIVE ISLANDS: I
AN ACCOUNT OF
THE PHYSICAL FEATURES, CLIMATE, HISTORY,
INHABITANTS, PRODUCTIONS,
AND TRADE.
By H. C. P. BELL, Esq.,
Ceylon Civil Service.
©ram* top ftis lExcellencj tije ©obemor to fte $riimu.
Colombo:
FRANK LUKEB, ACTING GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CEYLON.
18£2.
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CONTENTS.
Pagi.
Introduction ... ... ... ... ... i.
Section I. — Physical Features ... ... ... 1
„ II. — Climate, as affecting Health ... ... ... 6
„ III — Political Division ... ... ... 9
„ IV. — Historical Sketch ... ... ... ... 21
„ V, — Inhabitants, Present Condition and Aspect ... 53
„ VI. — Productions and Manufactures ... ... ... 83
„ VII. — Trade and Commerce ... ... ... 97
„VIII. — Money, Weights, and Measures ... ... ••• 117
Appendix A. — Political Status of the Sultan ... ... 123
„ B.— Treatment of Wrecks ... ... ... 127
Maps and Diagram.
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THE
MALBIVE ISLANDS.
INTRODUCTION.
It is attempted in the present Memoir to do some justice to a people little known
and less regarded.
Probably but very few persons have more than a hazy notion that the Mdldive
group lies somewhere in Eastern seas, or would be able to fix its position at all approx-
imately. The worse than ignorance occasionally displayed even by would-be instructors
is astounding. As late as 1811 a standard treatise on Geography* gravely asserted that
these Islands were iC governed by a chief called Atoll," and were inhabited by t€ some
Mahometans" ! \
The notices regarding the M&ldive Islands are so few and far between, so dispersed np
and down scarce works, mostly travels, difficult of reference, that it is hoped an effort to
collect and bring into one focus the scattered rays of information on the subject may serve
some useful purpose.
The whole of the authorities on the Maldives may be almost counted on the fingers.
The chief are : —
1. Ibn Battita (A.D. 1343-4).
2. Francois Pyrard de Laval (A.D. 1602-1607).
3. The Government Surveyors of the Indian Navy— Captain Moresby, and
Lieutenants Christopher, Powell, and Young (A.D. 1834-1836).
1. Of Ibn Batata's Travels an English translation was made by Dr. S. Lee in 1829,
but the manuscript copies used were abridged, and the old traveller was not fairly
dealt with.f Within the last ten years, however, an excellent edition in four octavo
volumes of the Arabic text, with translation at foot, has been issued through the Societi
Asiatiqtie by M. M. Defr6mery and Sanguinetti.J
2. Pyrard, the French adventurer, who spent five years of captivity on the group,
has left the fullest account of the Islands extant. Unfortunately, copies of his Voyage
aux Indes Orientates are extremely rare, and portions only have been translated into
English. §
THE
MALDIVES.
Ihtboductiok.
Authorities.
Ibn Batiita.
Francois Pyrard.
* Pinkerton's Modern Geography, Vol. I., p. 757.
f Travels of Ibn Batiita, printed for the Oriental Translation Committee, London, 1829.
J From this French edition Mr. Albert Gray has just completed an English translation of Ibn Battita's
visit to the Maldives and Ceylon, which will shortly be published in the Ceylon A, S. Journal. " The first
detailed account of his (Ibn Batiita' s) book was published in Europe only in 1808 [Kosegarten and
Apetz.] Moura in 1845 issued at Lisbon an incomplete translation in Portuguese of a copy obtained
at Fez at the end of last century. The abridgment translated by Lee was brought from the East by
Burckhardt. It was not till the French conquest of Algeria that the best and completest texts were
obtained. Five are in the Imperial Library at Paris, only two of which are perfect. From these M. M.
Defr£mery and Sanguinetti made their translation [Paris, 1874-9] for the Societi Asiatique; and it is from
their version that the present account has been extracted." — From Mr. Gray's Introduction.
§ " This is one of the exactest pieces of Travels, and the most diverting, hitherto made publick.
M. Pirard the Traveller furnished the materials, which were digested and methodized by several very able
men in France. Many who have travelled after him mension much of what he does, and yet he has some
curiosities which others have not touched upon." (Journ. des Scav., Vol. 7, p. 85.)— Introduction to a
Collection of Voyages and Travels, London, 1704, Vol. L, p. lxxxi. " His adventures, and his evident
honesty in their narration, created so warm an interest in the. publication of his book, that it went through
no less than four editions in the 17th century , M viz., 1611, 1615-6, 1619, 1679. — Gray, in J. R. A. S.,
Vol. X., N.8., 1878, p. 175. A translation of Pyrard has been undertaken for the Hakluyt Society.
The Colombo Museum, and Ceylon Asiatic Society's Libraries are without a copy of Pyrard's Travels
— a want much to be regretted. A private copy (4th edition, 1679, 4to) came to hand only after this Report
had gone to press, too late to be turned to full account.
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11
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
THE
MALDIVES.
INTRODUCTION.
Christopher and
Young.
Ceylon's Chief
Dependency.
Contents of Me-
3. At the time of the survey of the Atols in 1834, permission was obtained from the
Sultan for Lieutenants Christopher and Young to remain at Mile* (Sultan's Island), in order
to acquire some knowledge of the " productions and resources, the language, disposition,
customs, &c, of the inhabitants." After struggling some time against the fever, which
shortly attacked them, they were forced to quit. During their stay, however, they kept a
journal from which a Memoir was subsequently compiled, containing such information as
they were able to collect. It was published in the Bombay Geographical Society's
Transactions,* and, though more than forty years have since elapsed, continues to be the
most modern report in any detail of the Islands . Wanting only in systematic arrangement,
it may unhesitatingly be accepted as reliable, so far as it goes, and as generally applicable
to the present condition of the Mildivians.
It cannot but be a matter of surprise that a political connection with the English
Government in Ceylon, extending over eighty years, has tended to throw little or no light
either on the internal administration of the Islands or on the habits of the people.
Whilst the Indian Government has from time to time— and of late years regu-
larly—called for reports on the smaller and far less important Northern cluster, the
Lakkadives— action which has borne fruit in the marked general improvement of those
Islands, the Government of this Colony has omitted — may be from mistaken delicacy —
to take more than an annual passing notice of its dependency, except upon occasions when
the " enlightened humanity" of the M&ldive ruler and his subjects towards persons ship-
wrecked on their Atols has necessitated special acknowledgment.
Several causes may have combined, in greater or less degree, to bring about this
result— the isolation and insignificance of the group —the rare opportunities of contact
and intercourse with the Islanders — their own timid and suspicious nature— and, perhaps
above all, official uncertainty concerning the exact status of the M&ldive Sultan as respects
this Government.
In the interest of a race constitutionally peaceful, by no means wanting, according
to their lights, in commercial activity and intelligence, nor averse to beneficial innovations,
if introduced with tact and discrimination, it is not unreasonable to express the hope that
this apathy on the part of the protecting Government may now at length give place
to real and permanent concern for the welfare of its hitherto neglected dependency.
For the Mdldivians a closer connection with Ceylon is " a consummation devoutly to
be wished," and, it may safely be predicted, would not be without advantage to this
Colony itself, t
Much of the following pages, especially in Sections I., II., III., and V., has been taken
of set purpose — often verbatim — from accounts, (wherever considered reliable,) which have
already been given to the world, but methodized, corrected as far as possible where
necessary, and brought up to date.
On all that concerns their character, pursuits, and life in general, a marked unanimity
prevails between the few reliable biographers the Mdldivians have hitherto found. This
consensus naturally follows from the close conservatism these Islanders have preserved
for centuries. No account, therefore, of the state of things existing at present on the
Atols can lay claim to accuracy without being at the same time in great part a rSchaufi
of past observations.
The scanty sum total of knowledge on record regarding these Islands will be held
sufficient excuse for the insertion of minor details, which would otherwise be out of place
in an opuscule of this kind.
Sections IV., VII., and VIII.— viz., those on History, Trade, and Weights and
Measures — will, it is believed, be found to contain considerable matter entirely new.
* Trans. Bombay Geo. Soc, 1836-S (reprint 1844), pp. 64-86.
f See Mr. Albert Gray's concluding remarks in his article on the Maldives (J. R. A. S., Vol. X.,
Art VIE., h. s., 1878, p. 209) :— "Measures should be taken by the Ceylon Government without delay to
render more intimate the connection with its dependency, and overcoming the jealousy of the Maldive
ruler, if any still exists, to extend to his subjects some of the benefits of Ceylon civilization.**
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. iii
The greater part of the early Portuguese period in the Historical section has been worked THE
in from notes kindly furnished by Mr. Gray, whose recent interesting Article in the Royal
Asiatic Society's Journal has further been freely drawn on.* Ihtboductioit.
The Records (Dutch and English) of the Colonial Office, Colombo, have yielded a store "~ "*
of information bearing on the history of the Islands from the middle of the 17th century,
cropping up where least expected, but not unearthed without some difficulty.
The accompanying Maps and Diagram have been prepared in the Surveyor-General's
Office, Colombo.
Finally, it should not be forgotten that the materials available in Ceylon for the
compilation of this Report have been somewhat limited, and that further investigation
is more than likely to show that many statements require modification.
* Mr. Gray's MS. translation of the French editors* Voyages <T Urn Batoutah, received very recently,
has also, by courteous permission, been occasionally utilized in revising the proof-sheets. The writer desires
at the same time to express his obligation to Major A. Ewing and L. J. E. G. Tate, CCS., for suggestions
in the rendering of the old French correspondence quoted— to Messrs. W. Ferguson, F.L.S., and A. Haly, in
helping to identify botanical and mollusc specimens— to A. C Dixon, B. Sc., for an analysis of Maldive^oins —
and lastly to the learned scholars Subhfiti Unnansl, Dhammal6ka Unnansl, and Mudaliyir B, Gunaslkara,
Government Translator, for their valuable aid in elucidating the Sanskrit portion of the Maldive Sultan's
letter.
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iv SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
ERRATA:
Page 4, lines 2, 16, for ' Mr. Darvin' read « Mr. Darwin.'
5 > n * 9. /or ' isles' read « des isles.'
7, note §, tn«*r* « Soc.' a/fer ' Trans. Bombay Geo.'
12, line 20, for ' breach* r«wf ' beach.'
20, „ 13, <fefete'(1790?),'
25, „ U, for « ChibAb eddin' read ' Chihab eddin.'
27, note JJ, for ' Insarte' reorf < Jusarte.*
28, „ |»/or ' Mnhammadism* read ' Mubammadanism.'
30> »» ii/of ' quemouHe' read 'quenouille:
M> » tt>/<w ' T. A. Rompf ' r«arf I. A. Rumpf
3*, it X* f or 'escades' read ' escadres.'
34, last line, « * ' efomW te « ft-'
34, note If, delete 'Ghazi.'
35, five lines from bottom, for ' account' read ' accounts.'
86, line 6,/wr 'the matter' read* the dispute;*
37, last line and margin, for ' St. Clare* read ' St. Clair.*
38, note |, for 'Note (15)' read 'Note (11).'
42, six lines from bottom, for ' honneurl' read 'lhonneur.'
43, line 6, for ' Mattele' read ' Mattelo.'
53, „ 16,/or « 175' r«w* • 182.'
58, 60, 61, 62, 68, 64, notes, for 'Harris, Vol. II.' read ' Harris, Vol. I.'
61, line 38, for ' candouittes' read ' candou?
M,for ' ♦ Note (11),' ' \ Note (10)* read • ♦ Note (10),' • \ Note (11).'
71, line 12,/or « [A D. 1435 circa] read • [? 600, t. *., A.D. 1235 circa] '
78, „ 13, for 'Fdmelddry, " Receiver- General of Revenue," ' read ' Fdmeldary, u Chief of the-
Treasury." '
84, „ 13, for * mastification' read ' mastication.'
85, „ 10, /or l Eudyamy8 read 'Eudynamis'
99, „ 33,/or 'ilcA^far' read 'Achtbaer:
100, „ 23,/or* (about £14)' read' (about £246).'
10$, lines 12, 13, place ' * ' after 'horses,' and delete « f ' «/ter ' later -'
* Errors in the transliteration of native words are not included.
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THE
MALDIVE ISLANDS.
L-PHYSICAL FEATURES/
Thk MA'LDIVE ISLANDSt extend in the Indian Ocean from lat. 7° 6' N. to
lat. 0° 42' S., and between long. 72° 33' and 73° 44' E., a space 470 miles in length N*. and S.,
and 70 miles E. and W. They are grouped together in clusters, called Atoh ( M. Atolu),t
of which there are more than twenty in all, though ordinarily divided into thirteen groups,
to which number they have been confined for centuries by the MSldivians themselves for
political purposes.
At the N. and S. extremities of the chain the Atols lie singly : in the centre they lie
in double rows, with au intervening space of from 10 to 25 miles. Ihav^ndiffulu, the most
Northern Atol, is distant about 350 miles from Cape Comorin, the nearest point of
HindAstdn, and Male Atol (central) about 400 miles from the nearest port of Ceylon.
Barrier reefs encircle the Southern Atols, fortifying them admirably against the
violence of the waves and the severe storms which not unfrequently visit these islands ;
but North of lat. 3° 30' N. none of the Atols are thus protected, except in a few detached
parts. These reefs are in many places just awash ; in others, they form long stretches of
sand less than eight feet above sea level, and are either circular or oblong. The descent on
the sea-face of islands and reefs is very abrupt, no soundings having been obtained at 200
fathoms close outside; but the rock does not appear to curve inwards below the surface so
as to lessen the base.
Each of the enclosing reefs contains opening* or gatermy$\ (M. kadu) which constitute
convenient passages for vessels and boats. They are very deep and used by Mdldive
boats in passing from one Atol to another ; some will admit the largest ships. Within
the Atols the sea is free from storms, and safe anchorage is found in 20 or 30 fathoms
very smooth water with bottom of coral and sand.
The channels^ which divide the Atols are in some cases deep and safe, but others are
intricate and only fit for steamers, as the currents run strong through them to East or
"West, according to the season.
By day, all the channels, and some of the openings, amongst the islands and reefg,
may be traversed without anxiety, as all the coral dangers are visible at some distance from
the masthead, owing to the clearness of the water and the intense whiteness of the coral.
By night, ships prefer to pass only through the four larger channels between the
Atols; these are :-*-
1. The Kardiva, or Five-Degree Channel (Kaharidu Kadu), between Fddiffolu,
Malosmadulu, and Goidii (Horsburgh) Atols, on the N.W., and Mile and Ari Atols, on
the S.E., 24 miles in breadth and 67 in length. Kaharidu (Kardiva Island) lies athwart
the way in mid-channel.
2. The V£imandu / , or Ko^umadulu Channel ( Veimandu Kadu) } between Kola-
madulu and Haddammatf Atols, 15 miles in breadth.
3. The One-and-a-half-Degree Channel, 50 miles broad, between Haddummatt
and Huvadii (Suv&diva) Atols, the widest and safest of all the channels, usually traversed
by homew&rd bound steamers during the S.W. monsoon.
,THE
MALDIVES.
Physical Features.
Atoh.
Reefe.
Passages,
Channels.
* Summarised chiefly from Taylor's Sailing Directory, 1874, Part L, pp. 567, 569, and Encyclopedia
(Horsburgh, Owen, and Moresby, in R. Geo. Soc. J., Vols. II. & V.)
t Note (1). J Note (2). § Note (3), | Note (4).
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Islands.
2 • SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE South of the Equator :—
MALDIVES. 4> The Equatorial Channel, between Huvadd (Suvadiva) and Addd Atols, 46
Physical Features, miles in breadth, but having the island Mulaku lying a little S.E. of its centre.
" No general description will do for the currents* in the many channels that exist
amongst this chain of islands, and as yet there are but few recorded observations, and
these are for only a very small portion of the year. Regular tides also occur throughout
the group, and a tide may be mistaken for a current. As a general rule the currents set
Eastward from June to September : then Southerly along the West side of the Islands till
December, in the end of which month they commence setting Westward strong through
the Kardiva and other channels below that to the Equator (but only extending to Add 6
Atol from mid-January to mid-February), and they run in that direction till April. In
May thfey are variable and uncertain till the S.W. monsoon is established.
" The Equatorial Channel currents are very strong ; for half the year they set West-
ward, and for the other half Eastward, according to the monsoon, but are subject to checks
from variable winds."t
The islands I are generally situated along the enclosing coral reefs, the central part of
the Atols containing comparatively few. They are usually circular, or oval, in shape, and all
are small, not many exceeding a mile in length and breadth. Many are mere narrow strips 50
to 100 yards wide, enclosing a lower tract filled with broken coral rock, and dry at spring
tides. In such places there is sometimes a considerable depth of water forming perfect
lagoons. The islands are in general not more than 5 or 6 feet above the level of the sea, so
that until near approach the cocoanut trees on them appear to be growing out of the water.
Among the natives an idea is prevalent that the islands gradually waste away and
decrease in number by the constant action of the surf.§ In some the fringing cocoanuts
stand in the water, whilst in others the submerged black soil of the islands is discernible
at low water, some yards from the beach. It is, however, acknowledged that reefs have
risen from the water, and barren sandbanks become habitable wooded islands.!
A glance at a map of the Indian Ocean will suffice to induce the conviction, that the
Laccadive, MdWive, and Chagos groups, belong to the same submerged mountain range :
on which the coral polypi have constructed their reefs extending from lat. 12° 24' N. to
lat. 7° 39' S., a distance N. and S. of 1,200 miles. The madrepore reefs and islands of
this long chain crop up here and there with unequal intervening spaces of ocean, but
possessing a similar character as to their geological formation throughout.
The substructure of the Maldive group appears to be generally as follows. On the
surface sand mixed with vegetable matter, forming a dark-coloured light soil, which covers
two or three feet of pure sand. Below this there is a soft sandstone, resembling particles
of beach sand indurated. This sandstone is about two feet thick, when it softens again to
sand, in which fresh water is found.
Nearly all the inhabited islands possess fresh water, a remarkable fact mentioned as '
early as the 6th century by Cosmas, and confirmed thirteen centuries later by an analysis
of some of the water itself. 1f
Most islands are covered by a thick, in parts impenetrable, jungle, among
which are to be found all the ordinary shrubs and plants common to the seaboard of
Gey Ion :— screwpines (i/. Karhikeyo, S. Vetakeyiyd, ©iOgtstScoo, Pandanus Odoratissi-
mus, L.), and cocoanuts (M. Karhi-ru, 5, Pol-gaha, ©a>(^cooo, Cocas Nucifera, L.)
tower thickly over all ; the bamboo [M. Uni, S. Una, (553, Bambusa Vulgaris, Wendl.)
is rare. On some islands there are many fine large trees, such as the banyan (M.
Nika-gas, S. Nuga-gaha, Qgogoco, Ficus Indlca, L.), the bread fruit (J/. Bambakeyo-gas,
S. Del-gaha, ^cf caoa Artocarpus incisa, L.), and the kadu (if.)
Geological structure.
Water.
Vegetation.
♦ Note (5).
t Taylor's Sailing Directory, Part I., p, 656.
% Note (6).
§ Note (7).
J Trans. Bombay Geo. Soc. 1836-8 (reprint 18 A),
pp.56, 105.
f Note (8).
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
NOTES.
(1)
Maldive Islands. — Various derivations of the appellation have been favoured by different
writers :—
1 . From mal and diva (dwipa ) " the thousand islands" ( Barros ; Pinkerton, Vol. VII.
p. 182; Bennett, p. 351.)
2. From maha laala diva. (Pridham, Vol. II. p. 605.)
3. (a) Malaya-dwipa : " from the mountain of Malaya" (Sir W. Jones, Vol. III.
p. 173.)
(b) " The Maldives may have been the dives or islands of Male, whilst Malabdr
was the continent or mainland of Male [Mala "mountain" Mal.].* 9 (Caldwell,
Comparative Dravidian Grammar, p. 27-8.)
4. From MdU, the name of the chief (Sultan's) island, and diva (dwipa) " island."
The last is undoubtedly the correct explanation, as Ibn Batuta stated five and a half centuries
ago. He calls them collectively Dhibat-al-mahdl % and the principal island Mahdl " the province
after which all the islands are called." Mahdl naturally contracts into mdl, as in Tr.mil. Pyrard
(p. 89) too is clear on this point :— "L'isle principale, comme j'ay dit, s'appelle Maid, qui donne le
noma tout le rests des autre* : car le mot de Dives sign i fie un nombre de petites isles amassees."
Elsewhere (p, 63) : " Ce royaume en leur langage, s'appelle Male-rague, Royaume de Mal£, et des
autres peuples de l'lnde il s'appelle Male-divar y et les peuples dives?
The name Mdlediva — probably assumed after the Arab ascendancy — may mean either (a) 'the
wealthy island' (Arabic, m&l> •riches' or 'wealth') owing to its pre-eminence in the group ; or more
naturally (b) 'the palace island,' Mahaldiva (Hind, mahal ' palace').
To this day the Islanders appear to use no general name for themselves, or for the whole
Archipelago, but distinguish between the several Atols and their inhabitants, as Tiladummati,
Gaufaruy Huvadu, and speak of the Sultan's Island alone as Matt, or less frequently Mdlediva.
By the natives of Ceylon, Maldivians are commonly called Gundara hdrayo—u e., ' the gundara
(boat) men' — and the Islands Mdladiva or Mdladiv dupat.
It is interesting to find the name 'Islanders' (Dirt) under which they figure in the account of
the embassy to the Emperor Julian (A. D. 363) surviving in the annual letters of the Maldive
Sultans of the last century at least. In these the Sultan's dominion is always distinguished as Divehi
rbjja* — t. e., 'the Island Kingdom/ and his subjects as Divehi mihun] — t. e., 'the Islanders.'
The old Maldive character bears the name Dives or Divehi ahuru J — i. e. } ' the Island letters/
(2)
Atols. — "The coral formations and reefs of Ceylon belong to what are called 'rising' or
stationary reefs, in contradistinction to atolls, or 'sinking reefs/ to which the Maldives and Laccadives
belong According to Mr. Darwin's theory, which is generally accepted as correct, the
singular circular form of the Maldive Islands, in common with most ' atolls,' is owing to the
gradual sinking of the bed on which the madrepore originally raised their coral superstructure.
Thus, the Maldive Islands indicate or mark the peaks of a long chain of mountains which have
gradually sunk beneath the ocean. Viewed in this light, there must have existed formerly where
those islands now are, a large tract of land, the shores of which, from their proximity to Ceylon,
would have been very near it, if not actually joined 'The coral-forming polypi begin to
build in water at a moderate depth, and while they are yet at work the bottom of the sea subsides
gradually, so that the foundation of their edifice is carried downwards at the same time that they
are raising the superstructure ; if, therefore, the rate of subsidence be not too rapid, the growing
coral will continue to build up to the surface, the mass always gaining in height above its original
base, but remaining in other respects in the same position. Not so with the island : each inch lost is
irreclaimably gone ; as it sinks, the water gains foot by foot, till in many cases the highest peak of
.THE
MALDIVES.
Physical Features.
Notes.
Maldive I elands.
Atols.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS. 188i;
,THE
MALDIVES.
Physical Features.
Notes.
Openings.
Channels,
Currents,
Inlands.
the original island disappears. What was before land then becomes a lagoon, (Lyell on Coral
Reefs, ii, 602, quoting Mr. Darvin.)'
"A singularity in the formation of the Maldive atolls consists in their being made up not of one
continuous circular reef, but of a ring of small coral islets sometimes more than one hundred in
number, each of which is a ring-shaped strip of coral surrounding a lagoon of salt water, nearly every
ring having an opening in it, and the same occurs in the principal atolls, which enables vessels to sail
into them. The lagoons vary from 15 to 49 fathoms in depth the openings in them are attri-
buted to the passage outward of this sediment during a reflux of the sea Many of the minor
atolls are 3, and some 5 miles in diameter. The larger atolls of the Maldives appear to have
been broken up into smaller ones by currents sweeping across them and making a passage* The
channel dividing the Madow Atoll [Majosmadulu Atol] is attributed to this cause." (Ceylon by
an Officer, Ceylon Rifles, 1876, Vol. I. p. 70-2.)
" Aussi on diroit a voir le dedans d'un de ces Atol Ions, que toutes oes petites isles et la mer qui
est entre-deux n'est qu'une basse contiiiuee, ou que ce n'eust este* anciennement qu'une seule isle,
couple et divisee depuis en plusieurs." (Pyrard, p. 72.)
" Mr. Darvin considers it not improbable that the first formation of the Maldive Archipelago
was due to a barrier reef of nearly the same dimensions as the long narrow island of New Caledonia.
The greater part of the inhabited atolls is formed of breccia ; they are all higher on the windward
side, where the broadest and most habitable portion lies." (Ceylon, by an Officer, Ceylon Rifles,
Vol. I. p. 72.)
" The aspect of these annular reefs is very striking, in their more or less concentric rings of
different colours. First, there is the central portion of the lagoon, an exquisite chrysophrase green
—a colour that ' never was on sea or land' save only in gems and these coral atolls ; then a broad
zone of the same, dotted' and freckled with olive green ; then the reef itself, a deep olive brown*
interspersed with little patches of dark green, and everywhere frosted with the snowy curls of the
breakers; then a narrower or wider belt of bright apple-green, and beyond the deep purple of the
open sea." (A. Hume, in w Stray Feathers," Vol. IV. p. 429,)
(3)
Openings or GATEWAVg.-t-Pyrard (p. 76*77) notices as c * very remarkable" that the Atols
have each two of these entrances on either side, thus allowing iugress and egress to vessels at all
times. Some are fairly broad, others very narrow, ranging from about 200 paces to 30 or even less.
*' Aux deux costez de chacune de ces entries par tous les Atollons, il y' a deux isles, une de chacun
coste. Vous direz que ce seroit pour garder l'entree, comme de/ait il seroit fort a?«£* si on vouloit
avec du canon, (Temp etcher les navires dy entrer"
(4)
Channels. — Laval (p. 74-78), omitting the Veimandti and One-and-a-half Degree Channel,
enumerates as the four channels (Candou) "which are much broader than the rest, and easily
navigable by the largest vessels" :— r
1 . That through the Malos madou [Ma]os matjulu] Atol— u at the entrance of which we were
wrecked" — probably the Moresby Channel (M, Dekunu kudu J,
2. The Caridou [Kaharidtj] Channel,
3. The Addou [Ariyadu] Channel.
4 t The Souadou j^hquatorjal] Channel, "which is directly below the Equator — the broadest
of all, more than twenty leagues across,"
(5)
* Currents. — u Le plus grand inconvenient, ce sont les oourants Oyvarou [W. oyivartt] t
lesquels courent tantost a l'Est, tan tost a rOiiest, entre les canaux des isles, et en divers endroits de
la mer, six mois d'un coste, six mois do l'autre : non pas si certainement six mois d'un coste et d'autre,
mais quelquefois plus, quelquefois moins. C'est cequi les trompe et les fait perdre d'ordinaire
principalement les cou rants y portent les navires malgrd eux, quand les calmes ou les vents con-t
traires les surprennent et qu' jls ne peuvent bien s'aider de leurs voiles, pour se tjrer des courants,"
(Pyrard, p. 75, 77,)
(6)
Islands.— Their number has been variously stated. The two Muhammadan travellers of •
the 9th century make it 1,900; Ibn Batuta says "about 2,000." (Gray, J. R. A. S. Vol. X. Art. 8,
p. 196, Note 4.) "The number" [of Indian islands], writes Marco Polo, "is quite incredible.
I have heard indeed from mariners and eminent pilots of these countries, and have seep in the
writings of .those who have navigated the Indian seas, that they amount to up fewer than 12,700,
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.SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 5
including the uninhabited math the inhabited islands." And Linchoten (cap. XIII. p. 1 6) : " Quidam
harum insularum numerum ad 1 1,000 ferunt, sednon est certa ratio. Innumerabiles enim sunt"
(Marsden's Marco Polo, p. 717.) Captain Owen believed the total number was three or four
times 12,000 (J. HG.S. Vol II. p. 84); whilst Captain Hamilton sneers at them as "a parcel
of islands that cannot be counted." (Pinkerton, Vol. VIII. p. 389.) According to Pyrard, the
Maldive Sultan claimed to rule 12,000 islands. " This," as Col. Yule observes, "is probably the
origin of the proverbial number." (Marco Polo, Vol. II. p. 358.)
No one had better means of ascertaining the approximate number than Pyrard, who thus dis-
poses of the difficulty (p. 71-2):—" Au dedans de chacum de ces enclos [atollons], sont les isles tant
grandes que petites, en nombre presque infiny. Ceux du pays me disoient qu'il y en avuit jusques a
douze mille. •Testime quant a moy, qu'il riy a pas apparence oVy en avoir tant, et quHls disent
douze mille, pour designer un nombre incroyable, et qui ne se pent compter. Bien est il vray qu'il
y en a une infinite* de petites, qui ne sont quasi que des mottes de sable toutes inhabited. Da van-
tage le Roy des Maldives met ce nombre en ses titres, car il s'appelloit Sultan Ibrahim dolos assa ral
tera atholon, c'est a dire Ibrahim Sultan Roy de treize provinces et de douze mil isles"
(7)
Islands wasting. — "Quoy qu'il en soit, les courants et les grandes marges diminuent tons les
jours ce nombre [isles], comme les habitans m'ont appris, qui disoient mesme qu'aussi a proportion,
le nombre du peuple diminue, et qu'il n'y en a pas tant qu'il y en avoit anciennement." (Pyrard, p. 72.)
TH"fi
MALDIVES
PH T &J CAL Fe ATUBK8.
Notes.
Islands wasting.
(8)
Water. — "lis [isles tnhabitees qui n'ont aucune verdure] n'ont point d'eau douce que rare-
ment ; les autrea isles couvertes, et hobitees ou non, en ont ; exepte* quelques-unes ou les habitans
sont contraints d'en aller chercher aux isles circonvoisines : aussi Us ont des inventions pour recevoir
ceile qui tombe du Ciel. Et encore qu'il y ait des eaux en ces isles, elles ne sont pas semblables
les unes aux autres, estant bien meilleuree en un endroit qu'en un autre. Toutes les eaux de puirs '
ne sont pas fort douces ny fort salubres, lis font leur puits de cette facon : c'est qu'en creusant trois
ou quatre pieds en terre, peu plus ou moins, on trouve de l'eau douce en abondance, et ce qui est fort
estrange, a quatre pas du bord de la mer, mesme aux lieux qu'elle inonde souvent. J'ay observe* que
leurs eaux sont fort froides le jour, principalement a midy, et la nuit fort chaudes." (Pyrard, p. 73.)
Farther on (p. 89) he states that the water of Male* Island was so bad, that the king and the
chief people were forced to procure water from a neighbouring island in which no interments were
made— perhaps " Bandos" [Bonos'] where the water was "plus salubre" (p. 62).
Christopher, however, in commenting on Laval's opinion, remarks :— t€ We found wells very
common all over the islands, few compounds being without one ; but we never heard that the natives
entertained such an opinion as he has expressed respecting the quality of the water. Our host, the
Vizier, and his family used the water of the well in the yard, and we followed their example."*
' From the following report made last year (December 5th, 1879) on a sample of the ordinary
well water of Gaufaru Island (lat. 4° 42' N.) it would appear that the Maldive Islanders are better
off in this respect than is generally believed:—
" I have analysed very carefully the water sent me. It is a great deal purer than most of the
water drank in Colombo. It had a rather clayey colour, due probably to its being so long [a fort-
night] in the India rubber bottle, or to its percolation through a clay bed.
Water.
Grains per gallon.
Degrees.
Total solids ...
66*2
Hardness (Clarke's scale): —
Oxygen used to oxidise organic
Total
8-
matter
2*380
Permanent ...
4'5
Chlorine as chlorides, &c.
16-
Temporary ...
3-5
Ammonia :
.
Grains.
Saline
•0056
Equal to carbonate of lime
in a
Albuminoid
•0042
gallon
7'
" Professor Wanklyn allows that a water should not be condemned unless it contains *10 parta
of Albuminoid Ammonia in a million parts. This water contains •06 parts per million of Albuminoid
Ammonia, and is therefore perfectly fit for drinking. The large amount of solids is due to the pre-
sence of sand in considerable quantity in the specimen." (Report of an analysis of water from
the Mdldive Islands by T. F. Garvin, M.D., Public Analyst, Ceylon.)
♦ Trans. Bombay Geo. Soc. 1836-8 (1844) p. 5$.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 18fit.
■THE
.MALDIVES.
CUMAT*.
Climate.
Thermometer.
Winds & Weather .f
Health.
IL-CLIMATE,
AS AFFECTING HEALTH.
The climate* of the Mdldive Islands as regards the feeling is neither oppressive nor
disagreeable.
The range of the thermometer is moderate. In December, January, and February,
the coolest season, it-averages from 80° to 84° during the day : at night it falls to 78°.
In April it varies from 85° to 90° in the daytime, and generally falls to 80° in the night.
The winds moderate the solar heat, and prevent its being so oppressive as might be
supposed from the height of the thermometer.
11 As the Maldives occupy a space of nearly 8 degrees of latitude, and are partly
South of the Equator, it may be expected that their climate will be influenced on the one
hand by the N.W. monsoon of the Chagos and Seychelles, and S E. trade when it blows •
up to the line : on the other hand, by those atmospheric disturbances which usher in the
N.E. monsoon of Hindfist&n and Ceylon.
" Northern Maldives. At Ihavandiffulu Atol, the head of the M&ldives, the N.E.
monsoon is steady from mid-December to the end of February, between N.N.E. and
E.N.E., moderate and light breezes, with slight showers of rain about every fortnight. In
March and April the winds incline more from N. and N.W. — with gales and squalls
from uncertain directions in the latter month — until in May the S.W. monsoon com-
mences, and lasts four months only. In September the winds become N.W., but
occasionally West squalls accompanied by rain. In October the winds are moderate
and variable from W. by S« to N. by W., when the weather is cold and pleasant, but
occasionally hard squalls occur with heavy showers of rain at about the same period as
the Bombay elepkanta. In November the winds are light between N.N.E. and N.N.W.,
with occasional Easterly squalls ; after the middle of the month there occurs a period
(about one week) of dark cloudy tempestuous weather, with long-continued rain from the
West ; this seems to be at the same time as the change of monsoon in the Gulf of Manndr ;
after which the N.E. monsoon is fairly established, aud throughout December is steady
at E.N.E., with pleasant and clear weather, but occasional squalls and rain from about
E.S.E.
" MAlb Atol, the central part of the M&ldives, marks a great difference in the weather
during the N.E. monsoon, for the Southern groups then experience frequent squalls and
rain with variable winds : whereas to N. of Mile, that is the season (as at the Lakkadives)
of fine weather and generally moderate breezes. There is no such marked difference* in
the S.W. monsoon.
" Southern MAldives. Addu-Atol, being 40 miles to the S. of the Equator, is almost
without the influence of the regular Indian monsoons ; the winds and weather being very
variable, subject to squalls and rain. The N.E. monsoon is felt in January, February,
and March; the winds generally from N. and N.E., but occasionally from W. of North,
and the weather is less cloudy and rainy than when the S.W. monsoon prevails N. of the
line. In April and May the winds are variable, but mostly from the Westward. From
May to December the winds are from W. by S., to S. and S.S.E., with much rain and
squalls. About the middle of the latter month, which is about the time that the S.E.
trade finally retires Southward, and the N.W. monsoon commences below the Equator,
hard squalls and fresh gales from W. to W.N.W., with heavy showers of rain, occur at
the Equatorial Channel, lasting for about a fortnight." t
Most rain falls in the Southern Atols, and the decay of . the rank vegetation,
engendered in the light sandy soil, breeds much sickness.
The climate cannot be considered salubrious evep for the natives, judging by
its influence on them. Its unhealthiness for Europeans has become notorious, and
has undoubtedly been a great obstacle to foreign intercourse and internal improvements.
♦ Note (1).
t Note (2).
J Taylor's Sailing Directory, Part I., p. 653-4.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 7
Dr. Campbell attributes the cause of strangers losing their health partly to the
lagoons and marshes formed throughout the Islands, and partly to the unvarying
temperature of the climate, due to the absence of the influence which the continent of India
has in cooling the air at night, and increasing the heat during the day,* Additional cause
may be found in the ubiquitous growth of low jungle, allowed to spring up unchecked
round habitations to the exclusion of the sea-breeze and inducing of malaria, and in the
want of any attempt at systematic drainage.
Among the natives intermittent fever and ague (M. huma, hung) are very prevalent,
and are said to be difficult to shake off t — resulting in, if not accompanied by, disease of the
spleen (M. buriturd—Fymrd, "ont cory" p. 93, "on cory" p. 133) and ulcers ( M.fdggadu) 9
both attributed to bad water. .
SmalLpox (M % karhivaduri) has occasionally visited the Islands, though stringent
quarantine laws have for centuries been in force to prevent its importation. %
Itch (M. has) is very common ; as are coughs (M. kessang), and colds (M. adidqfus),
natural to a humid atmosphere.
Dysentery (M. b6rtf hlngun) is not unknown, but cases are somewhat rare.
" The sickness to which strangers are most liable is a bowel complaint, which appears
peculiar to these Islands. The only remedy is immediate departure for the continent.
Dr. Campbell has collected many cases in which the destructive effects of the sickness
upon foreigners is shown ; but the natives also appear liable to it, for in one instance
nearly the whole population of an island was carried off. There appear to be few other
diseases of importance, with the exception of beri beri"*
Acuviouasun blindness — apparently somewhat similar to the snow blindness of the Arctic
regions— affects, after sunset, the natives who have been much exposed to the dazzling
glare during the day. Pyrard, who calls it rosnans \M. rehanu] did not escape (p. 132).
It was noted in 1834-6 that many of the Islanders in the Huvadu (Suvddiva) Atol
suffered from elephantiasis [M. barosbali].
The mortality among children is said to be above the average, not more than one in
five attaining maturity. But this high death rate may be fairly doubted ; grey heads are
not uncommon, nor do the aged in general appear emaciated. Seventy is not considered
an unusual age.§
,THE
MALDIVES.
Climate.
Disease*.
NOTES.
(1)
Climate. — "Par ce que j'ay.dit que ces isles sont si proches de l'eqninoctial, de ca et de la,
on peut juger quelle est la qualite* de Pair, qui est fort in tempered et la chaleur excessive. Toutefois
le jour et la nuity sont egaux en tout temps, et les nuits y sont fort fraisches, et amenent force
rosee. Cette fraischeur, est cause qu'on peut habit er le pays moins incommodement, et que les
herbes et les arbres foisonnent, nonobstant Tardeur du Soleil. L'Hyver commence au mois d'Avril,
et dure six mois, et l'Este* au mois d' Octobre, qui dure six autres mois. L'Hyver est sans gelee,
inais continuellement pluvieux. Les vents sont aussi pour lore forttmpetueux du coste de l'Oiiest ;
au contraire l'Este* est extremement chaud, et il n'y pleut jamais. Les vents sont du coste* de 1' Est."
(Pyrard p. 78.)
It should not be forgotten that the above remarks apply to the weather experienced mainly at
Male Atol — about the centre of the chain— where Laval spent most of his time.
Note*.
Climate.
(2)
Weather. — "Les vents sont assez souvent fixes, comme les Courants du coste de PEst ou
de rOiiest ; mais ils varient bieu da vantage, et ne sont pas si reglez, biaisans quelquefois vers
le Nord ou vers le Sui." (Pyrard, p. 76.) " Ces Monssons ou Muessons, sont vents qui changent
pour l'Este* ou l'Hyver de six en six mois ; et qui trompent le plus. souvent quand on part trop tard,
Weather.
♦ Trans. Bombay Geo. Soc. 1836-8 (1844) p. 106. * f Not€ ( 3 )-
§ Trans. Bombay Geo. 1836-8 (1844) p. 68,
X Note (4).
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8
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881,
,THE
MALDIVES.
Climatk.
Notes.
Maldive fever.
et le vent contraire vient cependant qu*on est la ; aussi (rompent ils encore, en ce qu'ils sont par
fois plus courts ou plus longs Tun que l'autre : et celuy qui est propre sera plus court, et son
contraire plus long d'un mois ou six semaines, et quelquefois de deux mois plus qu'on ne pense.
Cela con train t par fois de sejourner sept ou huit mois plus qu'on ne veut, comme j'ay veu arriver
assez souvent." (Pages 199-200.)
(3)
MAldjve Fever.— Europeans seem especially liable to this fatal scourge of the Islands. Many
have been the ill-fated survivors of wrecks on the Atols who have but exchanged •' a watery
grave" for a slower death from this insidious pest. "All the British officers and men, who remained
on the island of Male during a part of the S.W. Monsoon, at the time of the survey (1834-6) were
prostrated by it and compelled to leave." (Taylor's Sailing Directory, Part L, p. 569.) " On la
connoist par toute l'Inde," observes Pyrard — who himself nearly succumbed to a severe attack
of the malady — " sous le nom de fieVre des Maldives. lis Pappellent Mali ons [Mdlc hung']. C'est
de cette maladie que la pluspart de mes compagnons estoient morts, comme tons estrangers ne
manquentpas den estre bientost at feints" (Page 63.) " La fieVre y est fort commune, qu'ils appellent
homan [kuma\ ; mats elle est fort dang e reuse aux estrangers qui abordent la\ et elle les
consomme en pen de jours? (Page 132.) And later (p. 199) he specifies "Male* fever" as dreaded
by traders no less than the currents and reefs of the group*
It appears, however, not to be an altogether " unmixed evil" f jt residents : — " Quand on en
reschappe, on peut s'asseurer qu'on guarira des autres maladies ausquelles l'air du pays est sujet :
d'autant que Ton tourne l'air du pays et la maniere de vivre en habitude, et comme si cette maladie
avoit fait un corps nouveau, on s'y sent du tout accoustume\ Et de fait un estranger qu'ils
appellent en leur langage Pouradde [ Chris topher,/«ra<# miha] s'il en guarit, ils disent qu'il est dives,
comme qui diroit naturalize* et non plus estranger." (Page 63.)
(4)
Small-pox. Small-pox — " De dix ans en dix ans il vient une maladie appellee carivadiri [karhivaduri],
pour laquelle ils s'abandonnent les uns les autres, comme si e'estoit la peste. Ella ressemble a la
verolle des petits enfans de deca, et de cette maladie il meurt beaucoup de peuple." (Pyrard,
p. 132). It is greatly dreaded. On small-pox breaking out among the crew engaged in operations
connected with the wreck of the S. S. " Sea Gull" (December, 1879) the inhabitants of Gau/aru
island are said to have forthwith fled en masse to another island.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
IIL-POLITICAL DIVISION/
THE ATOLS-f
,THE
MALDIVES.
Political
Division/
The Mdldive group is divided politically into thirteen Atols (if. Atolu), as follows :—
1.— TlLADUMMATl' AtOL.
a. Ihavandiffulu Atol.
b. Tiladummati Atol.
2.— MlLADUMMApULU ATOL.
a. Makunudii (Malcolm Atol).
b. Miladummadulu Atol.
3* — FAdiffo^u Atol.
4. — MI^osmapulu Atol.
a. North M&losmadnlu Atol.
b. Sonth M61osmadulu Atol.
c. Goidii (Horsburgh Atol).
5 % — Malb Atol.
Kaharidii (Kardiva Island).
Gaufaru Reef, and Island.
North Mdle Atol.
a.
b.
c.
d.
South Mile Atol. |
MdU Island. — The capital, where the Sultan resides, is situated in lat. 4f
long. 73° 30' E., at the South extreme of the North Mile Atol.
6. — Abi Atol.
a. Toddii Island.
b. Rasdd (Ross Atol).
c. Ari Atol.
7. — Felidu Atol.
a. Felidu Atol.
b. Wattaru Reef.
8.— Mulaku Atol.
9.— Nilandu Atol.
a. North Nilandu Atol.
b. South Nilandu Atol.
10. — Ko^umapulu Atol.
11.— Haddummati' Atol.
12.— Huvadu' (SuvAdiva) Atol.
13. — Appc' Atol.
a. Mulaku Island.
b. AddtiAtol,
10' N.,
1.— TILADUMMATI ATOL.
Ihavandiffulu Atol.
(a.) Ihavandiffulu Atol, the head of the Mdldive group, lies off the N.W. side of
Tiladummati Atol, from which it is separated by the deep Gallandu Channel [ Gallandu
kadu\ y wide at the E. mouth, but narrowing to less than 3 miles on the W. In length
N.W. and S.E. the Atol is 12 miles ; crosswise it measures 7 miles. It has 24 islands,
lying all round the boundary reef, but the principal ones are on the S.W. and N.E. sides.
Only seven were inhabited (1834-6) by a population of 760 souls. Wood, water, and some
supplies are procurable.
Ihavandu, towards the S ., was the chief island, from being the residence of the Atoluveri.
It is nearly one mile in length, and planted with cocoanut, breadfruit, yams, and nacheriu
(M. bimbi). This island is well adapted for a coal depCt.
Turdkunnu, the most Northerly island of the whole of the Maldives, is in lat. 7° 7 N.,
long. 72° 53' E.
One long barrier reef forms the W. side of the Atol. Its South extreme is another
barrier reef. Along the E. margin there are nine islands. Between most of this Atol's
islands there are passages for ships. The general soundings in the centre are 20 to 30
fathoms, with several coral patches dotted about.
(b.) Tiladummati 7 Atol stretches S.S.W. for 30 miles, and contains nearly 40 islands Tiladummati Atol.
generally of a fair size, and some distance apart ; those at the N. and E. extremes are
largest and inhabited, affording good water and some supplies. Kelai, the North island
(lat. 6° 59* N., long. 73° 12' E.), covered with cocoanut trees, forms a very prominent point
to the Atol. The West boundary has fewer islands, but more reefs. Safe passages occur
between all.
The coir yarn made in Tiladummati Atol ranks highest in the market.
• The description of the several Atols is for the most part condensed from Taylor's Sailing Directory,
Part L, pp. 570-85, which should be consulted for fuller particulars regarding tides, currents, channel*,
anchorage, &c.
t Note (1).
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10
SESSIONAL. PAPERS, 1881,
,THE
MAI.DIVE&
Political
Division,
Makunudil (Mal-
colm Atol).
Miladummadulu
Atol.
Fadiffoju Atol.
MaJoBmacJulu Atol.
North.
2.— MILADUMMAPULU* ATOL.
(a.) Makunudu' (Malcolm Atol), a large lagoon reef, 15 miles long by only 3 miles
broad, lies 10 miles W. of the N.W, part of Miladummadulu group, and 24 miles N.W.
of Powell Islands, at the North of the M&losmadulu Atol. It is said to have been
unknown to Europeans previous to the survey of the Maldives in 1834-36. According to
native information many ships have been lost on its barren reefs with all hands, scarcely
a vestige of the wrecks remaining after a few hours, from the violence of the surf and the
perpendicular sides of the reef. The lagoon is deep, but full of coral patches, and has
two boat passages along the E. barrier. Except Makunudu island (lat. 6° 25' N.,
long. 72° 41' E.), inhabited, on the N.E. point, and a small island on the N.W., there is
nothing but the surf to mark the reef.
(b.) Milapummapulu Atol is in reality a continuation of Tiladummati, being on the
same plateau of soundings, and the frontier islands of both being visible one from the
other. This Atol contains 101 islands, principally along the E. and S.E. parts of the
boundary, extended over a space 55 miles in length N.W. and S.E., by not quite 20 miles
in breadth. In 1834-6 there were 29 islands inhabited by a .population of 1,700 or 1,800.
Along the W. frontier are not many islands, but more detached lagoon reefs. Ships can
easily pass through this group in the daytime, as the islands and reefs which form the
boundary are separated by broad passages into the interior, where the general depths are
from 20 to 25 fathoms, sandy bottom.
The principal islands are Manadu and Kedikohu Kadudu, the S. island, is in
lat. 5° 39' N., long. 73° 17' E. Manadu, at one time the residence of the Atoluveri, is a
beautiful island, with groves of breadfruit and other trees, a fine pathway, and good
landing places.
On some islands a little cotton is grown ; good water and some supplies may be
obtained.
8.— FAMFFO&U ATOL.
FAdipfo^u Atol lies 10 miles S.E. of Miladummadulu, N. of Kabaridi (Eardiva)
island, and E. of M&losmadulu Atol. Of a square shape, with its N.E. and S.W. sides
pressed in, and the others rather convex, it presents four prominent corners. At the
S. corner stands Aligau island (lat. 5° 15' N., long. 73° 2V E.), 16 miles N. by E. of
KaharidA (Kardiva), marked by high trees ; at the W. corner is KanifurAi island
(lat. 5° 20' N.), bearing N.E. 10 miles from the E. point of South M&losmadulu Atol.
The Atoluveri resided at Mdfurhi (lat. 5° 26' N.). Passages into the interior occur
between all the islands on the N.W. side, and between several islands on the S.W. side ;
along the N.E. concave face only a few openings are found, and those in the N. half ;
thence nothing but an extensive barrier reef, 18 miles in length, stretches round the E.
extreme and down the S.E. face, on which the N.E. monsoon breaks with violence.
Within the Atol the general depths, on a sandy bottom, are from 25 to 30 fathoms, but
many coral patches and sunken reefs exist There are upwards of 20 islands, but only
four were inhabited in 1834-36 by 550 persons. The N.W. islands can furnish good water
and some supplies.
4.— MA^OSMAPULU ATOL
Mi^osMApULU Atol, This West Atol, lying only 7 miles S.W. of Miladummadulu
Atol, is upwards of 50 miles in meridional length, and is divided into two distinct groups
by a narrow, but deep passage, called by the surveyors Moresby Channel (M. Dekunu kadu.)
(a.) North MI^osmapulu is 35 miles in length N. and S., and 15 miles across at
its broadest part. Its W. side is composed of a series of round or oval reefs irregularly
. placed, some prominent, others retiring— a feature peculiar to all these Northern Atols —
with little' to mark them, whilst the E. side is a gentle curve with a series of islands, 20
in number, between which good passages lead into the Atol. No vessel could navigate
through the intricacies of the AtoPs centre ; but its N. end is narrow and clear of reefs.
The general depths are from 23 to 27 fathoms, water. Ettigili and Alifurhi, the two Powell
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
11
Islands (lat. 5° 59' N., long. 72° 54' E.), inhabited, standing on a detached reef of their
own with no soundings off it, mark the N. end of the Atol.
None of the islands have good water, except Fainu (lat 5° 27' N.), where (1834-6)
the chief of the Atol lived.
(L) South MI^osmapulu differs in shape from the N, group. Its E. point is
prominent, and in the same latitude as the S. point of F&diffolu Atol, which is distant
nearly 20 miles. The length of this group is 26 miles from E. to S.W., and most of the
islands border the S.E. face. The W. side is similar to that of the N. group, being
composed of large, separate, lagoon reefs, with scarcely any islands to distinguish them.
Passages into the interior occur between all the islands, and reefs, on the W., S.E,,
and N.E. boundaries.
Hitadu island (lat. 5° 1' N., long. 729 50' E.) marks the S 4 point of the group. It
contained (1834-6) 250 inhabitants.
The Atoluveri resided at Daravandu island. Wood and water are procurable. Cloth
is woven in this Atol principally,
(e.) Goido' (Hobsbubgh Atol)— a lagoon reef distant 25 miles W. by S. from
Kaharidii (Eardiva) island, and the same distance N. from ToddA island— marks the
•N. side of the W. entrance of Kardivia Channel [Kaharidu kadu] and is separated from
MAlosmadulu ' Atol by 6 miles deep water. This Atol is oval .in shape and small, its
greatest length E. and W. being 10 miles, and its breadth less than 5 miles. Its three large
islands, on the N. and E. parts, were inhabited in 1834-6 by a population of 200. They
afford wood, water, and some supplies. Goidu is the largest (lat. 4° 53' N., long. 72° 58' E.)
The only entrance into the lagoon, called Doru kadu, i* 0Q ^ e 8. side of the Atol*
In the interior there is fine anchorage in 17 to 20 fathoms, sandy bottom mixed with mud
and clay, and free from rocks in the centre.
• ,THE
MALDIVES.
Political
Division.
South.
Goidu (Horsburgh
Atol).
5.— MALE ATOL.
(a.) Kahabidtt' (Kardiva Island) (lat. 4° 58' N., long. 73° 26' E.), lies towards
the E. end of the Channel to which it gives its name. It is covered with a dense mass of
high cocoanut trees: contained (1834-6) 200 inhabitants : and oan supply good water and
* some provisions.
Its S.E. side is convex and sheer, having no soundings in 240 fathoms, water, close to
the beach. A circular lagoon reef on the N. W. side provides a snug anchorage for the
islanders 9 boats. There is generally a heavy surf round the island, except at the sole boat
passage through the fringing reef near the N.E. point. The natives are famed for their
manufacture of excellent cordage.
(b.) About 15 miles south of Eardiva lies the island and lagoon beef of Gaufaru,
separated from Mile Atol by a narrow, but deep, channel, 1£ to 2 miles wide, with no
soundings. It is as much a separate Atol as the similar lagoon reefs called Goidii
(Horsburgh Atol) and Raedii (Boss Atol).
Gaufaru island stands at the E. extreme of its own reef, and is approachable
only through two narrow openings on the N.E. and N.W. faces, which are difficult
to descry. It is inhabited by about 100 souls (32 houses), who are supported by
fishing.
They possess not more than two or three fishing boats (M. mas-odi ) and are poor.
Hank jungle covers most of the island, but there' are some cocoanut trees, and a few
breadfruit, limes, and plantains, round the houses. From having no landmarks on its
N., and W., sides, Gaufaru reef has proved very disastrous to vessels making a cut
through the Maldives by the Eardiva channel.
MAle Atol. Both N. and S. groups are included by the natives under one name,
but being separated by a channel without soundings, they, are really two distinct
Atols.
(a) North MIlk Atol is of irregular shape, taperingat the N., S., and E. ends,
convex on the W., and concave on the N.E. and S.E. faces. In length 32 miles N. and S.,
it has a central width of 23 miles. It contains about 50 islands, (of which 12 were
Kaharidii (Kar-
diva island).
Gaufaru island.
Male Atol.
North,
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12
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
,THE
MALDIVES.
P&LITrCAL
Division.
Mile, or Sultan's
Island.
\
inhabited in 1836,) and innumerable coral reefs. The general depths in the interior are
from 25 to 35 fathoms, sandy bottom, but so numerous are the sandbanks and coral
patches, that it can be traversed safely only in the daytime with a sharp look-out.
All the openings into this, and other Atols, cannot be distinctly seen three or four miles
off, the barrier reef presenting apparently one continuous threatening line. The passages
are numerous on all sides. Lagoon reefa occur along the N., N.E., and S.W. faces.
Some of the more important islands — after MdU or Sultan's Island— are Dijurhi
(E.), Girdvaru and Hebadu (W.), and Makunudu (W. centre).
MdU y oi Sultan's Island (lat. 4° W N., long. 73° 30' E.), at the very South of this
Atol, is the capital of the M&ldive group.
It is oval in shape, low-lying like all these islands, and about one mile in length by
| mile in breadth. (Pyrard, " de tour environ une lieuS et demie," p. 89.) An unbroken
reef, just awash, renders its South side inaccessible ; but the rest of its circumference has
a lagoon or harbour, formed by an artificial bank of coral three to four feet above water,
and six to eight feet in width, roughly renewed from time to time, which serves as an
effective breakwater against the monsoon storms. As the depth of the water inside is
from six tp fourteen feet, this harbour gives excellent shelter to both the trading
gundara (M. daturu odi) and fishing boats (M. mas odi) of the natives. The only,
entrance, about 30 feet in width, is on the N. side, where the coral bank approaches the
breach to within 60 or 70 yards.
At some period the island must have possessed a substantial/^^. The remains of
the stone wall, still solid in parts, shew that it was enclosed (except on the S. or barrier
reef side), and strongly defended, by regularly designed bastions at various points.
A few pieces of ordnance are still mounted at intervals along the fort wall, chiefly on the
N. face, but rusted, choked with coral, and unserviceable.
The main bastion fronts the entrance to the harbour, and commands all approach from
the North. It is 20 feet at least in height and faced with solid masonry. In 1835,
according to Christopher, this fort was "a solid mass" filled with earth.* It must have
been partially excavated since, as 10 or 12 steps now lead from the ground level, (where
the old flagstaff still stands), to the upper tier, which is seven or eight feet below the top of
the wall. . The embrasures are bare, the iron guns lying unlimbered, and half buried in*
the grass, at the rear of the bastion. This fort was probably erected by the Portuguese,
as Christopher supposed, for Pyrard mentions (p. 170) that on one of their temporary
occupations of M&16 in the 16th century, " ils firent une forteresse."
The Sultan's Palace ( M. gaduvaru) is a large .upper-roomed house, with sloping roof
in a high-walled enclosure, comprising an area of about a quarter of a mile. " Within
this space there is also a well-builfr magazine, besides several houses — one said to contain
a variety of arms and relics taken from wrecked vessels — and a neat building raised on
stone arches, from which the ladies witness the games exhibited before the court on
festivals."* [See also Pyrard, p. 155.] The shallow moat, 12 to 15 feet broad, which
formerly surrounded the Palace walls, is now nearly choked with scrub and rank vegetation.
A few brass cannon of small calibre still guard the entrance (" A 9 1'entrSe du Palais
on void qpelques pieces de canon" — Pyrard, p. 155), but are only used for firing salvoes on
State occasions. The Palace stands back about 150 yards from the chief gateway through
the fort wall on the North,
In the town are two chief, and several minor mosques (At. miskitu): a tower or
minaret (M. munndru), 40 feet high, from which " the faithful" are called to prayer :f
a public office for the transaction of revenue and other business : a mint : and a house
set apart for the use of visitors or shipwrecked persons.
The town is somewhat regularly laid out with broad streets, straight and long,
running in attempted parallel lines, intersected by others at right-angles. It was
formerly divided into five municipal wards called " avares" each of which had its headman,
" M&uscmly Avare, Tancien du quartier." (Pyrard, p. 146.) There are now only four
♦ Trans. Bombay Geo. Soc. 183Q-8 (1844) p. 57*
f Note (2).
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
13
such divisions (if. mdddn), called respectively, Galolugt; Hemvfou, .Maehchangoll, and
Mdfannu,— the last containing the Palace, The houses (generally of wattle and daub, or
cocoanut thatch) have as a rule a yard or compound attached, where fruit trees and some
flowers are cultivated. A cadjan fence five or six feet high shuts out all the houses from
the road. Apparently only one stone-and-brick-built private house now exists, which is
owned by a rich Didi ; but in Pyrard's day the nobility and richer inhabitants commonly
occupied houses built of madrepore (p. 89)— the ruins of some of which were noticed by
the Indian Navy Surveyors in 1834-6.* The streets are shaded by a variety of fruit
trees, such as cocoanut, breadfruit, biling, areka (rare), plantain, Ac, and are neatly kept.
Mal6f must contain between 2,000 and 3,000 inhabitants, and has for two centuries
at least been over-populated, rendering it even in 1602-7 "la plus mal saine" (Pyrard,
p. 89) of all the islands, owing chiefly to the numerous graveyards, which at the present
day meet the eye at every turn. Many of the inhabitants are traders, but the most
common employments are fishing, gathering cocoanuts, drawing toddy, and collecting
cowries. The whole foreign trade of the several Atols is conducted at M&16 under
regulations imposed by the Sultan. Good water and supplies may be obtained.
There are no soundings to the S. of M&16, but round the inner side of the island the
depths are from 25 to 28 fathoms, sandy bottom. High water on the F. and C. occurs at
M&16 at 12 h. 30 m. ; rise and fall of tide three feet, and sometimes four feet.
(d. ) South MIlb Atol is separated from the N. group by Wddu Channel [ Wddu
kadu] which, though less than 2£ miles wide at its narrowest part, has no soundings at
200 fathoms. Oblong in shape, this Atol is 20 miles in length N. and S., by 12 in greatest
breadth. It contains 22 islands, nearly all situated along the E. boundary, but only three,
counting 200 persons, were inhabited in 1834-6. None afford good water or supplies.
There are safe passages on one, or both sides of nearly all. Inside the Atol the general
depths are from 25 to 32 fathoms, sandy bottom, full of reefs and little coral patches not
difficult to avoid.
6.— ARI ATOL.
(a.) Toppu' Island (lat. 4° 26' N., long. 72° 56' E.), situated 5* miles N. of Rasdii
(Boss Atol), is a solitary island at the W. entrance of Kardiva Channel. The reef is
steep and safe to approach to within a cable's length of the high trees, which cover the
island and make it visible 20 miles from a mast-head. It contained (1834-6) about
250 inhabitants, principally employed in fishing. Possesses good water and some supplies.
(6.) Rasdu' (Ross Atol) is a large lagoon reef distant 4£ miles from the N.E.
point of Ari Atol, and connected with it by a plateau having soundings of 100 to 140
fathoms. The diameter of this miniature Atol, which is circular, is only 4£ miles. The
N. and W. sides are one continuous barrier reef, and the E. side is another, but entrances
occur at the N., E., and S. extremes of the Atol. The interior has soundings from 15 to
20 fathoms, but abounds in detached coral patches.
(c.) Ari Atol.— This West Atol is situated about 10 miles N. of Niiandu Atol, and
to the W. of Felidu and Mdle Atols. It is oblong in shape, 48 miles in length N. and
8., by 17 miles in E. and W. breadth, and contains some 50 islands, generally small, which
lie chiefly along the E. boundary. Except a small space on the S., Ari Atol, in common
with those further North, has no continuous barrier reef round it. On the W., N., and
E. sides are numerous good passages for ships into the Atol. In the interior the general
soundings are 30 to 40 fathoms, interrupted by many large coral reefs not all dry at low-
water. The N. extreme of this Atol is in lat. 4° 17' N., long. 72° 45' E.
Between Ari and Niiandu Atols, and W. of Felidu Atol, lies Ariyadu Channel
[Ariyadu kadu]. In width 10 miles, with no soundings, it is free from danger.
• Tram. Bombay Geo.Soc. 1836-8 (1844) p. 108.
t An outline map of Mile, shewing the general position of the old Fort, is annexed. This tracing has
been enlarged in the Surveyor-General's Office, Colombo, from Admiralty Chart, 66 b m — 0*25-^-the
approximate position of the chief buildings being inserted from memory (Visit, November, 1879). There
is said to be a plan of Male* in Charton ( Voyageurs Ancient et Modern*, Vol. IV., Paris, 1856.)
,THE
MALDIVES.
Political
Division.
Vr
South.
Tod4* Island.
Rasdii (Bow Atol).
Ari Atol.
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14
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
THE,
MALDIVES.
Political
Division.
Felidu Atol.
Wattaru Reef.
7.— FELIDU ATOL.
(a.) Felidu Atol, separated on the N. from South Mile Atol by Fulidu Channel
[Fulidu kadu] 8£ miles wide, has a very irregular outline. Its shape has been compared to
a gouty foot and leg. This Atol has only 10 islands, of which five were inhabited (1834-6)
by a population of 320. The Atoluveri resided at Tinadu near the centre of the deep
bight on the AtoVs N.E. side. Many openings occur on the S. W,, N.W., and N.E. faces :
but none on the S. and E. sides, which are one continuous barrier reef. The water of
the islands is brackish and unwholesome. Of supplies, a few fowls, turtle, and some fruit
are obtainable, and firewood is plentiful. The islands of Fulidu (lat. 3° 41' N.,
long. 73° 24' E.) and Rakidu (lat, 3° 19' N., long. 73° 27' E.) mark the N. and S.
extremes of this Atol, and Fotteu its E. point, or toe.
(b.) Watt abu Channel and Reef. Wattaru Channel [Wattaru kadu], which
separates Felidu and Mulaku Atols by a space of eight miles, has in its centre a circular
lagoon reef, four to five miles in diameter, dividing it into two deep passages, 2 and
2£ miles wide. The strength of the tides and currents, and the absence of land marks,
render both passages dangerous. There is only one entrance into the lagoon, in which
soundings give 12 to 20 fathoms, sand.
Mulaku Atol.
Nilandu Atol.
North.
South.
8,— MULAKU ATOL.
Mulaku Atol lies about 20 miles E. of the Nilandu group, and 15 miles N.N.E.
from Kolumadulu Atol. It is of irregular form, prominent towards the N.E. and S., but
very straight on the W. In length it is 25 miles, and contains altogether 21 islands, nine
of which were inhabited (1834-6) by a population of 980. All are on the boundary reefs
(most on the S.E. quarter), except Mulaku, the largest, which stands nearly one mile
within the principal entrance. In the interior of the Atol there are many coral patches,
and the depth of the water varies from 28 to 40 fathoms, sandy bottom. Many Safe
openings occur, chiefly on the W. side. Good water, plenty of wood, and a few supplies
can be obtained at Mulaku island (lat. 2° 57' N., long. 73° 35' E.) The Atoluveri lived at
Muli island.
9.— NILANDU ATOL.
Nilandu Atol— the most Southerly of those that lie in double rows— is 40 miles
in length N. and S., and is in reality two Atols, separated by a channel, 3£ miles wide,
without soundings.
(a.) Nouth Nilandu Atol is a perfect semi-circle on the E.,but its W. side is rather
indented. There are not many islands on its boundary. In the interior, where the general
soundings are 25 to 35 fathoms, are four islands, and several large coral reefs dry at low
water. Mlandti, the S. island (lat. 3° 4' N., long. 72° 53' E.), inhabited, affords some
supplies and good water. From this island the double Atol takes its name. Himiti, the
W. island, though small, is important in the group. In 1834-6 it contained 200 to 300
inhabitants, who were great traders and navigators, sending annually five or six vessels
(80 to 100 tons burden) to Bengal, and having schools for instruction in navigation.
(b.) South Nilandu Atol is of somewhat oval form, flattened slightly on the E.
and W. sides. In meridional length it is 21 miles, by 13 miles E. and W. Many
passages admit of vessels entering the Atol, but it is least accessible on the S.W. The
general depths in the interior are from 27 to 35 fathoms, but studded by many coral
reefs, large and small, some dry at low-water and alt easily avoided. About 20 islands
lie within the Atol : two or three on the W. side boundary : most on the E. boundary
reef. A dumber of jewellers live on the two islands Ribudu and Huludeli (" Doorais
Island" — Taylor's Sailing Directory, Part I., p. 576), and travel periodically among the
different Atols in pursuit of their calling. At Kuda-huvadu island (lat. 2° 40' N.,
long. 72° 53' E.) some supplies of wood, water, and poultry can be procured.
It gives its name to Kuda-huvadu Channel [Kuda-huvadu kadu], a narrow but safe
passage, which separates Nilandu Atol from the Kolumadulu group. The W. entrance
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
15
is only 10 miles wide. The Atol on the S. (Kojnmadulu) is soon past,, bnt the two Atols
on its N. side (Nilandu and Mulaku) give this channel a length of over 30 miles.
lO.-KO^UMAptJLU ATOL.
Ko^umapulu Atol is of somewhat circnlar form — its greatest measurement from E.
to W. being 29 miles, and from N.W. to S.E. 23 miles. It is principally surrounded
by barrier reefs, and in the whole circumference there are a dozen openings. There are
many islands along the S. boundary : a few on the N. : and in the interior only six.
Within the Atol lie numerous coral patches dry at low-water, but the general depths are
from 32 to 42 fathoms. The chief islands are Hirilandu and Kadudu (W.), separated
by a passage two miles wide, Veimandu (S.), Fdlu, nearly four miles in length (E.), and
Buruni (N.) in lat. 2° 34' N., long. 73° 6' E. From these islands, and some others, good
water, firewood, and some poultry, are procurable.
Veimandu Channel [Veimandu katfu], 25 miles in length N.E. by E. ± E., and 16
or 17 miles in breadth, divides Kojumadulu and Haddummatf Atols. It may be traversed
by vessels at night.
.THE
MALDIVES.
Political
DlVIR10«.
Kojumadulu Atol.
II.— HADDUMMATI ATOL.
Haddummati' Atol; This small Atol, in shape said to resemble a leg of mutton, lies
lengthways N.E. and 8.W. for 26 miles : its greatest breadth is 15 miles. The boundary
reef— more regular in outline than that of any other Atol— has six gateways or openings
(M. kadu) } four of which are available for large ships— one on each side of the boundary.
Coral patches, not difficult to avoid, stud the interior. Wood, water, and poultry are to
be obtained at Mawa [? Mdmru] (lat. 1° 54' N., long. 73° 14' E.% the chief island, at the
W. extreme. It contained (1834-6) from 300 to 400 inhabitants, who traded in their own
vessels— three or four of 80 to 100 tons burden— to India annually. At the N.E. point of
the Atol— the narrow end— stands the large island Isdu (lat. 2° 7 N., long. 73° 35' E.)
two miles in length, and covered with cocoanut trees.
The One*ind-a-half Degree Channel, comprehending the space between Haddummatf
and Huvadti (Suvddiva) Atols, is 50 miles broad, and free from dangers. It is adopted
by vessels from the Westward bound to Ceylon, in the months of October and November.
12.— HUVADU (SUVADIVA) ATOL.*
Huvadu' (SuvAdiva) Atol, one of the largest of the Mdldive group, is 42 miles in
length N. and 8., by 34 miles in breadth. . Fine broad passages into the interior occur
on all the sides. There are 30 islands in the centre of this group, which has both a
greater depth of water (35 to 40 fathoms) and fewer coral reefs than other Atols. The
aggregate population was about 2,000 in 1834-6. The men are principally employed
in fishing, whilst the women weave a rush which grows in this Atol (dyed black, brown,
and yellow) into the pretty and valued " Mdldive mats." The inhabitants of this Atol
are said to be much subject to elephantiasis.
The chief islands are \-Hundadu (lat. 0° 27' N., long. 72° 56' E.) at the W. extreme,
on the N. end of a barrier reef which is 19 miles in length and forms the S.W. side o£ the
Atol. In 1834-6 it contained 200 inhabitants, and was the residence of the Atoluveri. —
Mdtura, the Southernmost isle, consisting of a number of little islets on one coral
reef. — Wddu, about 1£ mile long E. and W. and half as broad, said to have been once a
very fertile, thriving island, with 1,200 inhabitants, but contained in 1834-6 not more
than 100. Some ancient mosques, and burial places, render the island interesting to the
antiquary. — Oan, the largest of the group, shows plenty of trees on more than 1£ mile of
sea frontage. A fort was erected on this island against the Portuguese in the 16th
century.f — Gaddu, the principal island of the mat manufacture. — MAfurhi at the N.W.
projecting angle of the Atol. — Tenadu (W.), about one mile in extent, contained 200
Haddummatf Atol.
Huvadu (Suvadiva)
Atol.
* Note (3).
t Gray, J. R. A. S. f Vol. X., p. 197, quoting Pyrard.
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f THB
MALDIVES.
Political
Division.
inhabitants 0834-»6). Good water, wood, and supplies are furnished by most islands.
An impassable barrier reef, 11 miles in length, forms the N.E. boundary of the Atol ;
and on its N. and N.W. sides are many irregular detached coral reefs. Some of the
royal lineage either voluntarily emigrated, or were banished, to this group, at a former
period.* Their descendants, styled Didi } still reside there, as well as in the island of
Mulaku and Addu Atol.
The Equatorial Channel. — By this name navigators in general know the entire passage
between Huvadu (Suvddiva) and Addii Atols, 46 miles in breadth, but Mulaku island
lies athwart the way 31 miles S. of Huvadfi Atol, and it is this latter space which
properly constitutes the Equatorial Channel. This channel is free from danger.
Mulaku Island.
Addii Atol.
Defence.
13.— AD^U ATOL.
A little to S.E. of the centre of the Equatorial Channel lies : —
(a.) Mulaku Island (erroneously called Addon Island by navigators formerly), in
lat. 0° 17' S., long. 73° 23' E., two miles in length N.W. and S.E. by an average breadth
of J mile. The N.E. and W. sides are precipitous, with no soundings close to the
beach ; but off the S. side a shelving bank extends for 1£ mile, on which the surf breaks
very high. The inhabitants are principally employed in fishing and weaving cloth, and
numbered in 1834-6 between 300 and 400. They can provide turtle, fowls, eggs, some fruit,
firewopd, and fresh water.
( b.) Appu' Atol (named Pkoofah Moloque in error by the old navigators) is the
South termination of the M&ldive chain, and the smallest of all the Atols. It is shaped
like a half-moon, concave on the N. side, and is only 10 miles from E. to W., and seven
miles from N. to S. There are nine large and several small islands— over 20 in all—
which contained 500 persons in 1834-6. The two chief islands are Hatadu (N.W.) and
Mdu or Huludu (N.E,). Gan Island (lat. 0° 42' S., long. 73° 6' E.) is the most
Southerly of the whole M&ldive group. The islands afford a few supplies of fruit, limes,
poultry, eggs, &c., and firewood and water in abundance. The natives, though timorous, are
civil and obliging, and will exchange their products for money, rice, or provisions. They
possess some trading boats— one or two of vhich visit Ceylon annually — and their
principal occupation is making cotton cloth, dyed by themselves white, red, chocolate,
and black, neatly blended, which realize a good price in the other Atpls.
There are four gateways into this Atol, two on the N., and two on the S. side — the
broadest and deepest. No soundings are obtainable outside the Atol, but within the
general depths vary from 20 to 25 fathoms.
DEFENCE.
The importance of the Maldives in the event of maritime war in Indian seas in which
England was involved, might be made considerable. Lying within two to three days'
steam of Ceylon and the Coast of HindfistAn— and therefore within easy reach of supplies—
they could advantageously be selected as a rendezvous and temporary station, or as a
point cTappui for war-vessels destined to harass the marine of the enemy in the East.
History affords at least one instance of the recognition by a European power of the
utility of these Islands in time of war. Their admirable position did not fail to attract the
watchful eye of the shrewd Dupleix, who occupied M&16 (Sultan's Island) in 1754 with a
detachment of French troops when engaged in the struggle against the English for
supremacy in Southern India.
Note (4).
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Numerous secure roadsteads and lauding places abound throughout the group.
Supplies are not abundant ; but there is no lack of vessels — both large and small craft —
and rafts peculiarly suited for navigation and landing troops in the dangerous waters of
the Atols.
As far back as 1836 Lieut. F. T. Powell, i.n., proposed Ihavandu island, at the head of
theMdldives, " as better adapted than any other for a coal depot. It lies nearly in a direct
line between Point-de-Galle [426 miles distant] and Socotra [1,173 miles distant], at about
one-third of the whole distance from the former place : is easy of access in every direction :
and possesses safe anchorage for ships and steamers in all seasons. During the S.W.
monsoon a vessel could anchor at the East side of the island between it and a small reef
dry at low water ; in the N.E. monsoon the best anchorage is in the channel between the
island and the South barrier reef in 16 or 17 fathoms, sand and rock. Opposite both the
anchorages there are good landing places for boats, which are procurable for the landing
and shipment of coals, &c. The natives, who are civil and peaceable, might, I think, be
induced to work for a small hire, such as rice, tobacco, &c, or any other remuneration they
might consider adequate."*
Equal facilities exist for the establishment of coal depfits at Kardiva Island (Kaha-
ridu) about the centre of the group, and on Suvddiva (Huvadii) or Addii Atols at the South.
Owing to their low-lying nature, the great extent of coast line, and the want of stone
suitable for fortification, it may be doubted whether the Islands could be strongly defended
except at a cost clearly prohibitive. The old Portuguese fort at M&16 is, however,- a
standing proof of the practicability of erecting fairly substantial works at important
points, capable of offering some resistance.
Upon emergencies, a battery of Artillery with one or two companies of Marines, aided
by a vessel of war, would probably suffice to hold the Islands against the sudden descent
of an enemy's rovers.
Peaceable and timid by nature, but amenable to discipline, there is every reason to
believe from their past history that the Mdldivians could be relied on at least in defensive
operations affecting the safety of their Islands. Though constitutionally lazy, they are
likely to prove sufficiently alive to their own interests to co-operate in carrying out ordinary
undertakings, if adequate inducement is held out.f
,THE
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Political
Division.
Defence.
X
NOTES.
(1)
The Atols— of which .there are more than twenty physically distinct — have for centuries
been divided by the Maldivians into thirteen chief groups, forming the entire realm of the Sultans.
"Elles sont divisees," says Pyrard (p. 71), " en treize Provinces, qu'ils nomment Atollons qui
est une division naturelle, selon la situation des lieux : d'autant que chacun Atollon est separe* des
autres, et contient en soy une grande multitude de petites Isles" ; and he proceeds to speak of the
Maldive sovereign, "Sultan Ibrahim" as "king of 13 provinces and 12,000 islands (dolos asset ral
tera atholon)" As though this title was not sufficiently pompous, on their coins the Maldive
Sultans are described as 'lords of land and sea' {assultdnul bar wal bahr, j ^\ j j r J\ < yUJLJ\) — i Q
other words, * rulers of the world !' Bpiopewc faiverai &v Xayw?.
Laval (p. 74) enumerates the Atols "in order from the North" thus : — (1) Tilla dou matis,
(2) Milla done madoue, (3) Padt/polo, (4) Malos madou, (5) Ariatollon, (6) MaU Atollon,
u qui est le principal ou est Pisle de Male* capitale des autres," (7) Poulisdous, (8) Molucque,
(9) Nillandous, (10) Collo madou s, (11) Adou matis, (12) Souadou, (13) Addou and Poua
Mollucque, " qui en sont deux petits distinguez et separez ensemble comme les autres, mais fort
petits, pour raison de quoi ils ne sont comptez que poor un. Toutefois Addou, comme le meiileur,
donne le nom a Pautre." " These atolls with Suadiva were sometimes considered as a sub-kingdom,
apart from the other atolls. The dethroned king (Dom Manuel) who lived at Cochin entitled
himself 'king of the Maldive islands and of the three atolls of Cuaydu (rei das ilhas de
Maldiva e de tres Patanas de Cuaydu, fyc.' — Documento, 1560.)"%
* J. R. A. S., Bengal, Vol. IV., p. 322. f Note (5). J Gray, J. R. A. 8. Vol. X., n. s. pp. 196, 200,
Notes,
The Atols.
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f THE
MALDIVES.
Political
Division.
Notes.
"This division into thirteen Atolls is political rather than physical : thus, Tilla dou mails
[Tiladummati] includes what is really the Northernmost atoll, Heawandu Pholo [Ihavandiffbju],
and does not include Mille done Madoue [Miladummadulu], though both form one loog straggling
Atoll intersected by no deep soundings. Malcolm Atoll (so called by the English surveyors) is taken
to belong to Mille doue Madoue : Horsburgh Atoll to Malosmadou [Malosmadulu —itself consisting
of two Atols]. Mali [Male] has three Atolls ; Art, [Nilandu], and Addou[Add<L] each two."*
Ibn Batuta (middle of 14th century) gives the following as among the provinces (Arabic,
aklim) which are distinguished: — (1) Palipour, (2) Cannalous, (3) Mahal, 'which gives its •
name to all the islands,' (4) Tel&dib, (5) Caraidou, (5) Teim, (7) Teledommety, (8) Hele-
dommety, (9) Bereidou, (10) Candacal, (11) Molouc, (12) Souweid.^
tl The French Editors identify [some of] these names with those given by Pyrard as follows : —
Palipour— 'Padypolo* : Mahal—* Mal6* : Caraidou— ' Caridou' : Tiledommety— 'Tilla dou
matis' : HSledommely—' Milla doue madoue' : Bereidou — ' Poulisdous' : Molouc— 4 Molucque' :
Souweld — * Souadou.' The Cannalous of Ibn Batuta, they add, is perhaps the * Collomadous' of
Pyrard, or, as Horsburgh writes it, ' Colomandous.' "J
The majority of the above "are easily recognisable," but five (viz.,Cannalous, Telodib, Teim,
Heledommety, and Candacal) present more difficulty, — some, indeed, being shaped, more Arabica,
out of all but unsatisfactory conjectural recognition.
As regards HeUdommety, the French translators would appear to be at fault. It may perhaps
with more reason be taken as equivalent to Hela-du{mymati (S. hela, *&c> * white,' or even sela,
«\«jq as Javanese sela, ' rock' + duva, g©, ' island' + maturpifa, ©^93 * above') passing by
contraction into Had-dummatu Addu may similarly be a contracted form of Hela-du or Hulu-
du— the name of one of the islands in that Atol.
If it be open to question the orthography of the MS. and, supposing an error of the copyist,
read Neladib for Tel&dib — t and n are not unlike in Arabic — it can be at once fitted to Nilandu
Atol. Even accepting the received form as correct, the identification may possibly be not
considered too far-fetched. Cf. Tqjaree = ? Nausari; Accanee and Kaluftee islands (Lakkadive
group) = Aucutta, Kalpeni, Adm. Chart (Col. Yule in Indian Antiquary, Vol. III., pp. 212-4, on
" Names in the Tohfai-al MajMidin") Nilandu may, however, perhaps = ' the lotus island'
(S. nelum, ®&b% 'lotus' + duva, 5©, 'island' ; but cf. also Pu lo-nila, i indigo' or 'blue island' in
the Molucca Sea.
To attempt to twist the rest into probable coincidence with the modern names of the remaining
Atols seems hopeless. But the identification of Caraidou with Caridou [Kaharidu] — if accepted-—
suggests a likely clue to their origin. Admitting that this island — now-a-days of comparative
insignificance — was of sufficient importance in the 14th century to be classed as a "province," it is
not improbable that other islands would have been taken as representative of whole groups or Atols.
Teladib, if not Nilandu, might then be Toddu, on the analogy of Haddummdti from
Heledommety : Cannalous — Kinalos f 'Kenoorus/ Admiralty Chart, (Majosmadulu Atol) : Candacal
— Kediholu t ' Kaindecolos,' Admiralty Chart, (Miladummadulu Atol). Cannalous and Teim should
lie North of Male. Ibn Batuta, crossing from the Malabar coast, landed first at the former, " an
island fair to behold, where there are many mosques," and touched later at Teim "after four
days' cruise" when bound for Mahal (Mal6).{
The ephemeral prominence that individual islands may assume is well illustrated by Pyrard.
Thus he particularises Maconnodou [Mahunudu, Male Atol] the property of the " High Admiral " :
Misdoue [f Midi, Nilandu Atol] and Gooradou [Gurddu % Fadiffoju Atol] where a former Sultan's
brother-in-law, and a powerful chieftain, respectively raised the standard of revolt at different times :
Game [ Gan, Huvadu Atol] on which a fortress was erected : Maspillaspoury [' the city of the
MapiJla (Moplas)' ? Md/urhi/aru, Miladummadulu Atol.]
Many of the names occurring throughout the Maldive Archipelago are of simple explanation,
and find their counterpart in Ceylon (North and South), and on the South Coast of India : of others
•—some apparently heterogeneous compounds — it would be premature to offer more than a possible
solution. Pure Aryan derivatives prevail, but the Dravidian element is not absent. Of words
chiefly recurring as terminations, the following are most common :—
(a. J M. du ; S. duva, diva, £0, §0 ; Sans, dwipa.
• Gray, J. R. A. S., Vol. X., n. s. 1878, p. 196, Note 1.
t Voyages fib* Batoutah par Defrimery et Sangoinetti, IV., Ill, 119, (2° tir.) Paris, 1879; Gray, J. E. A. S ,
Vol. X, n. s. 1878, p. 196, Note 1.
X Gray, Translating from Voyages d'Ibn Batoutah jwr Dei et Sang., IV., 455.'
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
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(b.) M.furki 9 fujja f fufu, fofu, and kolu ; S. pitiya, e8co ; T. pat tan am, uiLumnr, paffi,
u&reiB; Sans, patiaua, paid; but of. Malay pulo, x islet.'
(c.) M.faru, varu, hura; S. pura, g<5 ; T. puram, qirir, ckeri, (?#$, tir, «wf; Sans, ptcra.
But with M. varu cf. also Sans, vdra, 'multitude/ and vdfa 'enclosure/ * district* (e.g.MdrwdrJ.
(d.) M. madulu; S. mandalaya, ©-^-SDc 00 J T. mandalam. tAtwrL.«uib; Sans, mandala.
(e.) M. atofu; S. f/tf/a, qpt«p©» * inside/
f/J M. *arfw, •channel,' 'sea' cf. (i) T. *<?«#, *qL 'to cut 5' ( ii) T. ' kadal, «i-«u, « sea.*
If Pyrard is right, Tiladummati is a hybrid (" commencant a la pointe du Nord, qui en est
la teste, que les Portugais appellent a cause de ce Cabexa des las ilhas, et en langue Maldivoise
Tilla dou matis en meme signification, c'est a dire la pointe d' enhaut" — p. 74) from Mai. to/a,
T. to/at, fitsv, 'head/ or T. told, Qfintieo, •limit,' 'end/ and S. diva, §©, 'island/ + matu-pita, €)q>e0,
'above/ Compare Taleimanndr (N. Province, Ceylon) ; but also tote, (Sans. Mar.) 'low ground/
Miladvmmadulu and Kaharidu may be equally conglomerates :— mila du(m)tnadulu =- T.
mullaiy <t£6u2bu, + S. duva, 5©, + S. T. mandalaya, ©^cSqcs, mandalam, Loafer L-euii ; AaA<m«T.
Adrai, «/T6B)ir, + S. duva, §0. Cf. Mullaitivu (N.E. coast, Ceylon) and Kdraiivu (Amsterdam
Island, N.W. coast, Ceylon).
Mdlosmadulu — perhaps ■=' the country of the large los (M.) tree.'
Fadiffblu (Ibn Batuta, ' PalipourJ Pyrard, 'Padypolo') — compare Pulas-ti-pura, the modern
Polonnaruwa, (Ceylon) and Pudupattanam (on the Malabar coast) the Uotoripovpa of Ptolemy
and UovSonarava, of Cosmas Indicopleustes (Caldwell, Dravid. Gram. 1875, p. 105.)
Mulaku— probably another form of Mdliku (Minakai) the Mulkee of the Tohfal-al-Maja-
hidin (Ind. Ant. Vol. III., p. 213). Cf. Mar. Muluk 'kingdom' Mhlaka, (Malacca), and Maluka,
Port, Maluea (Moluccas).
Kolumadulu — Cf. Chola (Sans.), Chdra (T.) or Chola (Tel.)— mandala, 'the country of
the Cb61as, Ch6]as, or Ch<Sras, whence CoromandeL
It remains to notice that the natives customarily affix the term atolu only to the Atols Mdle, Ari y
Nilanduy Felidu, and Mulaku, shortening their final vowel, or even, as in Mulahatolu, altogether
eliding it, and appear to use madu or madulu synonymously, as Miladummadu or Miladum-
madulu, — Kolumadu or Kolumadulu.
" The Muezzin's call doth shake the minaret :
* There is no god but God ! — to prayer— lo ! God is great ! ' "
Ces quatre Moudins [ M. Mudimmu] montent tous ensemble sur un bastiment de pierre fort
haut eleve\ qui est tout joignant le Mesquite [M. Miskitu]. lis mettent les mains a leur oreilles,
et ils orient par trois fois de toute leur force, d'une voiz effiroyable tous ensemble, ces paroles en
langue Arabesque, Alas A las aquebar [Allah — pronounced A llahu — akbar : should be repeated /o«r
times] c'est a dire grand Dieu : et puis adjoustent quelque chose de Mahomet." (Pyrard, p. 98.)—
See Stobbart, 'Islam/ 1876, p. 117.
(3)
Huvadu' (SuvAdiva) Atol. — The following recent notes regarding the islands of Viligili,
Tenadu, and Hiladu, in this Atol, made, at request, by the Captain of the S. S. "ConsetP (wrecked
on the Suvddiva reef, May 7th, 1880), are of interest :—
u The population of the three islands, which are small, is about 1,000. The inhabitants
live within small kraals, each containing an* indefinite number of huts. These huts are built of
sticks, thatched and covered with cadjans, are low, and small (about 7 feet by 9). The natives
were very obliging, kind, and friendly, did not seem ignorant, having books of their own languages
[probably treatises on the Kurdn], but were extremely inquisitive. Those who have been abroad
to Calcutta, Ceylon, &a, can speak a little Hindustani, Arabic, and Sinhalese. The supplies
obtainable are dry fish, fish blood, fowls, eggs, cocoanuts, breadfruit, and jaggery. The manufactures
. consist of coir yarn and rope, finest fancy rush mats, fans, and tats. Trade is done mostly by
barter, though cowries and Maldive copper coins are in circulation. Prices could not be ascer-
tained, as provisions were obtained gratis, and were freely given. •
" The island of Viligili is one of the most cleanly kept islands ever visited. The inhabi-
tants are very industrious, civil, and obliging. The women are extremely shy and bolt like ante-
lopes [sic] at the sight of Europeans. Their costume is pretty, and resembles that of Arab or Per-
sian women. The morality is good. Children are taught to learn their own dialect from a young age.
The men are noted for their power of sastras (magic), and the whole race is very superstitious.
The climate is unhealthy for European constitutions. Fever and bowel complaints are the chief
disorders prevalent, probably due to the brackish water. From India and Ceylon are imported
,THE
MALDIVES.
Political
Division.
Notes. •
Huvadu
diva) Atol.
(Suva-
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MALDIVES.
Political
Division.
• Notes.
Defence.
silk and cotton goods, rice and other grains, medicinal roots and drugs, and such luxuries as tea
and sugar. It was noted that some men understood the intrinsic value of English money, aad
accepted it in exchange for goods."
(4)
." C'est le lieu ou le Roy envoye en exil ceux qui luy ont dlpleu, d'autant que c'est' one isle
fort eloigner de sa Cour, ou les navires estrangers n'abordent jamais, et dont les habitans sont fort
peu courtois, fort rudes et grossiers. (Pyrard, pp. 68-9.) Accordingly three of Laval's companions
were deported to "Souadou" [Huvadu] to prevent concerted plans for escape (p. 69) ; and he
further mentions (p. 176) that the Sultan's mother-in-law and her brother were mutilated ("ils
eurent tous les poings coupez") and banished thither for high treason. '
Suvadiva Atol was ever a favourite * penal settlement.' Ibn Batuta (A.D. 1343-4) mentions
the banishment to "the islands of Souweid" of'Abd-Allah by his step-son, Sultan Chihab-ed-din
[Shih&b-ul-din.']* The present Sultan's grandfather (Sulfdn Hassan Nur-ul-din) is also said to
have been temporarily banished (1790?) to this Atol, and, on obtaining the throne, to have
similarly retaliated upon the relations of the Sultan whom he succeeded.
See too Pyrard (p. 170) regarding the voluntary exile of two Maldive nobles (ultimately joint
Sultans) who, "unwilling to submit to the Portuguese yoke," retired to Huvadu Atol, where the enemies
never dared venture, and defied their arms.
(5)
Defence. — The question of the potential capabilities of the Maldive group, as of possible
future service to the Imperial Government on military and commercial grounds, assumes the more
interest at the present time from the recent official inspection of Diego Garcia (lat. 7° 26' S.,
long. 72° 23' E.), the principal island of the Chagos Archipelago (Basses de Chagos), lying above
400 miles directly South of the Maldives.
The surveyors' report has yet to be published ; but meanwhile the following extracts from the
notice by the local press of the visit of U. M. "Eclipse" bear so closely on the above remarks, as to
warrant insertion : —
" The examination of the harbour itself and its shore showed that there was deep water
throughout and most suitable localities for coal depots as well as commanding positions for the
erection of one or more batteries.^ It is of course natural that the Government in establishing a
depdt of coal for the Navy would desire to have it protected from robbery, and no doubt private
steam companies connected with the Australian lines, via the Red Sea, would likewise be glad to
coal their steamers here, seeing that it is in the direct line to the South, instead of going out of
their way for other coaling stations. We believe it is understood that one battery and a small
force of Artillery , with a company of Infantry, would amply suffice for all purposes of protection?
— Ceylon Times, July 13, 1881.
" The opening of the Suez Canal and the consequent rapid development of steamer traffic
between Great Britain and Australia has naturally directed attention to this group, lying, as it does,
in the direct passage between the Red Sea and Australia, and the " Eclipse's" mission may be looked
on as a harbinger of Diego Garcia becoming a large coaling station, and, consequently, obviating
the necessity which at present exists for steamers to Australia proceeding directly out of their course
to Point-de-GalJe for coals. A lighthouse placed on Diego Garcia would be of great service to
ships outward bound to India and Ceylon, and an important landmark for the correction of their
chronometers, when making the South passage to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea during the preva-
lence of the South-West monsoon. The harbour of Diego Garcia is admirably adapted for & coaling
station, being large, well protected from the prevalent winds, and uniformly deep, except at certain
portions where coral reefs have arisen It seems quite impracticable to entertain the ideaof making
it a strongly fortified depdt, except at an enormous expense, as, although the harbour would admit
of being strongly fortified, the extreme narrowness and length of the island would allow of its being
attacked and taken in the rear by a hostile squadron, unless the whole of its coast line were defended
by a succession of forts which would have to be erected at an enormous expense and heavily garri-
soned The fact of a British man-of-war being sent to enquire into the feasibility of an almost
unknown island being made into a large coaling depdt may be taken as an assurance that the
Admiralty are becoming alive to the necessity of establishing some large stores of coal, properly
defended by fortifications, from whence we might draw a supply in war time, instead of being to a
large extent dependent, as in the case at present, on neutral States for our supplies ." — Ceylon
Examiner, July 8, 1881.
• Voyages d'Ibn Batoutah par Del et Sang. IV., 131.
t Vide ante p. 4, Note (3).
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
IV -HISTORICAL SKETCH.
21
1.— EARLY PERIOD.
" The story of a people who have no history can only be gleaned from the records of
strangers, who have settled among them, or by an examination of their own language."*
The early history of these Islands is buried in obscurity— the natural result of
their complete isolation and comparative insignificance. Indeed, except for scant
glimpses afforded by the accounts of a few casual travellers, whom accident has taken
thither from time to time, the world, in this the latter half of the 19th century, knows
little or nothing of the whole past history of the Maldives. The Mdldivians themselves
possess no known historical records of any antiquity,t and would seem to be utterly
ignorant of their antecedents, beyond such vague and unreliable shreds of information as
may have been handed down by tradition.
It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to state with certainty the exact origin of the
Maldtvian race. There can, however, be little doubt that the whole group— including
Maliku(Minakal)%— was occupied either directly from Ceylon, or about the same time as
this Island, by a people of A'ryan stock and language. This supposition is greatly
supported by the known kinship between the M&ldive and Sinhalese languages.
Gradually, from contact and intercourse with strangers of the coasts of India— chiefly
Malabar M&pillas — the influx of pure Arabs, and the occasional importation of African
slaves, many characteristics of the original type have been modified. More particularly is
this the case in the Northern Atols, which have necessarily been more exposed to foreign
influence than those lying further South.
"' They' [the natives], says Pyrard (p. 78), 'hold that the Maldives were formerly
peopled by the Cinyala, for so the inhabitants of Ceylon are named; but I find that the
Maldivans do not at all resemble the Cinyala, who are black and ill-shapen.§ The former
are well-shapsd and proportioned, and differ but little from ourselves, except in their colour,
which is olive. Yet it may be believed that the climate and lapse of time have rendered
them more fair than were those who first colonised the islands.' "|| " Added to the fact,"
he continues, "that there is incorporated a large number of strangers from all parts,
who have settled there, besides many of the natives of India (Indiens), who have been
wrecked from time to time, as we were, and who are constantly being cast away there and
remain. On this account the inhabitants [of the islands stretching] from Male and its
vicinity up to the Northern limit prove to be more polished, courteous, and civilised."
" Again (p. 185) : ' They say that the Maldives began to be inhabited only about 400 years
ago [circa A. D. 1200], and that the first who came and peopled them -were (as I have
already said in passing) the Cinjalles of the Island of Ceylon, which is not far distant,
and were idolaters, but have since changed their religion.' "||
Mr. Gray seems right in conjecturing that "if the Sinhalese were the first
colonists, they were probably there as far back as the beginning of the Christian era,
when Ceylon was a powerful monarchy." It can hardly have been much later than this
period that Elu (the pure Sinhalese) was the vernacular of Ceylon, unadulterated by
Sanskrit and Pali infusions. And it is to this form of Sinhalese that the MAldive
language approaches nearest. Indeed it may be preferable to assign to the original
colonisation of the group a date synchronic with that of Ceylon itself (viz., several
centuries before the Christian era) by a distinct isolated party of the same A'ryan
adventurers, and to presume a subsequent direct immigration from this Island.1T
THE
MALDIVES
Historical
►Sketch.
Origin of race.
When colonised.
* Crawfurd, Dictionary of the E. Indian Islands, 1856, p. 17. f Not€ (0- % Note (2).
§ Gray fancies that Pyrard could only have seen the Tamils of Ceylon. — J. R. A. S. Vol. X. n. s., pp. 178, 1 83.
I Gray, J. R. A. S. t Vol. X. n. s., p. 177.
^f According to the Dipawansa, Raja Ratndkara, 6fc. t Ceylon bore the name *0'jadipa % daring the time
of Kakusanda, the first Buddha of the present kalpa or period, the commencement of which cannot be fixed
for want of historical data. At the present day this Island is called by Maldivians " 0[udu-kara u (cf. S. gg ss3
mudu kara, and T. sswr Aarai, ' sea-shore'.)
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22
SESSIONAL PAPEBS, 1881.
,THB
MALDIVES.
IIlSTORKAL
Sketch.
Early references
to the Islands.
Pappus.
Scholasticus.
Fah-Hian.
Kosmas.
Among the general allusions to the islands lying off the coast of Ceylon by the
early travellers and geographers whose writings have as yet become known to the
world,* some at least may reasonably be taken to include the Maldives, though specific
mention of these Islands scarcely once occurs. Nor is this surprising, in spite of their
central position in the track of the trade with India carried on by the Greeks and Romans,
and later by Persians and Arabs, considering the uncoveted nature of their products,
their unfertile soil, end, above all, the dangers of navigation among the coral reefs — those
mythical ' loadstone rocks,' the dread of Ceylon seas— added to the deadliness of the
climate, all of which would combine to cause the Maldive and Lakkadiye archipelagos
to be carefully fihunned.
In any case "the date given by Pyrard must be put back several oenturies."t
" Pappus of Alexandria (about end of the 4th century) says : — i It [TaprobanG] is one of
the largest islands in the world, being 1,100 miles in length by 1,500 miles broad, and
reckons 1,370 adjacent islands among its dependencies,' "? — probably following Ptolemy
(A.D. 160) who places before Ceylon a group of 1,378 islands (Geog. VII. c. iv. p. 21 3).
About the same time (circa A.D. 400) Scholasticus the Theban,§ who visited India in
company with a priest and reached Muziris (Cranganore) on the Malabar coast, mentions
the thousand islands, Maniolae (MowIXik), and the loadstone (fuxyynne) rocks which attract
iron-bound vessels to their destruction. Lt.-CoL W. H. Sykes|| and Sir E. TennentT
identify these islands with the M&ldives, but Ptolemy, who limits their number to 1 0,
throws them forward some degrees East of Ceylon (Geog. VIL c. ii. p. 21.)
Fah-Hian (in Ceylon A.D. 412) records :— " On every side [of * Sse-tseu-kme* —
Sinhala] are small islands perhaps amounting to 100 in number. They are distant from
one another 10 or 20 li, and as much as 200 li. All of them depend on the great island.
Most of them produce precious stones and pearls"**— a description which, it must be
admitted, applies more naturally to the islands closely skirting Ceylon, chiefly round the
North coasts, than to the distant M&ldives as supposed by Landresseft and Tennent.
Kosmas Indicopleustis (circa A.D. 535), on the information of Sopater who had visited
Ceylon 30 years previously, says :— a Around it [2fXftf/8a: Tawpop&vti] there are a multitude
of exceedingly small islets. All contain fresh water and cocoanut palms (<*py*'XAt« ; Sans.
ndrikela \ Arabic, ndrghyl). These islands lie as close as possible together."}J
The early political dependency of the Mdldives on Ceylon may be doubted. It must
at least have been merely nominal, unless it existed in these ' palmy days ' of Hindfi
legend when t$ri-Lahkorpura (long. 75° 53' 15" E.) — the prehistoric capital of the kingdom
of LarikA— remained unsubmerged by the ocean which now rolls far to Eastward of its
computed site.§§ It is otherwise difficult to account for the total silence of the chief
* Early Chinese historical literature particularly offers still a vast unexplored field of likely value.
t J, R. A. S. Vol X. n. s. 1878, p. 178.
\ Tennent, Ceylon, 1860, Vol, I., p, 571, note, quoting Moses Cborenensis, edit. Whiston, 1736, p. 367.
§ A contemporary of Palladium, Bishop of Helenopolis in Bitbynia, and quoted in the tract " Dt
Moribus Brachmanorum" and its Greek version " JXepi rvv rtig 'Iviiae iBvuv km t*v Bpay/uhw ; "
Pseudo Callisihenes, edit. Miiller, Lib. III. c. vi., vii. — Tennent, Ceylon, Vol. I., pp. 562-3.
) J. R. A. S. Vol. VI. o. s. 1841 , p. 393,
^ Tennent, Ceylon, Vol, L f p. 563, Note 2.
** Seal, Buddhist Pilgrims, p. 148, quoted by Gray, J. R. A. S. Vol. X. n. s., p. 178. Five U ( 1643
metres) are a little more than an English mile fl ^69 me>« J — Stanislas J ulien, " Memoir es sur les Contrees
Occidentales" Tome II. p. 259.
ft Fo%-koul-ki y translated by Remusat, ed. by Klapfoth and Landresse, Paris, 1836, English Trans, by
J. W. Laidlay. Calcutta, 1848, p. 332.
XX Tennent, Ceylon, Vol. 1., p. 567.
§§ u [Eustathius], the scholiast, of Dionysius, (translated) thus speaks :— 'Others on the contrary have
it, that Maldivia was originally one vast island, but that a resistless ocean burst in upon it far and wide, and
formed * countless number of islets (throve <iw«p«*i«cy "-^Pridham, Ceylon, Ac, 1849, Vol. I. p. 17;
Forbes, Eleven Years in Ceylon, Vol. II. p. 259. See too ante p. 3, Note (1).
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HISTORICAL SKETCH.
. 23
Sinhalese historical books regarding these Islands.* Certainly at a later period among
the territories claimed as subject to the R&j'fis of Ceylon the Maldives are not included ;t
and even in the 4th century the "Divi" — probably i the Islanders' of the Mildive (M. bivehi
mihun) and Lakkadive groups— are distinguished from the " Selendivi" or c Ceylonese,' by
Ammianus Marcellinus, in his account of the Indian embassy to the . Emperor Julian
(A. D. 361.)t
2.— ARAB AND PERSIAN PERIOD.
The spirit of enterprise and trade had led the Persians and Arabs to the far East
Tery early in the Christian era. Within a few centuries were added the burning ardour of
propagandists and the ambition of conquerors. " The enthusiasm inspired by Mahomet
converted the Arabians into a nation of military apostles, whose successive conquests
furnished a succession of armed proselytes sufficiently numerous to extend and confirm
their empire, and at the same time to engross the entire commerce of Asia : their
commercial navy was spread over the whole expanse of the Indian Ocean, and its shores
were generally covered by their factories, and subject to their influence."§ In the
inlands that lie scattered in this Ocean their success was particularly rapid. " The want
of commerce procured them the best reception both from Princes and their subjects.
They soon rose to the highest dignities in these petty States, and became the arbiters of
government. They took advantage of the superiority of their knowledge and the support
they received from their country to establish a universal dominion. The despots and their
vassals, in order to ingratiate themselves with them, abandoned a religion to which they
had no great attachment, for new opinions which might procure them some advantages.
This sacrifice cost them the less, as the preachers of the Koran made no scruple of
admitting ancient superstitions into an alliance with those they wished to establish."!)
The Muhammadans first made their influence felt in Southern India and Ceylon— if
their traditions be held reliable, possibly as early even as the 8th century — by planting
many trading emporia on the coast IT On Ceylon, Manndrand "Mantotte" (Mdntai)— as
on the Malabar coast, Calicut— appear to have been the chief entreats of traffic fo*
the Moorish merchants, who received from agents at various ports the produce of different
parts of the East.**
The Maldives, lying in the direct route to Malacca and China, must soon have shared
their attention. Peaceable * squatting' of " Moors" from all parts, in annually increasing
numbers, countenanced by successive autochthonous Sovereigns, would be followed
naturally by a gradual process of intermarriage with the natives, and smooth the way
towards the firm establishment on the Islands of the faith and power of Islam. ft
.THE
MALDIVE&
Historical
Sketch.
Arab enterprise.
Their trading set-
tlements.
Maldivians con*
verted to Islam.
* No mention of the Maldive Islands occurs in the Dfpawaysa, Mah&waQsa, ThupawaQsa, Raja Ratnd*
kara or Rdjdwali, nor, it is believed, in any of the older Sinhalese poets.
t E&, titles of Raja Si&ha II. (1632-1687) :— "Syn tytel was Raya Singa, Keyser van het Eyland
Ceilon ; K on ink van Kandy, Zaitavaca, Cot*, Danbadaon, Amorayapore, Jaffanapatnam ; Prince van Ova,
Mature, Dinavaca, de Vier Provintien ; Groot-Hartogh van de Seven Provintien ; Grave van Cotiar, Bat**
calo, Vitana, Panoa, Putelaon, Bellingamma, Gale ; Marquis van Duranura, Rotemira, Tinipana; Heer van
de Havenen van Ceylon, den Peerl-visschery, en van de Guide Sonne."— W outer Sohoutens, Oost-lnditche
Voyagie, Tweede Boek, 311, 3rd ed. Amsterdam, 1745. See also Dutch Records (Colombo) 17th century
passim.
I Perinde timore ejus adventos ...... legationes undique soli to ocius concurrebant nationibus Indicia
eertatim cum donis optimates mittentibus ante tempus ab usque Dims et Serendivis (XXII. L. 7, c. 10 §.)—
J. R. A. S , Vol XIX., o.s., 1S62, p. 274.
§ Quarterly Review, Vol. VHL, 1812, p. US.
| History of the Settlement and Trade of the Europeans in the East and West Indies, translated from
the French of Abbe Raynal by J. Justamond, Vol. L, Book L, p, 49, London, 1776.
T See Tennent, Ceylon, Vol, I, p. 631.
*• Sir A. Johnston, Transactions R. A. 8., Vol. I., Art 32.,* 1827. .
ft " Inde a seculo Hedschrae seeundo Arabes Muslemi Indiam peragrarant superiorem, mediam, et
inferiorem, sedesque ibi fixerunt : et non solum libera mercatura, sed etiam sacris, legibus, instituHsque
patriis usi, mox in oris maritimis Indiae mgentem in numerum congregati sunt. Ipsi Indorum principes
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24
THE MALDIVE ISLANDS.
, THE
MALDIVES.
HlSTOEICAL
Stbtch.
Influenced by
Malabar States.
Two Muhamma-
dans.
Albyrtiny*
Ibn Batata.
From Ibn Batut&'s narrative it is reasonable to deduce the approximate date of the
Muhammadan conversion of at least the Northern Atols, including M£16, viz., about the
beginning of the 13th, or close of the 12th century. Pyrard, indeed, writing circa A.D.,
1611, records the native belief that " about 150 or 200 years at most [have elapsed] since
they received Mahometanism through the Moors and Arabs, who, while trading over all
the continent and islands of India, brought there also their law, which has since
remained in most of those parts."* But, allowing for the slowest rate of progress
southwards, the most distant group would not escape the " accursed and false doctrine of
Mahomet," for so long a period as from two to two and-a-half centuries, i.e., until
A.D.,1400-1450.f
Everything points to a close connection at this time between the Maldives and the
flourishing and powerful Muslim settlements on the Malabar coast, notably Cananore, not
improbably resulting in a feudatory subjection of the Islands to that State during the course
of the 14th and 15th centuries. At any rate their proximity and defencelessness could not
fail to induce frequent incursions by the restless coast pirates, rendering the sway of the
native Kings qualified and precarious. The commercial prosperity and political influence
of the Moorish traders, which attained their highest degree in the 12th and 13th centuries,
remained considerable until the end of the 15th century, at least, when they were destined
to wane and finally disappear before the all-absorbing powers of the West, heralded by
the Portuguese.
During this period notices of the Maldives occur in the accounts of a few Arab and
Persian travellers.
In the travels of The Two Muhammadans% (9th century) allusion is made to the
" many islands" [Dybadjat] lying between the seas of Herkend and Delarosi, which were
then " governed by a Queen" and "all inhabited." The wealth of the inhabitants, who
were " skilful in all workmanship/' consisted in shells (kaptage), of which the treasury was
full, whilst " ambergris in lumps of extraordinary bigness, as also in lesser pieces re*
sembling plants torn up," was found in the surrounding seas.
Albyruny (11th century) again calls the Islands ? Al Dybadjat" alludes to their
alleged gradual upheaval and disappearance, and divides them into two classes according
to the nature of their chief products,— " Dyvah-kouzah" (Cowry Islands,) "from the
cowries which are collected on cocoanut boughs placed in the sea," and " Dyvah-kanbar"
(Coir Islands.) §
Ibn Batuta,l the Maghrabin traveller, crossed to the Maldives (Dhtbat al Mahal)
from the continent of India about the commencement of A.D. 1343, and remained at M&16
(Mahal) 18 months. Connecting himself with the noblest families by marrying four
wives, he rose into great consideration, had pressed upon him the office of K&zi (Fanda-
yarhdlou), but ultimately deemed it prudent to leave in order to escape the jealousy of
hand pauci, Calecuti Samorinus, Reges Cambajae, Hinauri, Maabari, et insular urn Maldivarum Bad$cka t
Islamismum amplexi, Arabum leges et mores suis in terris divulgarunt Primo mercatum institueruut
einguli, mox propaganda Zslamismo operam navarurU denique rerum publicarum administratione potiti sunt."
— Kosegarten, Ds Afohammsde JEbn Batuta, p. 4, Jena, 1818.
• Gray, quoting Pyrard, p. 185.— J. R. A. 8. Vol. X, n.s., 1878, p. 177.
f See Note to section V. on the " Date of the Muhammadan conversion."
t " As to the first of these Voyages it appears clearly that it was written [by Sulieman, the Persian
traveller] in the year of the Hegira 237 (A.D. 851). The latter, which is no more than a commentary or
discourse upon the former, appears to have been the work of Abu Zeid [on the authority of Ibn Wahab, who-
travelled in A. H. 157 or A.D. 870] about the year of the Hegira 303 (A.D. 915)."— Pinkerton, " Voyages
and Travels," Vol VII., pp. 181-2; Gray, J. R. A. S. Vol. X. n.s., 1878, pp. 178-9, quoting Reinaud,
"Relation den Voyages f aits par les Arabes, et les Persons dans VInde a la et Chine dans le IX. e Steele"
§ Reinaud, " Fragments Arabes et Persons inidits relatifs a VInde antirieurement au XI. e Steele"
Paris, 1845, pp. 93, 123-4.
| " Ibn Batouta," says Burckhardt (" Travels in Nubia," App. III., 534), «« is perhaps the greatest land
traveller who ever wrote his travels." Ilia proper name was Abu* * Abd-Allah Muhammad. A native of
Tangiers, he travelled for 80 years —i.e., from the year 725 of the Hijra (A.D. 1324) to 755 (A.D. 1354).
In the course of that period he several times traversed Egypt, Syria, Arabia, Persia, the coast of the Red
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
25
the Sultana's second husband, 'Abd- Allah, who was also Chief Vizier, He describes in
considerable detail the condition of the Islanders and their administration (which he
honestly set himself to ameliorate), gives the quaint legend of their conversion to IsUm,
and specifies the export trade "to India, China, and Yemen" in dried fish (kaulb almds)
cocoanuts, fabrics, cotton turbans, cowries (nxida'), coir (kanbar) y and even copper vessels.
Cowries formed the currency. •
Owing to failure of male issue, the eldest sister of the late Sultan had succeeded to
the throne. " One of the marvels of the M&ldives is that they have for their sovereign a
woman, by name Khadidjah [Khadi'jah], daughter of the Sultan DJ61&1 eddin 'Omar
[ JalAl-ud-di'n 'Umar], son of the Sultan Sal&h eddin [SalIh-ud-Di'n] S&lih AlbendjAly.
The kingdom had at one time been possessed by her grandfather, then by her father, and,
when the latter died, her brother Chihftb eddin [ShahAb-ud-di'n] became King. He was
a minor, and the Vizier 'Abd-Allah, son of Mohammed Alhadhrainy, espoused his mother
and assumed authority over him When Chib&b eddin attained full age he ousted
his stepfather, 'Abd-Allah, and banished him to the islands of Souweid. He was then
left in sole possession, and chose as Vizier a freedman named 'Aly Calaky [? *Ali-KaUge\
whom he deposed at the end of three years and banished to Souweid."* To his scandalous
profligacy Shahdb-ud-dfn owed his own subsequent deposition, banishment "to the
province of H616dout6ny" [? HaddummatI Atol], and violent death.
" There then remained of the royal family only the sisters of the deceased— Khadidjah,
who was the eldest, Miryam [ Maryam], and Fathimah \Fatimah\ The natives raised to
the throne Khadidjah, who was married to their preacher, Dj6m&l eddin \Jamalrud-din\
The latter became Vizier and Prime Minister, and promoted his son Mohammed to the
office of preacher in his own stead ; but orders were promulgated only in the name of
Khadidjah."! After the death of her first husband, the Sultana Khadijah married
'Abd-Allah, who had been recalled from exile. The army of this queen consisted of
about 1,000 men of foreign birth, though some of the soldiers were natives.
Between Ibn Batfita's visit and the advent in Eastern seas of the Portuguese — an
interval of a century and a half— the history of the Mdldives is as yet a blank page, with
no ' foot-prints on the sands of time' to mark its course. Whatever tributary connection,
,THK
MALDIVES.
HlSTOBICAL
Sketch.
AD. 1343-4.
A.D. 1350-1500
circa.
Sea, and the Bast coast of Africa. He then visited Bokhara, Samarkand, Balkh, Kabul, and Delhi, where
he spent eight years. Separated from an embassy to China, he reached Cambay and Calicut, crossed to the
Maldives, and thence to Ceylon, Southern India, and Bengal; passed the mountains of Tibet, and
embarked for Java, After visiting China, he returned by Calicut, Yemen, Baghdad, and Damascus, to
Cairo. Again he set out to perform the Hajj, and, returning to Tangiers, visited Spain, re-crossed to
Morocco, and penetrated through the desert into the Soudan, whence he finally returned to Fez.
u Mohammed Ebn Batuta auctor nobis videtur fide omnino dignus; malta eorum quae notavit, mirifice
congruunt cum iis quae viatores recentiores consign averunt ; quae non ipse spectavit, ea tanquam ab aliis
sibi relata refert"— Kosegarten, De M. Ebn Batuta, p. 8, Jena, 1818.
• * Gray, translating " Voyages a" Ibn Batoutah" par Def. et Sang., pp. 1 30-2.
f Salah-ud-din may have succeeded Sultan " Daoud" [Dac'd] whose great-granddaughter was one
of Ibn Batuta's wives whilst at Male. Sultan DAu'd was himself the grandson of Sultan " Ahmed Chenou-
razah" [Ahmad Shaiiu'razah], the first royal convert on the Islands to Islam. (Voyages dlbn Batoutah %
p. 154..) The genealogical succession would then be as follows r—
1. S. Ahmad Shanubazah
2. S.
I
3. S. Dac'd
4. S. SalAh-ud-di'n
6. S. Shahab-ud-di'm
5. S. Jalal-ud-di'n
i
i
7. 8»- Khadi'jah
f
Maryam
Fdtimah
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26
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
THE
MALDIVES.
Hl8TOEICAL
Sketch.
A.D. 1502.
A.D. 1506.
A.D. 1512-3.
Maldives tribu-
tary to Portugal.
Barbosa.
(A.D. 1501-17.)'
A.D. 1517.
if any, may have existed with Cananore for some portion of this period, there would seem
to be nothing at present to support the assertion of Barros,* that the Islands were
involved in the vassalage to China, under which Ceylon was bound for 50 years between
A.D. 1410 and 1460.
3.— PORTUGUESE PERIOD.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese the fusion on the Maldives between the natives
and Musalnifin settlers was probably complete. Huhammadanism was at any rate
paramount throughout the group.
The Maldives must have been sighted by the Portuguese and fairly well known some
years prior to the date of their discovery of the Islands usually accepted, viz., A.D. 1506-7.f
Gaspar Correa relates how Vicent SodrS, Chief Captain of the Fleet, after the departure
home of Vasco da Gama in 1502, captured four Mdldive vessels (gundras) laden with coir,
cowries, silk stuffs, and gold-woven cloths, which he sent to Cananore to be sold.}
In 1506 Don Lorenzo <T Almeida was despatched by the Viceroy at Goa to the
Mdldives to intercept many ships from Pegu, Siam, and Bengal that used to pass through
the Maldives to Mekka. The expedition consisted of two large ships, two caravelas, one
gale, and a new bargantim, fully equipped and carrying 300 persons well armed. It left
Cochin on August 1st, but, owing to treacherous currents, was carried to Ceylon.§ The
Islands must, however, have been subjugated soon after, for Almeida appears to have
restored the King of the Maldives in 1512-13, making him a vassal of Portugal. |j
Duarte Barbosa, who sailed with Joao de Nova in 1501, and was out in the East till
1517, calls the Islands " Palandura"^ Tenor twelve were then inhabited by "light-
coloured Moors" (Mouros pardos) of small stature.** The King, a Moor, resided at
"MaJtaldiu" and paid tribute " in coir rope and other products of the country" to some
Moorish merchants at Cananore, by whom he was elected or removed at pleasure, and whose
vessels he was forced to load with cargoes free of expense.
Barbosa mentions the "many kinds of dried fish" (mwjta moxama) which the Islands
provide— their export trade in cowries (buzlos pequenos) to Cambay and Bengal, and
tortoise shell (alquama) to Guzerat — the Island manufacture of cloths, of cotton, and of
silk embroidered with gold, with "very fine head handkerchiefs"— -and the existence of
ambergris (ambre) " in large pieces" of two sorts (pona?nbar, minambar). The Islanders
used no fire-arms and were timid, but very ingenious and great sorcerers (grandes
encantadores). •
At this time Moorish vessels used to frequent the Mdldives to avoid the Portuguese.
In 1517 Don Juan de Silveira obtained permission from the Mdldive King to erect a
factory tt on the Islands. The King who then ruled had a rival who had a possession
of some of the Islands, and also assumed the title of King. He was a wealthy Moor of
Cambay, named " Mamale" and lived at Cananore on friendly terms with the Portu-
guese.* Prior to 1510 this Mamale had held nearly the whole trade between Southern
* De Barros, Asia, #•<?., Dec. III., Tom. iii., pt. ii., ch. i.,p. 3, quoted by Tennent, Ceylon, VoL II., p. 175.
(Note.)
f Id 1506 by Suarez, or, according to other accounts, in the following year by Lorenzo d' Almeida.
\ Caspar Correa, Lendas, Tom. I., cap. i., p. 841, The same year the Captain and crew of a Portuguese
vessel, accidentally driven to the Islands, suffered much from bad water and over-indulgent living — Tom. I.,
cap. iii., p. 347.
§ Idem, Tom. I., pp. 643-4.
|| lndice Chronologxco das Navigagao Sf das Portuguezes (do secolo xv.) p. 122. Lisboa, 1841.
^[ Collec$do de Noticias para a Historia e Oeografia das Nagoet UUramarinas, Tom. II., p. 351-2.
Lisboa, 1812.
** Barbosa (p. 351) evidently confuses the Lakkadive and Maldive groups: — "There is one Archi-
pelago of Islands, which the Moors say are 12,000 in number The first four are small and flat, called
Maldio, and inhabited by Malabar Moors." See also Stanley's Barbosa (Hakluyt Society), p. 164. London,
18(55.
tt Faria y Souse, Translated by Steven?, Vol. I., p. 219. London, 1695.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 27
India and the Mdldives in his own hands upon an exclusive contract with the reigning
King to exchange at settled prices the Island products and manufactures for rice, salt, and
earthenware, in which they lacked. Mamale had his own agents (feitors) on the Islands
and at Cananore, and supplied " all the coir for the use of India." Prom this Moor,
Afonso de Alboquerque, second Viceroy at Goa, exacted, as a condition of his retaining the
monopoly of the Mdldive trade (the Portuguese excepted), an annual payment of 1,000
cords of coarse coir and 1,000 of fine coir, delivered at his own charges to the Portuguese
at Cananore.f To counteract the influence of Mamale, the real Mdldive King also sought
the alliance of the Portuguese, and undertook to render them tribute on condition that
they would compel Mamale to renounce his pretensions. Under pressure from Albo-
querque Mamale yielded for a time, but soon, stung by the derision of his enemies,
desired to regain his rights supported by the Portuguese. This disgusted the Mdldive
King exceedingly.}
On the information given by Alboquerque to the Court of Portugal regarding these
Islands, and the advantages to be derived from them, Lopo Soares, his successor in the
Government of India, received orders from home to come to terms with the real King and
to form a solid establishment in his kingdom. He had been instructed to promise all that
was desired, and obtained what was wished.§
During this period the Maldives must have suffered considerably from the frequent
descents not only of Malabar corsairs but of Portuguese cruisers carrying* on a system of
virtual piracy. Thus, in 1517, Dom Fernando de Monroys and Joao Gon^alves de Castello
Branco, under the authority of the Viceroy Soares, proceeded to the Mdldives to intercept
Jeronyms de Sousa who was "playing the pirate" among the Islands, but, ignoring their
mission, commenced filibustering on their own account. The following yearfl Joao Gomes
Cheiradinheiro was also despatched to the Islands to' build a fort and take command.
After roving among the Atols and robbing according to his fancy, he landed at " Mafa-
colou" where the King resided, and strongly fortified himself. . The exactions and
conduct of the Portuguese garrison became so intolerable that the Mdldivians invoked the
aid of one of the powerful coast rovers, a Moor of Cochin named " Patemarcar" who
sailed with 12 paroas and made a sudden attack on .the Portuguese encampment. The
defenders (including Gomes) were killed to a man, and their vessels looted.1T
According to Barros, Simao Sodrfe was sent, # a few years later, by Vasco de Gama
(3rd voyage, circa 1524) from Cochin to the Mdldives to attack the Moors, who intercepted
supplies for the fleet, chiefly cpir rope.**
In 1525 Mamale, "the most honoured Moor in India" — "a titular King of the
Mdldives" — was chased by Vicent Sodrfc with four vessels, captured, and put to death.ft
. Notices occur in the Portuguese historians of the continuance of this period of quasi
legalised piratical expeditions proceeding to the Islands almost yearly ;tt and it is probable
that the Portuguese retained their hold on them, unopposed by the Maldivians at least,
until the middle of the 16th century, exacting, directly or indirectly, an annual tribute.
THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Mamale.
A.D. 1518.
A.D. 1524-5.
A.D. 1526-8.
* Lafitau, tlistoire de Dicouvertes et Conquestes des Portugal* dans U Nouveau-Monde, Vol. I., p. 552.
Paris, 1783.
t Caspar Correa, Lendas, Tom. II., p. 129.
X Lafitau, Decouvertes et Conquestes des Portugal*, Vol. I., p. 552.
§ Idem, Vol. I., p. 522. ( Correa, Lendas, Tom. II., p. 508.
If Idem, p. 568 ; Faria y Souza, Translated by Stephens, Vol. I., pp. 225, 229.
** Stanley's Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama (Hakluyt Society), p. |404. In 1777 the " Nine-
Degrees Channel" between the Lakkadives and Minakal was still known as " the channel of Mamala"
(canal de Mamale), See Stavorinua* Voyages to the East Indies, Vol. III., p. 280. (Wilcocke's Translation,
London, 1798.)
tf Lafitau, Deconvertes et Conquestet des Portugais, Vol. II., p. 54.
XX E. g., George Cabral (Correa, Tom. III., p. 79) and Martin Alphonso Insarte (Stephen's Faria y
Sousa, Vol. I., p. 299) in 1526 ; Simao de Mello (Correa, Tom. III., p. 228) in 1528.
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28
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
,THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
A.D. 1540-5.
Sultan Hasan.
A.D. 1552.
SuJtan 'AH.
AJD. 1563 circa.
Sultans Mubam-
mad and Hasan.
A.D. 1566 circa.
On occasions they did not hesitate to assert their authority. In 1540 a Moor lord was
seized, put in chains, and full penalty exacted for the murder at the Maldives of some
Portuguese ;* and five years later the offer of the title and privileges of ' Lord of the
M&ldives' was made to " PocoralUy brother of Mamale, on certain conditions.!
Pyrard (pp. 1 69-1 74), on hearsay, carries back the history of the Islands some 50 years
prior to his captivity. The King then ruling at the M&ldives, named Hasan, {who was
of pure and ancient race, finding his authority qualified by the influence of a near relative
called 'Ali',} a rival to[the throne— or as Laval rather thinks, "inspired of Heaven" — volun-
tarily abdicated, and crossing over secretly to Cochin with his wife and some of his suite
embraced Christianity under the name of Dom Manuel after the reigning King of
Portugal. §
His rival was at once elected King by the Mdldivians.
The ex-King, however, sent to demand his accustomed tribute, and to counsel his late
subjects to become Christians. But they rejected alike his claims and his advice, replying
that they " would die sooner than change their religion." Dom Manuel then sought and
obtained the support of the Portuguese at Goa to enforce his asserted rights.
The first expedition of the Portuguese to the Islands was disastrous, resulting in the
loss of a galere, three other vessels, and many lives ; but the following year they returned
with a larger force and better pilots, defeated the Mdldivians, and put to death their brave
King, who " preferred to fall fighting than basely fly."|| M&16 was occupied and fortified,
whilst other Islands also felt the invader's sword*.
Ultimately all the assembled chiefs were informed that the Portuguese had no wish to
coerce them into a change of religion or ought else, but insisted on the payment of the
ex-King's dues. A Mdldive agent! with limited authority, appointed by the Portuguese, was
to be stationed at M&16, and the trade of the Islands conducted exclusively with that nation.
For 10 years this Portuguese yoke was quietly borne. But meanwhile two brothers,
Muhammad Bopu Takuru** and Hasan Kil£gb,** though each but the humble Katibu
of his own island, unable to brook the sway of 'the infidels/ had retired to the
distant Huvadii (Suv&diva) Atol. Gradually strengthening themselves in their fortress of
Gag,tt they at length virtually held the Portuguese at M&16 in a state of siege, and
harassed them incessantly. This continued for eight years, when, with the aid of four
pirate vessels from the coast ("Corsaifes Afalabares"), the brothers made a well-timed
attack on M&16, carrying the fort by a night escalade and killing 300 of its defenders. This
successful coup they crowned by the immediate rout of their quondam allies, and the
recovery of their share of the booty.
The brothers then established themselves conjointly as "absolute Kings," marrying,
respectively, the wife and daughter of the Sultan executed by th6 Portuguese— a politic
step which tended to avert the animosity of nobles of higher birth.
Three years were spent by the Portuguese in repeated efforts to retrieve their fortune,
but every expedition was repulsed.
* Correa, Lendas, Tom. IV,, cap. xii, p. 15*2. f Idem, Tom. IV., cap. xii.
J Pyrard.— "Autm," " Haly." § The exact date was A.D. 1552. See Note (8).
|| 'Fleeing in battle before the face of an infidel* is classed among the 17 Kabira, or "great" sins. —
Hughes* "Notes on Muhammadism," p. 140, London, 1877.
w Who falls in battle 'gainst a Giaour
Is worthiest an immortal bower. 1 *
Paradise is guaranteed as the reward of those who fall fighting against ' idolaters* (Kurdn, Sura, xlvii,
4-7).— Stobbart, "Islam." p. 155.
% The first •* agent 1 * was grandfather of the Sultan's wife of Pyrard's day.
** Pyrard. — "Mohamed Bode ta couru" "Asian Quilague." Tradition, according to Christopher, (Trans.
Bombay Geog. Soc, 1836-8, p. 74) assigns the glory of the deliverance from the Portuguese thrall to a
Tiladummati chief,
tt-Pyrard.^-" Gamer See ante pp. 15, 18.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
29
At length, wearied with the protracted struggle and mutually desirous of peace, a
treaty was concluded, by which independence was accorded the Maldivians under certain
restrictions: — viz., a fixed annual tribute, as his sole claim on the Islands, payable at Cochin
to the Christian ex-King, his heirs, and successors :* the Island Ruler to have in future an
inferior designation {e.g., Prince, Duke), — the title of " Qullague" [M. Kilage-fdnu) being
limited to two nobles bound to superintend the tribute payment jointly with the ex-King's
own agent : and, lastly, trade to be conducted solely with the Portuguese unless by
express permission.
" Notwithstanding this peace," sententiously remarks Pyrard half a century later,
" the M&ldiviaos bear the Portuguese deadly hatred."
The brothers continued to reigu together for 25 years, though not without internal
troubles fostered by fractious nobles of purer blood. Muhammad survived his younger
brother three years, and was succeeded by his son Ibrahi'm, the Sultan in whose reign
occurred the wreck of the " Corbin."
" Francois Pyrard of Laval in Bas-Maine was one of a company of French adven-
turers, who, incited by the reports of great discoveries made and vast wealth gained by the
mariners of other countries in the 16th century, equipped two vessels which left St.
Malo in Normandy in the year 1601. Pyrard was on board the ' Corbin.' Both vessels
rounded the Cape and left Madagascar in safety ; but the ' Corbin,' piloted by an English-
man who had lost his bearings in the Indian Ocean, was wrecked on the Malosmadou
Atoll [MAlosmadalu Atol] of the Maldives on the 2nd July, 1602. The crew [about
40 in all] were taken captive, and the goods recovered from the wreck became, by the
Maldive law [then in force], the property of the King.
" The subsequent history of the captives bears a strong resemblance to that of
Knox's crew in Ceylon.t" So long as the Frenchmen were thought to have money they
were compelled to buy provisions at so high a rate as to reduce them at length to great
extremities. The Captain, with many others, died of sickness or starvation : two parties
(of twelve and four persons) escaped at different times : whilst four more of the crew were
executed for an abortive attempt. Laval and his three remaining companions were then
interned in separate islands, but, subsequently reunited, shared a joint deliverance after
five years' captivity.
u Pyrard, by learning the language and conducting himself discreetly, won, as Knox
did, the favour of his guardians, and finally of the King ; and in the same way was allowed
to go from island to island for purposes of trade."t This indulgence, coupled with the
reliance of foreign traders at M&16, rendered him " somewhat rich according to the notions
of the country."}
Of the social economy and customs of the Islanders, Pyrard has drawn a picture in
detail exact and full — brightened throughout by touches striking and bizarre— which, in
spite of the lapse of 2\ centuries, stands out still a fresh and faithful portrait of the
Mdldivians at this day. Neither in moral characteristics, nor— until very recently, and
that but partially— in political administration, have they suffered change. Time has
but softened down the blemishes of a petty Oriental despotism and obtrusive licentious-
ness into the hues of purer and more civilised regime.
In the month of February, 1607, M&16 was startled by the sudden appearance in the
offing of a powerful fleet of 16 sail (" galiotes") manned by Mukwas (" Moucois"J§ which
had been despatched with hostile intent by the " King of Bengal."
There was no thought of resistance. Everyone strove to hurry off with such property
as the emergency allowed and, thanks to their swift-sailing boats, most contrived to
escape. The King, less fortunate, embarked at the last moment with his three wives on
board his slower "galeres" and, the wind falling, was easily overtaken by the eight vessels
the enemy detached in pursuit. The King and a few attendants were cut down, and the
galeres, and afterwards the palace, looted. ||
* Note (3).
§ Note (4).
f Gray, J. R. A. S., Vol. X., n. »., 1878, p. 174.
[ Pyrard, pp. 222-30.
I Pyrard, p. 70.
, Tfift
MALDIVES*
Historical
Sketch.
S. Ibrahim.
A. D. 1591 circa.
F. Pvrard.
Captive at the
Maldives.
A.D. 1602-7.
Pyrard's narra-
tive.
A.D. 1607.
Expedition of tlio
«« King of Bengal/'
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THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Character of S.
Ibrahim.
Raima Badcri
Takurii.
A.D. 1608 circa.
A.D. 1610-1710.
A.D. 1640.
A.D. 1645.
Wreck of the
" Persia."
A.D. 1628.
30 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
" His hour was come," says Pyrard (p. 226), " and he well deserved his fate for the
great cruelties he had committed"— a fate which, even in death, (having fallen at the hand
of Muslim foes,) denied him the honours due to a martyr (Shdkid— Pyrard, " C/ia,yde" J,
consigning him a lowly grave in a distant isle (Gurddd) with the meanest of his subjects
instead of a stately burial in his self-built mausoleum at MA16.* Sensual, heartless,
and unscrupulous to a degree, he yet possessed some redeeming qualities which command
respect. Industrious and passionately fond of art in every branch, he encouraged, both
by personal example and Court favour, the development of artistic taste in his king-dom.
A disposition naturally ready, combined with keen sagacity, prompted him ever to grasp
fresh knowledge likely to benefit his realm and people. t
After a short stay of ten days to load their vessels with the booty, including- some
five and twenty cannon, the fleet slowly returned to the Continent (after visiting the
Northern Atols) carrying with them the four Frenchmen, as well as the step-brother and
brother-in-law of the late Sultan.}
Pyrard "underwent many further adventures and more captivity [in India], and it was
not till 1611 that he once more set foot on the beloved soil of Prance." §
Of what transpired at the Maldives after his deliverance, Laval heard at Goa (p. 231)
that the four chief nobles disputed the succession, each fighting ' for his own hand'
(Sultan Ibrahim having left neither children nor nephews to succeed him),|| and that after
this internecine war had lasted some time, 'AH R&j&T of Cananore intervened, defeated
the other aspirants, and by securing the kingdom for the late chief Queen's brother,
Ranna Bap^ri Takuru,1[ as his Vice-Regent, re-established peace.
For another century the veil that shrouds the history of the Islands can at present be
lifted only at rare intervals, disclosing glimpses so meagre as but to tantalise from their
faintness.
4.— DUTCH PERIOD.
No show of force was needed on the part of the Dutch in Ceylon to secure a recog-
nition of their inherited suzerainty over the M&ldives. With a wise discretion the
Mdldive Sultans, for at least two and a half centuries past, have voluntarily placed
themselves under the protection of the dominant European power in this Island, and
courted its alliance.
It was worthy the mercenary spirit of the Dutch, that hardly had they obtained a
footing in Ceylon, than they despatched a vessel to ascertain the nature and prospects of
trade at the Islands.**
Five years later occurs perhaps the first record of the annual Embassy from the
Sultans to the Governors of Ceylon, which has been continued uninterruptedly to the
present day.ft
^The first Englishmen (with the exception of the pilot of the " Corbin") to land on
the Mdldives were, as far as is known, the unfortunate Captain and crew of the merchant-
man " Persia," which sailed from Eugland and was wrecked on the Atols in 1658.
All hands reached the shore in their boat, but as this was too small to allow of their
crossing the sea in it, a vessel was purchased from the Islanders. Captain William
Vassal and twelve others put to sea in their boat, accompanied by the vessel, and steered
for Ceylon. They made land at Puttalam, but were at once seized, plundered, and
" carried up before" lttj& Si^ha II. at Kandy, where they shared the fate of Knox and the
crew of the "Ann." Knox gives the names of all and some account of their treatment
* Pyrard, p. 230. f Idem, p. 159. J Idem, 231-4.
§ Gray, J. R. A. S., Vol. X., n. s., 1878, p. 175.
| Pyrard adds : " Et le royaume ne tombcnt jamais en quemoiiille, non plus quen France"— a statement
at least thrice refuted in the history of the Islands.
Tf Pyrard (pp. 231-2), "Ali Rhadia"; " Rana Banduy Tucaurou"
** Dutch Kecords (Summary of Resolutions of Council), Galle, Nov. 30th, 1640.
tt Idem, Galle, Dec. 21st, 1645.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881- 31
and conduct. Two, Hugh Smart and Henry Man, came to a violent death.* In
1683, after 25 years' captivity, two others, Thomas Kirby and William Day, managed,
with much difficulty, to reach the Dutch outpost at Sftawaka and effect their escape, t as,
four years previously, Knox and Rutland had safely traversed the forests separating
Anurddhapura from Arippu on the N.W. Coast. J Vassal was still a prisoner at Kandy
in 1696.§ The fate of the rest remains unknown.
Instructions were issued in 1671 by the Dutch Government in Ceylon for an accurate
survey of the Lakkadive (Baxos de Padua) and Mdldive (Maldives) groups, to better
secure the navigation of " the Company's costly ships" to and from Persia and the
Netherlands. Governor Rykloff Van Goens took advantage of the opportunity to send
by the hands of the Surveyors a letter and presents to the Mdldive Sultan, Muhammad
IbrAhi'h, in courteous acknowledgment of his good treatment of some Dutch and native
sailors, the crew of a Jaffna vessel wrecked in his dominions. |)
The Sultan in 1688 also bore the name Muhammad IbrAhi'm,— probably the same
Ruler who was reigning seventeen years previously.1T
The local Dutch Records furnish a clue to the regular succession of the Sultans from
1711. # '
In that year Sultan Muhammad 'ImAd-ud-di'n Muzaffar was on the throne, and it
was marked at the Maldives by a sudden and unprovoked attack of some " enemy" (pro-
bably Malabar pirates) who withdrew unexpectedly within a month — 'by the interposition
of Providence,' writes the Sultan.**
Muhammad 'Im&d-ud-din died in 1721, and was succeeded by his son Ibrahim
IsKANDAR,ft whose reign of 30 years is noteworthy from the close and friendly commer-
cial counection established between himself and the Dutch. Sultan Ibr&him proved
himself an enlightened, humane, and liberal ruler. He steadily encouraged intercourse
with foreigners, removed obstacles to trade with his subjects, and won the confidence and
regard of his powerful allies, the Dutch. English, French, and Portuguese vessels
frequented M616, whilst the Dutch sent over from Ceylon one or two vessels in several years
to negotiate for cowries. %%
The survivors of the Dutch ship " Ravestein" wrecked amoug the Islands in May,
1726, with a valuable cargo of gold, received every attention at the hands of this Sultan,
whose generous action throughout under most trying circumstances justly evoked the
gratitude of the Dutch Governor at Colombo.§§
The. same year a scare of impending war with Cananore was made the excuse for a
small supply of cowries to the Dutch |||| who, alarmed at the possible cessation of this
profitable source of revenue, lost no time in guaranteeing the Sultan assistance — signifi-
cantly pointing out that the Cananore King in his wisdom knew better than to become
the enemy of " the Company's friend."1Tir
THK
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Dutch survey of
the Maldives.
A.D. 1671.
S. Muhammad
Ibrahim.
A.D. 168S.
S. Muhammad
'Imad-ud-din Mu-
zaffar.
A.D. 1711.
S. Ibrahim Iekan-
dar.
A.D. 1721.
A.D. 1726.
Wreck of the
" Ravestein."
* " An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies, &c," by Robert Knox, a captive
there near Tweuty years, Part IV., ch. iv., London, 1681.
f Dutch Records (Miscellaneous), Colombo.
J Knox, Ceylon, Part IV., ch. x., xi.
§ There is extant a letter in Portuguese from " Gulielmo Vasmllo Feitor Engles* (Dutch translation
dated March 21st, 1606) imploring the Dutch to obtain his release from captivity.
| Dutch Records (Resolutions of Council), Colombo, 1671.
^[ Idem (Miscellaneous), Colombo, 1688.
** Sultan's letter to Governor H. Becker, dated October 19th. 1711 (Dutch translation) : — "JVm heefl
God gementioneerd vyand weder van heer rerdreven"
ft Sultan's letter to Governor T. A. Rumpf, dated October 26th, 1721.
II The Portuguese and French especially seem to have ingratiated themselves into the Sultan's favour,
judging from the fact that some of the annual letters to the Dutch Governors in Ceylon are in those
languages, viz.: —Portuguese, May 1st, 1723 ; May 9th, 1734; May 19th, 1735 : French, June, 172C.
§§ Note (5).
U Sultan's letter dated October 31st, 1726.
TT Reply of Governor P. Vuvst, dated January 7th, 1727.
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,THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
A.D. 1750.
S. Muhammad
'Im&d-ud-din Muk-
karraui.
A.D. 1753.
Revolution at
Male.
Abduction of the
Sultan.
His subsequent
fate.
Ma pi Has ousted
from Male.
32 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
In October, 1733, a cyclone visited the group, devastating and laying under water
many islands (particularly among the Northern Atols), and causing great loss of life
and property. The Sultan, with Muslim resignation, accepted the disaster as "the will
of God.'"
Sultan Ibr&hf m died in 1 749, having previously installed his brother as his successor
— his own son being still a minor and ineligible. t
The new Sultan assumed the title Muhammad 'ImAd-ud-di'n Mukkarram. He did
not long enjoy his honors.
In 1753 occurred perhaps the most stirring revolution that has ever marred the
peaceful history of the Maldives. J
Fadldru Kaloge-fdnu,the Prime Minister, dissatisfied with the Sultan's administration,
and aided by a small faction, secretly entered into communication with 'Ali R&ji of
Cananore with the avowed object of handing over the Islands to him. Armed vessels
were to be sent to M416 under pretence of an Embassy, and suddenly seize the Island.
The scheme succeeded fully. Three vessels with lascarins aud munition of war were
despatched from Cananore and anchored peacefully before MA16.§ The same night the
gates of the Fort were treacherously thrown open by the Fadidru's party. Before the
Sultan, hastily roused from sleep, could collect together a handful of followers and
oppose the invaders, the powder magazine and warehouses had been fired, and the town
was in the hands of the enemy. Ultimately yielding to the advice of the Fadidru (who
still feigned loyalty) that resistance was useless, the Sultan, accompanied by his nephew,
met the Mapillas to arrange terms of peace. Thereupon he was seized and taken on board
the Cananore vessels, which sailed away at once.
The misfortunes of the luckless Sultan did not end here. On the return of the
victorious fleet to Mangalore 'Ali R&ji presented his captive, whose eyes he had cruelly
put out, to Haidar 'Ali. That Prince " was so irritated at the barbarity of Ali Raja, that
he instantly deprived him of the command of the fleet ; which he afterwards gave to an
Englishman named Stanet. Shocked at the inhumanity of Ali Raja, he entreated the
King of the Maldives to forgive the outrage his Admiral had been guilty of, and after
expressing how much he was afflicted at the event, and using every argument in his
power to console him, he gave him one of his palaces for a retreat, with a revenue suf-
ficient to procure all the pleasures his situation permitted him to enjoy."||
Meanwhile, at the Maldives, the traitor Fadi&ru soon had his reward. Immediately
after the abduction of the Sultan, he claimed from 'AH Rdji the vacant throne, but the
Cananore Court, considering that equal harm would be likely to accrue to their garrison
by admitting or rejecting the Fadiaru's claim, wisely avoided the dilemma by directing
that he should be bound hand and foot, placed in a sack, aud thrown into the sea. The
order was promptly executed. The Mapillas then temporarily assumed the Government,
but harassed the Maldivians to such an extent, that they shortly rose suddenly in the
night and overpowered their oppressors. Houses were re-built, the Sultan's wives and
suite allowed to cross the sea to him, and the Government carried on by the Ministers
in his name. Warned by recent events, application was further made to the Dutch for a
supply of ammunition on payment.
* " Mas com tudu consollo com a vontade de Ztec/*."— Sultan's letter (Portuguese) dated May 9th, 1734.
f Statement of Ahmad Kevi made at Galle April lltb, 1750.
% Letter to Dutch Governor from the Ministers of the abducted Sultan, 1753.
§ "Ali Raja having formed a fleet, at the commencement of the fair season made the conquest of the
Maldive Islands, under the pretence of some in justice done to his nation This conquest was made in
the name, and on the account of Hyder [' Ali], whose colours were borne by the fleet. Ali Kaja bad embarked
on board a number of Sepoys, or disciplined soldiers ; so that Ryder's colours had no sooner appeared at
sea, but they enforced respect." — The History of Hyder Shah, frc, by M. M. D. L. T., p. 97, London,
1784 (Reprint, Calcutta, 1848).
|| Idem, p. 98. "The courtiers and poets of [Haidar's] court, little acquainted with Geography, having
learned that their master was become King of 12,000 islands, added to his titles that of * King of the Islands
of the Sea.'"
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 33
It is curious that the same year (1753) which witnessed for the MAldivians the
temporary deprivation of a Supreme Ruler, should usher in the era of their historical
existence as a race. The letter from the Sultan's Ministers to the Ceylon Government,
conveying details of the bouleversement, also intimated the extension by the Chief Govern-
ment at Batavia of the privilege to fly a flag and pennons — a virtual recognition of the
quasi independence of the Maldives.*
The interregnum lasted six years, during which period the Government was
administered by Ha&rn Ranna Baderi Manikw-fdnu on behalf of the absent Sultan, in the
name — for two or three years at least — of his daughter A'minI Rani KiLAGE-FiNU.f
The year succeeding the revolution a small detachment of French troops under a
Corporal was dropped on the Mdldives by the great Dupleix, J the opponent of Clive in the
Carnatic, where hostilities were being actively carried on between the English and French,
No sooner had the French raised their flag on the Islands, than they found it neces-
sary to send over to their Dutch allies at Colombo for supplies. §
Dupleix was recalled soon after the conclusion of the Provisional Treaty of Peace in
December, 1754 ; but the corps-de-garde at M416 was not relieved by M. de Lally, his
successor, until 1759.|| Some may have remained, as within two years of their arrival
(1756) the interim ruler Hasan was reported to have 20 Frenchmen in his service.** The
same year 'Alf.R&jd of Cananore,*J anxious to restore the blind Sultan to his subjects
(presumably under pressure from Haidar 'All), wrote to M&16 desiring that four persona
should be sent over to India to act as escort.** He appears, however, never to have
returned, and probably died shortly afterwards.
At any rate, in 1759 Hasan Ranna Bad6ri had acquired sufficient popularity and
influence to secure the Sultanship for himself. He took the name Gha'zi' Hasan
'IzZ-UD-Dl'N.ft
The following year the Islanders had to repel anothfer raid of the Mdpillas. The
Malabar fleet, manned by 700 u Turken" seized the uninhabited island of FunadA,
and commenced to bombard M&16. The Mdldivians hastily equipping some vessels,
attacked, and finally drove off the invaders, with the loss of five prisoners.? J
Sultan Ghdzi Hasan 'Izz-ud-dln died in February, 1767, during Ramazdn, restoring
the throne before his death to the former line, by appointing the son of Sultan Ibr&him
his successor— his own children being minors.§§ The new Sultan, Muhammad GhitIs-
ud-di'n, seems to have commenced his reign well. u He managed the affairs of the
, THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Dutch recognise
Maldivc flag.
A.D. 1753.
Interregnum.
A.D. 1753-1759.
Sa. A'mina Hani
Kilage-fanu and
Hasan Ranna Ba-
deri Maniku-fanu.
occupy
French
Mall.
A.D. 1754-9
S. Ghazi Hasan
'Izz-ud-din.
A.D. 1759.
Mapillas attack
Mate.
A.D. 1760.
S, Muhammad
Ghiyas-ud-din.
A.D. 1767.
* Letter from the Ministers of the abducted Sultan, 1753. The Mai dive flag as displayed on modern
gundras is the ordinary plain Muslim red, rarely relieved by a white crescent.
t " Dat nooyt voor deezen hunne Eylandengereegeerd is door een vrouw als zedert de wegvoering van de
voorwartgementioneerd Koning" [S. Muhammad 'Imad-ud-din Mukkarram].— Statement of MuhammadKevi,
'Alt Kevi, and Kdsim Kevi, made at Colombo, 18th November, 1756. Vide ajite, pp. 24, 25, 80,
% " Dupleix was a vain, ambitious man, possessed of very considerable ability, and burning with desire
to extend the French power in India. With all his vanity, however, he united profundity as a politician,
while he was possessed of rare address in the management of Indian affairs. He saw clearly that on the
one hand the existence of any other Europeans in India, and particularly of the English, would be perilous
to his hopes ; and on the other, that he never could succeed but through alliances with the native princes,
and by simulating adhesion to the cause of some powerful chief." — Parliamentary Papers (*Nawaubs of the
Carnatic') May, 1861. A remark of Nit Sonnerat ( " Voyage aux Indes Orientate*, frc., n Tome II., 84, Paris,
1782) sufficiently explains Dupleix's occupation of Male* :— " Pour se soutenir dans cette riche contree
[l'lnde], il faut necessairement un port a la cote de Malabar, d*ou nos escades puissent observer en tout
terns celles des ennemis : on sait que deux fois on n'a du la perte de Pondichery qu'a V abandon des *
escadrea qui qui tte rent la cdte de Coromandel pour revenir a Tile de France."
§ Note (6). || Sonnerat, " Voyage aux Indes Orientates, #•<?,," Tome II., 97. . ^ Note (7).
** Said, however, to have been enlisted from successive private rice vessels, and certain to be dismissed
should the exiled Sultan get his own again.* Vide f supra,
ft Sultan's letter dated 22nd day of Ramazdn, A. H. 1174 (1T60).
}} Statement of Tulddu Katibu made at Colombo, November 17th, 1761.
§§ Sultan s letters, 1767.
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34
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch,
A.D.1771.
A.D. 1772.
8. Ghazi Muham-
mad ATnizz-ud-din,
A.D. 1774.
Kingdom with strict uprightness and impartiality, to the contentment and prosperity of bis
subjects. Moreover, he rendered assistance and support to the wife and children of the late
Sultan. For all these blessings we adore the Almighty God."* However, three brothers of
the Sultan did not share in the general enthusiasm, for within a few months they conspired
to dethrone him. The plot coming to light, tbey were banished to a neighbouring island, and
subsequently persisting in their treasonable designs, to a distant AtoL Here they were
followed secretly by- their wives and children, who contrived to carry off much State pro-
perty- The rebels then altogether disappeared, though the Dutch Governor was asked to
arrest and hand them over to the Sultan's Ambassador, in case they reached Ceylon. t
It would appear that in 1771 the M&ldivians were again threatened with an invasion
by the Mdpillas— -ever their inveterate foes$ — and the Dutch assented, as an exceptional
indulgence, to supply the Sultan with a mortar and ammunition on payment. §
In 1772 the Sultan found it necessary to arrest eight malcontents, who, however,
managed to escape from M&16 in a fishing boat*!
It is perhaps not unreasonable to hazard the conjecture that the storm of revolt,
which had never ceased to lower from the day of his accession— gathering strength
year by year despite all precautions— culminated (1773*4) in the overthrow and death of
Sultan Ghiyds-ud-din, the last of his line.Y
The silence preserved by the new Sultan, Gha'zi' Muhammad M'uizz-ud-di'n, elder
son of Sultan Gh£zi Hasan 'Izz-ud-din, the founder of a rival dynasty,** touching the
fate of his predecessor and the circumstances attending his own assumption of the
Sovereignty, viewed in connection with a tradition related by Christopher, still vaguely
current, is ominous of ill. " We were told," says Christopher, " that a Sultan, who
reigned about one hundred years ago, rendered himself obnoxious to the people by ridicu-
ling their religion. He, however, undertook a voyage to the Red Sea on a pilgrimage to
Mecca, and during his absence a nobleman, named Faruna Kalegefana [Faruna Kilage-
,/d mi], who was a leader of the popular party, and had gained great influence, determined
with others to prevent the resumption of the Sultanship by the absent prince by putting
him to death, if he should return. Return he did ; but before he could land the plot
against his life was carried into execution. Some of the conspirators, without divulg-
ing .their purpose, pushed off in a boat, under pretence of bringing the Sultan on shore.
He entered their boat, and while returning they bound him hands and feet, and fasten-
ing stones to his feet, threw him overboard.
" On landing they announced the accomplishment of their purpose-, and being now
joined by the rest of their party, proclaimed their leader Faruna successor to the mur-
dered prince, by the name of Sultan Mahomed Nooradeen. On his elevation he banished
to Suadiva Attol the son of the man whose place he filled, but after a few months
he himself was obliged to quit the station to which he had waded through crime, and to
abdicate in favour of a Prince of the royal blood, in consequence of the people not wishiig
to have on the throne one who was not descended from the family which had so long
commanded their homage and allegiance. The son of the Sultan who was murdered by
drowning, and his offspring, lived nearly independent in the Southern Attols until the
year 1831. Some of his decendants are still alive [1836-8], and are permitted to visit
M&16."*
* Sultan's letter, 1767. A free translation of the Arabic. ^ Idem.
. % Sultan's letter, 1771. (Dutch translation, dated August 27th, Colombo.)
§ Reply of Governor I. W. Falck, dated December 30th, 1771 :— " Of schoon wy geen handel mogen
dy ven in ammunetsie van oorlog heb ik echter aan Uwer Hoogheids afgezant een mortier met de daer toe
nodige bommen aengeboden ; maer by heeft zwarigheid gemaekt hetzelve om den hoogen prys *en te
neemen."
|| Sultan's letter dated September 25th, 1772.
f Last letters of S. Ghfei Muhammad Ghiyas-ud-din, dated 4th November, 1773 (Colombo); November
20th, 1773, (Galle).
# * First letter of S. Gh&zi Muhammad M'uizz-ud-din, dated November 2nd, 1774 (Colombo).
ft Trans. Bombay, Geog. Soc, 1836-8 (Reprint 1844) p. 73. See Note (8).
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 35
Whether or not the unexplained disappearance from history of Saltan Ghiyfa-ud-din
be connected with the tragic event above related, it seems certain that in 1774 the
throne passed finally to the descendants of Hasan Banna BadSri (Saltan Gh&zi Hasan
'Izz-ad-dfn), with whom it has rested to this day.
A^French vessel with some ladies was cast away on the Island of Himiti in 1777, and
all on board met with the kindest treatment from the Sultan.*
Saltan Gb&zf Mohammad M'aizz-ad-din reigned from 1774 till his death on October
2nd, 1779, and was succeeded by his younger brother, Hasan Nu'R-un-Di'N.t
Daring the reign of Sultan Ntir-ud-df n another French (or English) vessel, containing
specie, was wrecked among the Maldives. \ When the crew had got all the dollars they
could from the vessel's hold, into which the rock had worked, they were provided with a
passage to the Continent. One man remained, however, from choice, turned Musalm&n,
married at M&16, and died in 1830 or 1831 f after 40 years' residence on the group. After
the departure of the French the natives appear to have continued the search for dollars
with success, for it is said that with the plunder obtained from this vessel Sultan
Ndr-nd-din made the pilgrimage to Mekka, where he died.
His son, Muhammad M'ui'n-cjd-di'n, succeeded him in 1799.
,THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
A.D. 1777.
8. Hasan Nrir-ud-
din.
A.D.1779.
8. Mohammad
M'um-ud-dfn.
A.D. 1799.
5.-ENGLISH PERIOD.
Upon the acquisition of Ceylon by the English- in 1796 the inheritance of the
suzerainty over the MAldives fell to them unsought, as it had to the Dutch, by the free-
will of the Sultan. In the letter of 1798 to the English Governor (Sir P. North) the
Sultan, Hasan Niir-ud-dfn; expresses himself as follows :—
" I inform you that J always lived in great friendship with the former Governors,
and that they have always shown me many favours. I hope that the same will take place
between us."§ . To which Sir F. North replied :— " [The Ambassador] will inform Your
Highness how sincerely I wish to preserve the good understanding and harmony, which
so happily subsists between us."|j Thus quietly .was the feudatory connection with the
English established, which has remained unchanged for upwards of a century.
It is unfortunate for the character of Sultan NAr-ud-dfn that another case of
alleged improper treatment of a wreck occurred during his reign. In January, 1797, the
" Tranquebar" (Messrs. Fisher and Overend), laden with cloth to the value of 12,898 star
pagodas, was wrecked on the Maldives under circumstances, primd facie> little to the
credit of the natives. At the request of the Madras Government, Sir F. North called
upon the reigning Sultan (Muhammad M'ufn-ud-dfn) in 1800 for an explanation. The
Sultan's "friendly explanation of the case," however, "perfectly satisfied" the Govern-
ments of tort St. George and Ceylon.lf
The conduct of the Mdldivians in the case of the "Europa,"tt which occurred a few
years subsequently, stands out in a far different light. This vessel foundered among
the Atols in 1812, and the account of the outrageous proceedings of the Captain and crew,
— particularly during their stay at M416,— are a disgrace to the English name. It is impossi-
ble not to be struck by the forbearance exercised by the Sultan and his people under great
provocation. Nothing but absolute necessity for the preservation of order in the capital,
would have led to the incarceration of an Englishman, one of their powerful and respected
Maldives feuda-
tory to tbe English.
Wreck of
" Tranquebar."
A.D. 1797.
the
Wreck of
" Europa."
A.D. 1812.
the
* Malte Bran's Geography, Vol. IIL, p. 262. Perhaps identical with the " Duras" of which Sonnerat
(Vol. IL, p. 98) says-: " Des debris du vaisseau le Duras> qui se perdit, sur une de ces iles en 1776, le Roi
de FArchipel vient d'en feire contruire un de deax cents tonneaux, qu'il exp6die toutes les ann£es pour
les c6tes de Coromandel et d'Orixa."
f Sultan's letter dated November 10th, 1779.
♦ Leaving an only daughter who was married in 1835. Trans. Bombay Geog. Soc 1836-8 (Reprint,
1844) p. 65. Asiatic Journal, Vol. xix. n. s. (1836)* p. 190.
§ Sultan's letter dated October 21st, 1798 (English translation)
| Governor Sir F. North's reply, dated December 26, 1798.
T Appendix B. tt Note (9).
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36
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
,THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Threatened rup-
ture with the Lak-
kadivians.
A.D.1828.
English survey of
the Maldives.
A.D. 1834-6.
Ahmad Didf.
allies. Governor Sir R. Brownrigg considered it necessary to bring the matter to the
notice of the Governor-General of India, Lord Minto, and the Saltan received cordial letters
of acknowledgment from both Governments.
Jn 1828 the Mdldivians "seemed likely to be involved in distress in consequence of
the hostile disposition of their Northern neighbours, the Lakkadivians," and appealed to
the Ceylon Government for aid. Sir R. Brownrigg undertook to refer the matter to the
Madras Government, as the Bibi of Cananore (under whose rule the Lakkadives* had
b.een for centuries) was subject to the English at Fort St. George, t The matter must
have quietly dropped, as there is no record of further steps.
A survey of the Mdldive Archipelago, lying in the direct track of our trade to India,
had been for many years considered of the greatest importance to navigation in these seas.
" Mr. Horsburgh, in particular, exerted himself to obtain this object for the interests of
Geography ; and through his instrumentality chiefly a survey was directed.
"Accordingly, the survey of the Red Sea having been completed in April, 1834,
Captain Moresby was ordered to proceed in the H. C. Surveying Ship ' Benares,' having
under him as tenders the c Royal Tiger* schooner, in charge of ^Lieutenant F. T. Powell,
Assistant Surveyor, and the i Maldiva,' a large decked boat." Captain Moresby, at the
request of the Bombay Government, received a special letter of introduction to the Sultan
from the Government of Ceylon, clearly setting forth the object of his mission. J
"The i Benares' arrived at Mali on the 15th November, 1834, but her. appearance
excited among the natives such apprehensions as augured ill for any friendly intercourse.' 9
Natural timidity of character and recent political circumstances combined to induce
this feeling. •
" The tyrannies of the reigning Sultan and the misconduct pf his Ministers had, two
years previously, provoked a rebellion, headed by his younger brother, Hamed Didee
[Ahmad DidiJ]" An appeal was made by the Sultan for aid against his revolted sub-
jects, but the Ceylon Government, strictly adhering to the law of nations as regards
non-interveution in the internal affairs of foreign states, simply regretted the occurrence^
and trusted that the rebels would return to their allegiance.?
" The* insurgents were successful ; secured the person and threatened the life of
their Sovereign, who procured his safety and release by promising to satisfy their demands.
Hamed, nevertheless, dared not trust himself to the royal word, but embarked by night
on board a large boat, and steered for the coast of Arabia ;• but in the Gulf of Aden his
provisions had failed, his boat was leaky and so damaged, that there was little probability
of escaping death either from famine or in the sea. In this distress the H. C. Surveying
Brig ' Palinurus,' Commander Haines, came in sight, and supplied them with provisions
as well as repaired their damages. Hamed was now enabled to reach Mocha and even-
tually Cochin, where he continued watching the course of events at home, and where he
was supposed to be meditating the execution of a threat he had made before leaving his
country, that he would revenge himself by a Malabar invasion, the horrors of which had
been felt in former days by the Maldivians. Captain Moresby was naturally supposed
to be the minister of Hamed's vengeance ; and as soon as the ' Benares' anchored, a boat
was sent off to demand the cause of coming. Their uneasiness was not removed by a
request to survey.
" The suspicious nature of Captain Moresby's avowed object now co-operated with
political circumstances upon minds whose characteristic trait is fearfulness.
" An interview with the Sultan being proposed, his Ministers came on board with
unusual state, and apologised for delay, on account of their master's ill-health ; but were
very careful not to commit themselves by answering the questions put to them. Nothing
could be obtained from them for many days. At length, the Sultan's health being
improved, an interview was settled, but the appointed day being arrived, the Sultan had a
* Note (10).
t Reply of Governor Sir E. Barnes (dated December 8th, 1828) to Sultan's letter of A. H. 1244.
J Governor Sir R. W. Horton'a letters, dated October 81st, 1834.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 37
relapse. Captain Moresby was compelled, ultimately, to inform them that he should
commence the survey on a certain day with, or without, their consent ; and operations com-
menced on that day without permission. The * Benares' having quitted the Islands for
the Coast, the Maldivians were again alarmed by a letter from the Bengal Government
regarding the establishment of a coal depflt." The Sultan excused himself from acceding
to the proposal on the grounds of indifferent anchorage and the bad disposition of his
subjects.* "After the return of the i Benares' the natives appeared more easy, although
by no means free from apprehensions ; for they objected to the surveying flags, and were
not satisfied until they were permitted to set up their own also.
" The obstacles in the way of friendly intercourse were eventually removed by events
consequent on the death of the Sultan [Muhammad M'uin-ucUdin] in January, 1835, and the
accession of his second son [at the age of 1 7, under the title of Muhammad 'ImAd-ud-di'n],
tfhe distresses of the people were increasing, and the public voice demanded the recall of
JlamedDidee. The young King accordingly invited his uncle to his Councils, and he became
the most influential adviser, although he declined any official situation. He took advan-
tage of his position to pay a debt of gratitude by supporting the wishes of the Company
iu effecting the survey. He represented to his countrymen the folly of opposing a Govern-
ment which was so powerful, and from whose dominions they derived their staple food :
©0 the other hand, he endeavoured to remove any bad impressions which the conduct of
iiis countrymen might have given : and, lastly, he obtained permission for Lieutenant
Young and Mr. Christopher to remain at Male after the departure of the * Benares.* .
" The importance of these services may be appreciated by considering the character
of [the natives], and the popular belief in future events, whose close approach is indicated
to them by circumstances which they observe. They have a tradition that they shall one
day be subjugated to Europeans, the population shall diminish, and their Islands shall
gradually sink down into the deep."t
Ahmad Dfdf, endowed with larger and more enlightened views than his countrymen
generally, remained steadfast in his predilection for the English, and continued to
exercise at M&16 a beneficial control in political affairs for several years, as adviser to his
nephew the Sultan. . His position, and the friendly services he had rendered, enabled him
to correspond directly with the Ceylon Government, from whom he solicited and obtained
personal indulgences which would hardly be extended now-a-days.J '
Much of his ability was inherited by his son 'AH Dfdf (recommended by the Sultan in
1850 to the notice of Lord Torrington),§ who became a domiciled Ceylon subject, and
resided at Galle until his death, a few years ago.|| Through keeping up his commercial
intercourse with the Islands, he acquired considerable wealth. It is said, however, that
some private misunderstanding with the Sultan had estranged the cousins for some years.
In March, 1844, the Portuguese Merchantman "Prazer e Alegria," bound from
Lisbon to Goa with a large body of convicts, was totally wrecked on the Maldives. The tax
on the resources of his little Island, caused by the sudden influx of 104 Europeans, must
have been great, but the strangers were " kindly received" by the Sultan " and provided
with houses and such food as could be had in the country."1T Ultimately, 93 sailed for Goa
in two hired vessels, whilst the rest (including Manoel G. Quinhones, Major and Governor
of Bahia de Lorenso Marques) were conveyed in a native brig to Galle, and after a short
stay in Colombo supplied with funds to reach Goa.
The Bombay Government, in 1851, forwarded to Sir Charles MacCarthy a complaint
made by the Captain of the " St. Clare," wrecked ou the Islands, regarding the alleged
.THE
MALDIVES.
HirrosicAL
Sketch.
S. Muhammad
'Im&d-nd-din.
A.D. 1835.
Ahmad Didfr in-
fluence.
»Ali DidL
Wreck of the
"Prazere Alegria."
A.D. 1844.
Wreck of the
"St. Clare?*
A.D. 1851.
* Asiatic Journal, Vol VI. n. s. (1835) p. 22.
f Trans. Bombay Geo. Soc, 1836-8 (Reprint 1844) pp. 103-5.
% Vide Ahmad Dfdf s letters of A. H. 1256-7, and replies of Governor Sir J. A. Stewart Mackenzie f
dated December 16th, 1840, and December 1st, 1841.
$ Sultan's letter of August, 1850 ; Lord Torrington's reply dated October 4th, 1850.
| His son H&ji Ibr&him Dfdi, now Turkish Consul, has just been honoured by a commission as Justice
of the Peace. (Ceylon Government Gazette, April 21st, 1882.)
1 Statement of Major Manoel 6. Quinhones made at Galle, April 16th, 1844.
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.THE
MALDIVES.
.Historical
Sketch.
Annual Embassy.
Ceremonies at
landing and recep-
tion.
Purport of Sul-
tan's annual letter.
Governor's reply.
38 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
want of hospitality shown by the Sultan towards himself and the crew during their stay
at Mil£. The Sultan received a strong letter of remonstrance from Ceylon, but in his
reply completely vindicated himself from the charges laid against him.*
Among recent wrecks on the MAldives, the most disastrous have been the S. S. " Ara-
can" in 1873, the S.S. " Sea Gull" in 1879, and the S.S. " Consett" the following year.
Sultan 'Im&d-ud-dfn, whose reign has lasted 46 years, is said to be in feeble health,
and rarely, if ever, appears in public For the last ten or twelve years the Government
lias been administered by his second son Tuttu Manipul or Goma, the Prince Regent, who
is in all respects, except in title, de facto Sultan of the Islands. Frank and open in look
and manner, he has acquired much popularity, and, as far «s can be judged from outward
appearances, is not averse to foreign improvements and the gradual introduction of
European civilization.!
The Annual Embassy from the Sultan of the Maldives to the Governor of Ceylon
arrives at Colombo generally in the course of the last three months of the year.
During the Dutch occupation — and even as recently as 1844 — a complimentary letter
was sent annually to the Commandant at Galle, as well as to the Governor at Colombo — a
striking instance of the conservatism and ignorance of events outside " their own little
world" displayed by these Islanders, loath to break through a custom initiated at least acf
early as the Embassy in 1645 to Galle, then the chief seat of the Dutch Power in Ceylon.
There is rarely anything, save his superior rank, to distinguish the Ambassador from
the ordinary Captains of the M&ldive fleet.
The proceedings' connected with the reception still retain much of the formality
observed under the Dutch. On landing, the Ambassador is indulged with a non-
commissioned officer's guard (furnished by the Police), and met at the jetty by a few
specially deputed native headmen, under whose escort, preceded by the MahA Muda-
liy&r's lascarin guard and native music, he makes his way elowly on foot to the audience
with the Governor. M&ldiviau etiquette requires the Ambassador to bear with both hands
on his head the silver salver containing his Sovereign's letter (in a double envelope of
coloured silk and spangled muslin) and two tiny silk bags of ambergris and sea-cocoanut.
The conference, conducted standing and through the medium of the Tamil and Btoor
Interpreters, is made as brief as possible. % Meanwhile " the Royal presents" are carried
to Government House by Mdldivian sailors. §
The Sultan's annual missive (now written in Arabic) contains ordinarily a request for
the continuance of friendship and favour of the English, for protection against all enemies,
and for aid towards Maldive subjects who maybe wrecked on Ceylon shores, and concludes
with an apology for his Ambassador, and the tender of presents.il These letters cling so
closely to a stereotyped form, as hardly to differ during the course of nearly two centuries.
The same may be said of the replies, at least during the present century. The
Governor promises to do everything in his power to promote the good understanding which
subsists with the Sultan : undertakes to succour shipwrecked MAldivians, whilst stipulat-
ing for the same friendly office on the part of the Sultan towards British subjects
wrecked on the Atols :* expresses his approbation 6f the conduct of the Ambassador : and
offers return presents.
■ ^ — -
* Appendix B.
f As these pages are passing through the press news has reached Ceylon of the death of the aged
Sultan on Tuesday, January 10th, 1882 (20th Safar, A. H. 1299). The ceremonies attendant on 4he instal-
lation of his younger son as Sultan, are deferred some months, according to custom. The elder son, Dorhi
Manipul, is said to be a confirmed invalid.
% The 'Dutch Governors and Galle Commandants permitted the Ambassador to sit throughout the inter-
view, and at its conclusion he was sprinkled with rose water, and offered betel — a delicate attention
seemingly paid to all Ambassadors (e. g., the Kandyan Embassy of August 3rd, 1705).
§ As illustrating the spread of Western conventionalism even to the Maldives, it is worthy of note that
the last Ambassador, Isma'fl Dfdf — for many years a resident with his late uncle * AH DSdf at Galle, where he
acquired a knowledge of Sinhalese, Tamil, and some English — discarded at the audience (March 9th, 1882)
the turban, loose robe, and sandals of his country, for a fez, closely-fitting frogged uniform of grey tweed,
and patent-leather shoes. || Note (Id).
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
39
TABLE
OF THE
DUTCH AND ENGLISH GOVERNORS OF CEYLON, AND THE CONTEM-
PORARY RA'JA'S OF KANDY AND SULTANS OF THE MA'LDIVES,
FROM THE 17th CENTURY,
A.D.
1604
1632
1656
1663
1664
1671
1680
1687
1688
1693
1695
1697
1702
1703
1707
1711
1716
1721
1723
1724
1725
1726
1729
1732
1734
1736
1739
1740
1742
1743
1747
1749
1751
1752
1753
1754
1757
1759
1762
1765
1767
1774
1779
1781
1785
179J
Dutch Governors at
Colombo.
A. Van der Meyden.
Ryckloff Van Uoens.
J. Hustar.
R. Van Goens.
Laurens Van Pyl.
T. Van Rhee.
Pauhis De Roo.
Geirit De Heere.
N. Van Heuvel and Members
of Council.
C. J. Simons.
H. Becker. - •
I. A. Rumpf.
A. Moll & Members of Council
J. Hertenberg.
J. P. Schaghen and Members
of Council.
P. Vuyst.
S. Versluys.
G. Woutersz and Members of
Council.
J. C. Pielat.
D. Van Doinburgh.
J. Macare and Members of
Council.
G. W. Van Imboff.
W. M. Bruynink,
D. Overbook.
J. V. S. Van GoUeneaseu
ULjIb op Randy.
Senerat - - -
§ri Raja Sinha II.
Vimala Dharma Suriya II.
§rf Vira Parakrama Narendra
Binha.
SULTAHS OP THB MA.LDITE
Islands.
G. J* Vreelandt.
J. De Jong and Members of
Council.
J. G. Loten. .
J. Schreuder.
L. J. Van Eck.
A. Mooyaart and Members of
Council. „
I. W. Falck. .
W. J. Van de Graaf.
J. G. Van Angelbeck.
§ri Vijaya Raja Sinha.
Kirti §ri Raja Sinha.
Rajadhi Raja Sinha.
Ibrahim.
Muhammad Ibrahim.
Muhammad Ibrahim.
Muhammad 'Imad-ud-din
. Muzaffar.
Ibrahim Iskaodar.
Muhammad 'Imad-ud-din
Mukkarram.
Ministers of Sultan.
A 'mind Rani Kilage-fanu.
Hasan Banna Baderi
Maniku-fanu.
Ghazi-Hasan 'Izz-ud-dio,
MuhammadGhiyas-ud-din
Ghazi Muhammad M'uizz
ud-din.
Hasan Nur-ud-din.
,THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
(continued over J
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40
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
THE
Maldives.
Historical
Sketch.
A.D.
English Governors.
Raj is or Kan or.
Sultans or thb Maldive
Islands. •
1796
Governor of Madras in Council
1798
Sir F. North- - - - - -
§ri Vikrama Raja Sinha .•
1799
1805
Muhammad M'ufin-ud-din .
Sir T\ Maitland.
imuumiiniwu ***. uiu uu viiu.
1811
Maj.-Genl. J. Wilson, U.-gov.
1812
Sir R. Brownrigg*
•
1820
Sir E. Barnes.
—
1822
Sir E. Paget.
—
M
Sir J. Campbell, U.-gov.
—
1824
Sir E. Barnes.
—
1831
Sir J 4 Wilson, It.- gov.
t»
Sir R. W. Horton.
_
1835
1837
Mulinmmfl.r] 'TmAd.ud*dfn
Rt. Hon. J. A. S. Mackenzie.
M
luuuaiuuinu uunu* uu^uiui
1841
Sir C. Campbell.
_
1847
Sir J. E. Tennent, U.-gov.
—
»
Rt. Hon. Vise. Torrington.
—
•
1850
Hon. C. J. MacCarthy, U.-gov.
—
99
Sir G. W. Anderson.
—
1855
Hon. C. J. MacCarthy, U.-gov.
—
»»
Sir H. G. Ward.
1860
M»j.-Gen.H.F.Lockyer, U.-gov.
—
•
'»
Col. C. E. Wilkinson, U.-gov.
—
»
Sir C. J. MacCarthy.
—
'
1863
Maj.-Gen. T. O'Brien, adm.
—
1865
Sir H. G. R. Robinson.
...
1868
Lieut.-Gen. Hodgson, adm.
—
1869
Sir H. G. R. Robinson.
—
1872
Hon. H. T. Irving, adm.
—
99
Rt. Hon. W. H.. Gregory.
—
1874
Hon. A. N. Birch, adm.
—
99
Rt. Hon. W. H. Gregory.
—
1875
Hon. A. N. Birch, adm.
_
1876
Rt. Hon. Sir W. H. Gregory.
—
1877
Hon. A. N. Birch, It- gov.
—
99
Rt. Hon. Sir W. H. Gregory.
—
99
Hon. A. N. Birch, It- gov.
—
99
Sir J. R. Longden.
—
1881
Hon. J. Douglas, U.-gov. '
—
1882
Sir J. R. Lionf?dftn - - - ■ -
Tuttu Manipul (Sultan
elect j. 1
hJAl V. M». uvugugu — — — —
* The last Rtfj* of Kandy, deposed in 1815.
TABLE OF DESCENT
or
THE SULTANS OF THE MA'LDIVE ISLANDS FROM TEE 18th CENTURY.
1. — S. Muhammad ImId-Ud-di'n Muzaffar
2.— S. IbrAhi'm Iskandar 3.— S. Muhammad ImAd-ud-di'n Mukkarbam
(1721) (1749)
4.— A'mina Rani Kllage-fanu
(1754)
Hasan Ranna Baderi
raised to the throne as
5.— S. Ghazi' Hasan 'Izz-ud-di'n
(1759)
6.— S. Muhammad GhiyAs-ud-di'n
(1767)
7.— S. GhAzi' Muhammad M'uizz-ud-di'n 8.— S. Hasan Nur-ud-dit*
(1774) (1779)
9. — S. Muhammad M'ui'n-ud-di'n
(1799)
10.— S. Mohammad 'ImAd-ud-di'n
(1835)
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
41
IfQTES.
(1)
Historical Records. — In the Sultan's palace at" Male* is said to be preserved a National
Record styled Tdrikko (Arabic, Tdrikh, ( history') or Muskuli foi, in which ail important events and
matters of State have been faithfully noted for centuries in the old Maldive character (Dives akuruj,
in Arabic, and in the modern native character (gabali CdnaJ.
(2)
Minak At —called Malikd by the natives— lying bat*een lat. 8° 14' and 8° 19' N., long.
72° 59' and 73° 5' E., is separated from the head pf the Maldives by the Eight- Degree Channel,
which is perfectly safe and adopted by vessels bound to the Malabar Coast or Ceylon during the
S.W. monsoon.
The Island is a narrow strip of low land, seven miles long, in direction N.E. and S.W. From
its N.W. faee an irregular coral reef projects i on the S»E. side there is no reef. Within 100 yards
of the reef no bottom is found* The land is less than a mile wide* the rest being a reef encircling a
large lagoon, which has three entranced from the sea, one with a depth of two fathoms. It abounds
iu turtle and fish. The soil of the Island is coarse powdered coral with a little vegetable matter.
It is quite flat, and no part is destitute of vegetation ; the South side is thickly covered with tall
cocoanut trees (visible from a vessel 10 or 12 miles) and underwood, the North more sparingly.
Bats abound ; there are some cats, a few cows and goats, large grey cranes* ducks occasionally, and
swarms of mosquitos.'
Though generally spoken of as one of the Lakkadive group, and* with the other " Cananore
Islands, forming part of the Administrative District of Malabar," Minika! on every ground
properly belongs to the Maldives* distant only 68 miles South. Inhabited by a people of Maldive
race and language,* it was formerly under the Maldive Sultans; but' since the 17th century has
been subject to the Rajas of Cananore, and is at present "the personal property (jenmum) of 'Ali-
Raja." [For Administration, Ac, Vide Note (10) " Lakkadive Islands."]
The population is about 3,000. The Islanders possess six large vessels fit for the Bengal
trade (bodu o$i), four for coasting (bandar odi), and eight fishing boats (mas o$i). They
export fish, coir, and cocoanuts to Goa, the Malabar ports, Ceylon, and Bengal, bringing home
chiefly rice, salt, spices, and cotton cloth. The erection of a lighthouse on this Island is in con-
templation by the Admiralty. The P. and 0. Steamer " Colombo" was stranded there during a
fog in November, 1862.f
(3)
Christian ax-Kmo ofr the MIldives.— Pyrard and his Portuguese editor (&. H. da.Cnnha
Rivara) supply a few particulars touching the expatriated Christian Sultan, Dom Manoel, and
his immediate descendants.
On the authority of Padre Lucena's • Life of Francisco Xavier' (Lib. 9., ch. XV), Rivara J notes
that in A.D. 1552 the King of the Maldives, a young mp of 20, who had fled to Cochin and
appealed to Garcia de Sa for help against his rebellious subjects, was baptised a Christian.
" His conversion filled with joy the whole of India, exciting hopes that after the head all the
members would be converted." .He married a Portuguese girl of many virtues and noble blood,
but died at Cochin, old, poor, and still an exile.
Prom contemporary correspondence between the Court of Portugal and the Viceroys of India,||
it frould appear that the Christianised Maldive Princes at Cochin were for years a constant source
of trouble to the Portuguese authorities, owing to their restlessness and "follies of youth"
(mocidades).
THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Note*.
Tarikho,
Minak at.
Christian ex-King
of the Maldives.
* " La pesche y est tres-bonne, 1'air y est fort sain et plus temper*? qu' aux Maldiuef, et le peuple y ales mesnws
eaustumes, les mesmes moeurs et langages que otux des Maldiues." — Pyrard, p. 232.
t Partially abridged from " Report during Fusli, 1268, on the Fire Laccadive Islands" by E. G. Thomas (Madras
Jour, of Literature and Science), and Article " Laccadive Islands" (W. W. Hunter's Imperial Gazetteer of India).
% Viagem de F. Pyrard, Goa, 1858.
§ Letter from the King of Portugal to the Viceroy Dom Duarte, dated Lisbon, January 10th, 1557.
H Chiefly in the Livros das Moncoes, which may be said to commence in A.D. 1584.
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42
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Notes.
Dom Francisco, the eldest son of Dom Manoel, whilst still young contracted, against advice,
a marriage with the sister of Antonio Teixera de Macado (circa A.D. 1587),* and ended his days
under an assassin's knife at Lisbon, whither Jie had betaken himself to air his grievances in person
before Dom Philippe the Second. f
Another Prince, Don Joao, " King of the Maidive Islands" (Rey das Ilhas de Maldiva),
also married a Portuguese wife, Dona Francisca de Vasconsellos, and obtained a reduction on his
tribute to the Portuguese of 500 pardaos as her do wry. J
It was probably this "Maidive King" who suffered imprisonment (circa A.D. 1591) for
having scandalised India by putting away his wife and other misdemeanours, § and who, with his
brother Dom Pedro, was subsequently removed to Goa (A.D. 1597) but freely treated.||
Ten years later, according to Pyrard (p. 210 ; Pi ii., pp. 80-1), the rightful heir to the original
Christian ex-king's dues was Dom Philippe, who resided at Goa with his Portuguese mother, and
was in suit against his uncle, Dom Paulo, for forcible appropriation at Cochin of the tribute paid
there annually by the Islanders, in terms of the old treaty of peace wrth the Portuguese.
This tribute consisted of cowries (Pyrard, p. 172, "bollis;" M. bolt), and coir ( li cairo,
M. rhdnu). The Maldivians every year despatched four vessels of 150 tons burden thus laden to
Cochin, being liable to meet all charges and perils of the seas until the head of the Islands was
cleared, after which the risk rested with the Christian king. From this tribute Dom Manoel and
his son Dom Francisco delivered annually 500 bares of coir (cairo) to the Portuguese, and
Pyrard says the payment in his day amounted to one-third.
(4)
Mukwas. * Mukwas.— " The third class of inhabitants of Calicut and Malabar are the common people;
who in every district are much despised, degraded, and contemptible, as slaves — the Moucois or
Poulia. Their quarter is distinct, outside the towns, near the sea, and in other places at a greater
distance* They differ in condition. Some dwell on the sea-board and are not permitted to live
further (inland). These are properly named Moucois. They are all fishermen and salt workers, and
throughout all the coast of Malabar no other people are employed as rowers or sailors, and they
are hired for this purpose. [In Malabar] the labourers ( Coulombvn) are the most honourable
[class], the mechanics next, then the Tiua, and last— the meanest and most contemptible— the
Moucois, who are fishermen." — Pyrard, pp. 277-8.
" [The Mukwa] of North Malabar follow the rule of descent a matrice, but those in the South
allow descent of property to sons." — Balfour's ' Cyclopaedia of India/ Vol. III. Madras, .1873.
Wreck of
Ravestein."
(5)
the Wreck op the "Ravestein" (or "Ravensteyn").— This Dutch vessel struck on a reef
of the Maidive group, May 9th, 1726, when outward bound with a valuable cargo of gold. The
Captain (*Anthony Elink) and crew reached Male* (Sultan's Island), and were ultimately enabled
to return to Ceylon with the gold chests and other property recovered from the wreck.
The attendant circumstances are well brought out in the following quaint, but forcible, letter
of the Maidive Sultan :— %
Seal of ^\ A' Messieurs Les Crouverneur et Conseille des ville.et forts et depandances
[ S. Ibrahim 1 de La Conpagnie dollande en Celon,
^Iskandar. JJ A Colombo.
Messieurs par la voy des deux batiment qui ont partie de ce port leune le 8 e et 1 autre le 9 e
de Juin, vous aure* Jecroy ressus les deux lettre que Jay eu honneurl de vous ecrire, avec
ausi les equipaze du vessaux Le Rauestin, qui comme je vous ay deja marque* sestois perdue daus
ces Illes Jay, le Capitaione duquel vessaux enuoya tous le d« monde, tous fort mal, en cette Die,
et me fit demander par le Commandeur quil auoit enuoyee avec ces gens <Jes battaux pr pouuoir
tauuer, si il estoist posible les effait de La Conpagnie, se quil ont fait de 9 caice neuf caice
cast6e** des seau de La Conpagnie les ql mon 6ttee remie en mon Ille par Mr Busch, comme Jay
* Letter from the King of Portugal to the Viceroy, dated Lisbon, February 6th, 1589.
f RWara (.Viagtm de F+ Pyrard) quoting Padre Lucena's ' Life of Francisco Xavier.'
% Letter from the King of Portugal to the Viceroy, dated Lisbon, March 8th, 1589.
§ Idem, dated Lisboa, January 12th, 1591. || Idem, dated Lisboa, February 13th, 1597,
^ The French is an exact transcript of the original. ** Cast ie for cachet**.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 43
deja eu lhonneur de vous marquer, les ql Jaurois eu deja le soin de vous les enuoyer si les d? Sr
Busch y eut consentie, mes il me fit reponce quil ne pouuoit 7 consentir, que le Capitainne ne
fusee prejant sequi na ett£e que le 13* de cemoia Juin, le d« Capitainne ay ant rest£e dans lille de
Matteuarie pres Ian droit ou sest perdue le vessaux tous ce temps sans auoir rien fait que je puisce
connettre eatre pr le seruisee de La Conpagnie, se pleignant fort desabittans* de la d? Ille com me
8il deuoit trauaiU6 commes des Mattele durope ne considerant pas que sont de pauure gens, les
quels consider le moindre petie seruice quon exzize,f deux pr vne tres grandre opressionll est ass^e
Messr a votre connessance seque ces que les gens des II les de Maldiue.
Insi Messr vosfre Capitainne nauoit aucun droit de se seruir des terme, et mouuemant ddnt il
sest seruie a son ariuee a Maldiue deuant tous le Conseille, deune manier comme sil vencit fair la
guer, et a son ariuee Jay ettee plus informed que tous se temps il nauoit veritablement rien fait pr
le seruice de La Conpagnie* nayant aportee que des guenille.
Ausitot que le df homme fut debarqule il me fit demander 50 hommes auec 4 grand battaux
pr sauuer les effait de la Conpagnie, sequi me parue si extraordinair que Je ne luy fit point reponce
Quar Messr il faut que vous sachiez que le vessaux est essouee dans vne androit aupres duquel
il ne pent y alier quauec penne vn petie battaux leaux et le ' brigant passant passant par desus le
vessaux, et dans cette moisson duv:$ les mer son affruze dans cette androit.
Si Mr le Capitainne auoit voulue se donner vn peu peux plus de penne dans le commance-
ment que le vessaux at ettle essouee on auroit Je croy sauuer quel que cnoze dauantage, mes Je
vous auoiie cette vn brutal le qui ne prand conseill de personne, se qui a fait quil a reste* dans de
temps en cette Ille, II poura vous rander contte de ce quil y a fait Je suie persuadee quil donne
toutte la fautte a mon gouuernement, Ces la reconnessance que je resoit de ce brutalle le quel Je
vous jur* Messr que si senestoist et lestimme et respect que Jay eu et moy et mes entecesseurs pr
La Conpagnie je laurois mie dans vne androit ou il auroit pue a loizir santir les insolance de sa
brutal it t^e. Je riiguor nullement Messr que ce d? Capitainne ne vous assurrera quil est possible de
pouuoit sauuer les effait de la Conpagnie, et que indubitallemt il ne vous fasce fair des pance§ tres
inuttille quar je vous assur de rechef que dans la situation ou est le vessaux, il est impossible de rie
fair a moins que le de vessaux ne sonnre;|| quoy puisce sauuer les marchandize qui pouront flotter,
si le temps permait au battaux de restter dehors et les marchandize pezante que pouront rester au
font, la Conpagnie poura fair les deligence si elle juge" a propos pr les sauuer denuoyer des
occazion dans la moisson de feuuerir et mars quant de ma part Je vous .assur, que si le vessaux
8onnre,|| et quil y'est des marchandize qui fiotte comme je vous marque sy deuant, et que nos
battaux puisce tenir la mer Jaurie soin den fair vne exacte recherche pr vous les ranuoyer a la pre-
mier occazion.
Le 18e de ce mois dps Juin le d? Capitainne en Conpagnie de quelquevn de ces officiers sont
venue a la porte de mon logie auec vne arogance qui ma Je vous assur outre* au derniee point, Je
vous le repette Messr si cenestoist les raison que jay deja ecrit sy deuant, il leurs seroit ariuee* vne
tres mauuais aflaire esperant que vous me donner6e la satisfaction qui est a vn Roy.
Pretendant que Je lui eus remie cinq hommes quil dit luy manquer, ne mayant pas donne*
connessance dans la partie des 2 premiee vessaux quil manquoit, Comment pouuoire scauoir,
si il estoist partie ou non, ou sil auoit rested dans le paylf Mes enfin Messr Jay voulue passer tous
sans bruit a vos consideration, Je luy fit fair vne reponce pr luy fair antrer en luy meme quil deuoit
bien considered la mannier dont il parloit et des sestte dont il se seruoit, Sependant si ces hommes
estois sur la terre, Je les ferois randre, et de plus que Jauois 3 batiment en rade surleql il pouuoit
en fair la cherche, se que sepandant il na voulue fair, et a retrouue*e ces gens sur le vessaux de la
Conpagnie de franco auec le Capitainne duql il y a plusr parolle que Je nay point sceu.
Je vous ranuoy Messr le d? Capitainne auec Mr Busch duql Je suie tres con tan t, pr estre
veritablemt vne homme fort brudant, Le restant des officio vont jointement auec les 9 caice de La
Conpagnie qui mauoit ett£e remie par le d? Mr Busch, le toutte enbarque sur mon nauir leql pr
cet effait na pas eu le temps de decbargee, et suie obligee de le fuir partir dans cette ettat pr au
plutot vous donner la satisfaction de reseuoir et les gens, pt les effait de La Conpagnie.
Vous mobligerez sansiblement de procurer au Nacoda de mon vessaux nomme Mamot Safie la
vantte de la cargueson du nauir parse que luy meme en estoist chargee des Bingalle, et pr vni-
quement randre seruisee a La Conpagnie Je la fait partir dans le meme ettat pr y repasser tous
generallemt se que Jay eu Ihouneur de vous marquer sy deuant ausitost que la vantte de son rie
THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Notes*
* Abittans for habitant*,
§ Despance for dtpense.
f Exzvze for exige,
|| Sonnre for sombre*
% Duv;—*, doubtful contraction.
^ This sentence is rery involved.
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, THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Notes.
44 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
sera finie faites moy la grasce Messf de le depesche* pr Bingalle le plusto9t que fair 66 poura pT ne
point perdre son passaze Ces la grasce que vous demaade Ce Luy qui veritablement soit estre
vtiile a La Compagnie.
Et suie veritablement
Amy
Ybraimme Chicondar
Roy De Larchipelle des Hie De Maldiue.
Translation.
" To the Governor and Council of the Towns, Forts, and Dependencies of the
Dutch Company in Ceylon, at Colombo.
" Gentlemen, — By the opportunity the two vessels afforded, which left this port on the 8th
and 9th June respectively, I presume you have received the two letters I have had the honour to
address to you, together with the crew of the vessel " Ravestin," which, as I have already men*
tioned, was lost among these Islands. ' The Captain of the vessel sent the whole of the erew in a
wretched condition to this Island, and, through the Commander whom he had sent in company
with the creW, asked from me boats to save, if possible, the effects of the Company. This they have
done as regards nine chests marked with the Company's seal, which have been delivered to me in my
Island by Mr. Busch, as I have already had the honour to inform you. I should ere this have taken
care to send you these, had Mr. Busch consented, but he told me that he could not give his assent
to it unless the Captain were present. This did not occur till the 1 3th June, as the said Captain
had remained in the Island of Maduvarif near the place where the vessel was lost, doing nothing
the whole time, as far as I can ascertain, for the benefit of the Company, (but) complaining bitterly
of the inhabitants of the said Islands, as if they could be expected to work like European sailors
— not taking into consideration the fact that they are only wretched creatures who look upon the
smallest service exacted from them as a grievous oppression. You are well aware, Gentlemen, of
the nature of the Maldive Islanders.
" Accordingly, Gentlemen, your Captain had no right to make use of the terms, nor to resort
to the actions he adopted on his arrival at M&14 in the presence of the whole Council, just as
though he had come to wage war. Since his arrival I have been further informed that the whole
time he has actually done nothing for the Company's benefit, having only brought away some
rubbish.
" As soon as this personage landed, he demanded from me 50 men and four large boats to save
the property of the Company — a request which appeared to me so extraordinary that I gave him
no answer. For, Gentlemen, I must tell you that the vessel is cast away on a place to which a
small boat can approach only with difficulty, as the seas and the surf break incessantly over the
vessel, and during this monsoon especially there is a terrible sea running at the spot.
" If, Gentlemen, the Captain had chosen to give himself a very little more trouble at first when
the vessel was wrecked, some more property would, I fancy, have been saved ; but, I assure you,
this is a churl who will take advice from nobody, as proved by his staying so long in that Island.
He Will be able to render you account of what he has done. I feel convinced that he lays the
whole blame on my Government. It is all the thanks that I shall receive from this churl, whom,
but for the esteem and regard that both I and my predecessors have borne toward* the Company,
I should, I swear to you, have placed in a position where he would have had leisure td see the
insolence of his outrageous conduct.
" I am very well aware, Gentlemen, that the said Captain will assure you that it is possible
to be able to save the goods of the Company, and that, doubtless, he will cause you to incur very
useless expense ; but I tell you once again that in the place in which the vessel lies it is impos-
sible to do anything unless she breaks up* In that case the cargo which floats might be saved
if the weather allows of the boats remaining outside ; and, as regards the heavy goods which
wduld sink to the bottom, the Company, if it thinks fit, might endeavour to send over (workmen, &c.)
at opportune times during the monsoons of February and March for the purpose of saving them.
For my part you may rest assured that if the vessel breaks up and any of the cargo floats, as I have
told you before, and our boats can keep the sea, I shall take care to make a careful search so a*
to send (it) to you at the earliest opportunity.
• As the " Ravestein" struck on a reef in lat. 5° 4' K, this must be the island adjoining Digguru in Molako
Atol.— See Admiralty Chart.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
45
"On the 18th June the said Captain, accompanied hy one of his officers, came to the gate of
my Palace with an amount of arrogance which, I assure you, exasperated me to the last degree
1 repeat, Gentlemen, thai if it had not been for the reasons I have stated above, it would have fared
very badly with them. 1 trust that you will render me the satisfaction which is due to a Sovereign.
" He alleged that I had sent away five men, whom he said he missed, without having let
me know at the time the first two vessels left that they were missing. How could it be known
whether they had gone or not, or if they had staye 1 in the Island ? But, briefly, Gentlemen, it was
my desire to let all pass without making any fuss, out of consideration for you. I had an answer
given him, calculated to bring him to his senses, that he ought to consider the manner in which he
spoke and the terms he employed, at the same time that if these men were on shore I should have
them sent back to him; and, moreover, that I had three vessels in harbour which he might search.
This he did not chose to do, (but) he found his men on the ship of the French Company, with the
Captain of which he had many words unknown to me.*
" I send back, Gentlemen, the said Captain and Mr. Busch, whom I am satisfied undoubtedly
possesses much prudence. The rest of the officers leave also with the nine cheats belonging to
the Company, which had been sent to me by Mr. Busch,
" The whole have embarked in my ship, which, on this account, has not had time to discharge ;
and I am forced tQ let her start in this state the sooner to afford you the satisfaction of receiving
the men and the effects of the Company.
" You will materially oblige me by enabling the Ndkkudd of my vessel, named Mahmud Shdfa't,
to sell the cargo of the vessel ; because it was loaded from Bengal, and, merely to do a service to
the Company, I ordered him to start in the same condition to enable all (your men, &c.) to return
together, as* I have had the honour of mentioning before. As soon as the sale of the rice is
concluded, do me the kindness, Gentlemen, to despatch him to Bengal as early as you possibly
can, that he may not fail in making a passage. This is the favour that he asks from you who
may be of real service to the Company,
" Your sincere friend,
" IBRAHIM I8KANDAR,
"King of the Maldive Archipelago."
The concurrent testimony of the chief mate, Johan Busch, leaves no doubt of the magna-
nimity displayed from first to last by Sultan Ibrahim. Those of the crew who reached "Maldiva"
[Male] were " hospitably received by the King, who supplied them freely, as far as the resources
of the country allowed, with rice, fish, and occasionally, flesh." " We met with every possible atten-
tion/' writes Mr. Busch, " from the King. As soon as news of our stranding reached His Majesty,
he was pleased to despatch two special men to the island of * Mattuarxf [Maduvari] to render
any help we needed in boats, provisions, and other requisites."!
Governor Vuyst, in replying to the Sultan's letter, expressed his " hearty thanks for all the aid
afforded and kindness shown" to the Dutchmen, admitting " the generous and kindly spirit" which
had ignored the unruliness of the Captain.}
(6)
The French on the Maldives, 1754, — The following is the letter of the French Corporal,
Le Termellier, to the Dutch Governor : —
"A Monsieur le Gouverueur de Colombo.
" Monsieur, — Jay lhonneur de vous escrire pour vous marquer que la protection que Monsieur
Le Marquis Duplaix a accorded aux. Maldivois nous ont obliges a mettre notre pavillion sur ses
Islles et dy garder des troupe : La rarette* des vivre icy moblige a vous envoyer deux homes [?] pour
acheter quellque pipe daraq et autre vivre Jespere Monsieur que vous voudrez bien ordonner
qu'on ne les inquiette point et que vous voudrez bien les aider et vous obligere* celuy qui a lhonneur
d'estre avec respect.
" Monsieur
" Votre tres humble et tres dbeissant seruiteur
u A Maldive, le 20me Aoust, 1754." "Lb Termellier.
* The anomaly of the Sultan employing the French language, as well as the bitter tone of the letter, are thus
easily accounted for. The French were much in favour at the Maldives at this time. Vide supra, p. 81 , and Journ. R.
Geo. Soc., Vol. IL, p. 78 (1882) :— " Upon our showing French colours, a Maldive boat came alongside and supplied
us with some fowls." (Log of the ' Rochester,' February 20th, 1716, in lat. 3° 52 / N.)
t Two letters (Dutch) dated Maldiva, June 7th, 1 726. % Letter dated Colombo, January 7th, 1727.
, THE
MALDIVES.
IllSTOBICAL
Sketch.
Notes.
The French
the Maldives.
A.D. 1754.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
.THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Notes.
'AliRajaofCana-
nore.
Translation.
" To the Governor of Colombo.
" Sir, — I have the honour to write to you to point out that the protection which Monsieur
Le Marquis Duplaix has granted to the Maldivois has obliged us to 'hoist our flag on ihese
Islands, and to station troops there. The scarcity of provisions here forces me to send you two
men [?] to purchase some kegs of arrack and other provisions. I hope, Sir, that you will be so
good as to give orders that they may not be molested, and that you will kindly assist them, la
this you will oblige him who has the honour to be with respect,
" Sir,
i( Your very humble and very obedient servant,
"Mate, August 20th, 1754." "Le Termellier.
It is to be hoped that the Frenchmen were not in very urgent need of the required supplies, as
the reply of the Dutch Governor (J. G. Loten), acceding to the Corporal's request, is dated
February 11th, 1755.
(7)
'Ali' RIja op Cananore.— The chief male representative of the Cananore Mappijja family
always bore the honorific title y Ali Rdjd or Adi Bdjfi — «.e., " Prince of the Sea. M *
Cananore (JKannanur), originally "included in the kingdom of the Kolastri or Cherakal
Bajas," and partially feudatory " till the invasion of Haidar 'Ali/'f had become, by the middle of
the 16th century, the chief seat of the Mappijlas and a Muhammadan state of some importance
on the S.W. coast of India.
Pyrard, writing circa A.D. 1613 of "the Malabars of Cananore/' mentions that they had not
long before thrown off their allegiance to* " the Nair King" and set up one of their own. *• This King
of Cananore is very wealthy, and very powerful, for his subjects are numerous, including, if need be,
the other Malabars who live along the whole coast. He is called Aly Ragea, and is a Muhammadan
as are the other Malabars. Owning many vessels he is strong on the sea, and for the purposes of
trade in India has many agents and factories." J
The Lakkadive Islands (" Les isles de Diuandvrou") belonged to him,§ as well as some
thirty of the Maldives,! and the Suzerainty over the entire group. " He is very courteous,
benevolent, and affable, and, above all, he is fond of strangers. The Portuguese are at peace with
him, and are allowed to occupy a small fort in Cananore where they have a church and College
of Jesuits. If The other Kings of India, however, do not style the Ruler of Cananore ' King/
asserting that his title has accrued by force alone."**
A century later "Adda Rajah," according to Captain Hamilton, could, "upon occasions,
bring near 20,000 men into the field." His "dominions" then reached " 10 miles southward of
Cananore to the Tellicherry river," near which was his harbour, " Dormepatam."^
The particular 'Ali Raja who captured the Maldive Sultan in 1753, supported the English
cause against the French in Southern India. A treaty of offensive and defensive alliance
between 'All Raja and Thomas Hodges, Chief of Tellicherri, on behalf of the English East India
Company, was concluded in 1759. The Mappi|Ja Chief bound himself to assist the Company
" readily with 300 men (or more if necessary) armed with my firearms at all times* upon request
and uppn similar payment as that received by other English troops. In consideration of the
immediate loan of 13,000 rupees (Bombay silver), pepper to that value was to be delivered, at the
price contracted for by the English with their own merchants, between January and March, 1760;
* Aitchiaon's " Treaties, &c, relating to India," Vol. V., p. 346. Calcutta, 1864.
f Hunter's " Imperial Gazetteer of India,"- VoL II., Art. * Cannanore.' London, 1881.
t Pyrard, p. 322. § See Note (10) " Lakkadive Islands."
|| Ceded about 50 years previously [circa A.D. 1560] by a Maldive Saltan in return for aid against his
revolted subjects. — Pyrard, p. 233.
1 The Portuguese landed at Cananore A.D. 1498, and erected a factory A.D. 1505. The Dutch followed in
A.D. 1656, Btt sold their fort about A.D. 1756 to I AM Bajtf, whose avarice Haidar 'Alf had to curb. (M. M, D. L. T.
•• History of Hyder Shab," p. 101 .)
** Pyrard, pp. 32£-3.
%t " A New Account of the East Indies," Edinburgh, 1727.— Pinkerton, Vol. 8, pp. 368, 370. At the present day
the territory of the Raja* extends nowhere more than two miles from the glacis of the fort.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 47
•
in default, the Company to have free liberty to take the Raja's vessels to the amount of the said
debt*
In 1766 'Alt Raja instigated Haidar 'Ali to his successful invasion of Malabar, and was
entrusted with the management of all the conquered states from Cherakal to Cochin, except Cochin,
Coringot, and Rande terra, f
• On the capture of Cananore by the British in 1784 the Bibi became tributary to the East
India Company. It was taken again in 1791, and has since remained in British hands.J
In the Cananore family, as usual in Malabar, the succession goes in the female line. " The
last [male ruler] was succeeded by his niece, whose husband died during the siege of Cananore in
1 790. This lady was succeeded by her daughter and granddaughter. The last died in October,
1861, and the Madras Government, mistaking the rule of succession, which requires that every
heir must be descended immediately from a female, and imagining that females only could succeed,
recognised her distant female relative to the exclusion of her son. But on the appeal of the son,
Ali Rajah, and after further investigation of the case, his right to the succession was recognised." §
The' Mdppillas\ (vulgarly Mop Ids) are all Muhammadans and descendants of Arabs who
traded to or settled in Malabar from the 9th century M The lax morality of the Indian women-
particular ly Tiyatti — favoured such casual or permanent connection with foreigners, " In the course
of time the settlers, their descendants, and converts, became a power in the land adding much by
the industry to the material wealth of the country, and not a little to its social and political
difficulties. To the arrogance of the strictly honest and austerely religious Nair, the Mopla—
ignorant, bigotted, priest-ridden — opposed fanatical hatred, and, when driven beyond bearing [by
agrarian grievances], open outrage and murder. Things are better now than they were. English
rule has done much : the Mopla knife perhaps something : special legislation more than all."**
The MappiJJas are all fine, sturdy, good-looking men, and, as a community, the most enterprising
and industrious race to be found anywhere in India. Though disinclined to seek public service,
they can prove themselves intelligent and hard-working.
The Labbays of the South-east Coast of India, the Moors of Ceylon, and a large proportion
of the Maldive Islandersff in the Atols as far south as M6X6, have sprung from an origin similar to
that of the Mappiljas of Malabar.
(8)
The supposition that Sultan Muhammad Ghiyas-ud-din met this violent death at the hands
of his subjects should be received with much caution. The tradition " vaguely current*' at this'
day rather favours the* belief that it was a younger brother of Sultan Muhammad Mmad-ud-din
Mukkarram, named Sayyid Kalu Baddra, who thus perished. This Prince is said to have shared
the captivity of the Sultan in India, and to have obtained possession of the throne on returning to
Male* after an absence of some years. The two sons of Sultan Ghazi Hasan Tzz-ud-din were
thereupon banished to the Southern Atols. But during the Hajj of Kaju Badara, Faruoa
Kilage-fanu, who had been banished with the ex-Sultan's sons, re- visited Male* and devised the
scheme for the restoration of the former line (by the murder of the pilgrim Sultan), details of which
Christopher relates. Faruna then merely held the reins of government until the Princes could be
recalled from their exile.
(©)
Wreck of thb " Europa. w $$— The facts of this case present features in many respects
strikingly similar to those connected with the " Bavestein*" a century earlier.
The British vessel " Europa," Captain J. Alwayn, apparently laden with arms, struck on a
reef among the Southern Atols, May 23rd, 1812. Upon news of the disaster reaching Sultan
THE
MALDIVES.
HlSTOBICAL
Sketch.
Notes.
Pate of S. Mu-
hammad Ghiyas-ud-
din.
Wreck of the
" Europa."
* Aitcbison's "Treaties, &cV* Vol. V. t pp. 357-8.
t Hunter's ** Imp. Gas. of India," Vol VI., Art. • Malabar' ; Aitehison's «• Treaties, fto," Vol, V., p. 344.
% Hunter's " Imp. Gas. of India," Vol. IJ„ Art « Cannanore.' § Aitchisou's M Treaties, &c," Vol. V M p. 347.
| Perhaps from «**, * mother,' and pillti, ' child.' (Wilson.)
1 11 est bien certain qu'ils fcont venus d' ailleors, et on dit d 'Arabic, mais il y a bien long temps."— Pyrard, p. 32 1.
** Hunter's u Imp. (Jas. of India," Vol. VI., Art. « Malabar.'
ft Buchanan (" A Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar," Jan. 12, 1801.~>Pinkerton, Vol. 8, p. 745)
observes that the Maldivians and their Sultan are " Moplays."
tt Sultan's letters. The originals are unfortunately not forthcoming, and the translations (undated) must have
been made by a native little acquainted with English.
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48
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Notes.
M'uin-ud-dm, he " was pleased to despatch a gundara dhony from Mai dive [M&1£] to the rock the
ship struck against/' but the Captain and crew, including three women, had meanwhile started in
another gundara for Male, 300 miles distant. *
On their way they foraged for supplies in the most reckless manner, shooting fowls and
plucking cocoanuts wherever they landed. From one island 200 fowls were forcibly carried off
after one of the natives had received a slight gunshot wound.
They were, nevertheless, landed at Male* with honours. "The colours were hoisted and a salute
of guns fired from the fort. The Captain was provided with a house adorned with white cloth and
every necessary article, &c. ;" and the lascars quartered " in a suitable place and fed there properly "
Before a vessel could be prepared for their conveyance to the Coast, the Captain and lascars had
commenced an unseemly and serious quarrel in which blood was spilt— the latter demanding
arrears of pay and their discharge, whilst the former insisted on their returning to the wreck and
making some attempt to recover the cargo. The Vizier, appealed to by both parties, was in dis-
pair — " If neither of you will agree to deliver up your arms, what can I do ?" The lascars had
ultimately to be deprived of their arms. They then " began to trouble the Maldive Island as they
had done the other islands, by seizing fowls, plucking young cocoanuts, breaking the olas with
which the verandahs are covered, and letting dogs bite the inhabitants about the streets. The
Pilot of the ship at 12 o'clock in the night had the audacity to enter the Sultan's Palace, but was
stopped by the sentries and ejected. " The inhabitants, indeed, would not have been so patient if
they had not thought that it was an honour to the Sultan, and the Sultan suffered himself to l>e
thus treated merely for the sake of His Britannic Majesty,"
The people came in a body before the Sultan, "and asked if it was proper that their country
should be troubled by lascars, who were fed by the Sultan himself. The Sultan, however, pacified
them."
Upon a complaint of killing a sheep, the Captain and Pilot, although summoned at " three
different times/' refused to appear before the chiefs, " observing that if they had anything to say to
them thoy should come to their lodging." They were then rightly arrested, and the charge,
though basely denied, having been clearly proved, were committed to prison for " two days and two
nights," and, after 15 days' surveillance "in a suitable house," "allowed to live in their former
lodging."
The Captain and other Europeans reached Galle in a Maldivian vessel on August 18th with
some of the cargo, which had been recovered from the wreck by the natives under the Sultan's
orders. It is satisfactory to find that the Governor (Sir R. # Brownrigg) expressed his concern for
the misconduct of the officers and men of the " Europa" and his " best acknowledgments" of the
Sultan's action.* The Provincial Judge at Galle was at the same time directed to hold a searching
inquiry, calling upon the Captain " to answer distinctly to every particular of the charges,"
(10)
The Lakkadives. Lakkadive Islands! — (Laksha Dwipa, ' the Hundred Thousand Islands' ; also called
the Divi or Amindivi Islands) — 14 in all (9 inhabited, 2 uninhubited, 3 open reefs) — lie
between lat 10° and 14° N., and long. 71° 40' and 74° E., about 200 miles West of the Malabar
Coast,
The Islands, generally situated at the East end of coral reefs (which enclose on the West
perfect, lagoons), are from 2 to 3 miles in area, and only 10 to 15 feet above sea level. The
surface soil being naturally barren, spontaneous vegetation is scanty. The cocoanut thrives
well. In formation the soil differs little from that of the Maldives.} The well water is said to be
not very wholesome. Climate healthy. Leprosy prevails, but the ravages of small-pox have been
greatly minimised by vaccination, &c. Hurricanes occasionally visit the Islands, notably the storms
of 1847 and 1867, which caused great loss of life. There are few animals, except rats which
are a pest. Fish and tortoises are abundant.
These Islands (as distinct from Minakai) were conferred in jdgir on the Mappijja Chief of
Cananore {circa A.D. 1550) by the Cherakal Raja, subject to certain dues which were regularly
* Governor's reply of October loth, 1812.
t Almost entirely extracted from the Article in Hunter's " Imp. Gaz. of India," VoL VI., London, 1881. See too
an interesting account of the group by Allan Hume in " Stray Feathers," Vol. IV., pp. 413-483, Calcutta, 1876.
% Vide ante, p. 2,
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 49
rendered to that State until the invasion of Haidar 'Ali. At the commencement of the 17th century
the Lakkadives enjoyed a flourishing trade with India.*
After the storming of Cananore by the English in 1791, the Islands were sequestrated for the
benefit of the East India Company. In 1799 the Bibi obtained a remission on the tribute fixed by
the Agreements of 1793 and 1796, reducing the peshkash to Rs. 10,000— at which amount it still
remains. The Northern portion of the group is attached to the Collectorate of South Kanara : the
remainder belongs to 'Ali Raja, but was sequestrated for arrears of revenue between 1855 and 1860,
and again in 1877, and placed under the direct administration of the Collector of Malabar.
South Kanara Islands.
Amini or Amindivi.
Chetlat.
Kadamat.
Kiltan.
Bitra — uninhabited.
Cananore Islands.
Agathi.
Kavarathi.
Antrot.
Kalpeni.
Minakai.
Suheli — uninhabited.
Total population in 1871, 13,495. The Kanara Islands are managed by a Sub-Magistrate
and rnunsif: the Cananore group by amins (revenue agents). The Islands are from time to time
visited by a European Officer.
The Islanders pay no land revenue, but in lieu the Government retains the coir monopoly —
requiring the whole of this — the staple — product to be brought over to Mangalore, where it
is paid for at fixed rates, somewhat below the market value. Payment is made partly in rice
and partly in money, and, as the Islanders enjoy certain advantages with regard to salt, &c, the
arrangement is still popular with them. Constant change of price and the exaction of other
imposts by 'All Raja has for years caused discontent and evasion of the monopoly by the Southern
Islanders.
In Minakai a more profitable arrangement for the tenantry exists, and few, if any, monopolies
are enforced. "
The people are all Musalmans and, like the MappiJJas, of Hindu descent ; they are of a peaceable
disposition, with no little aptitude for self-government, and submissive to their own headmen.
Monogamy is universal. The language of the group (Minakai excepted) is Malay ajam, written
in the Arabic character, f The Islanders are bold seamen, and own 184 large and 719 small
boats. The almost sole industry is the preparation for foreign sale of coir. Chief exports : coir,
cocoanut, copra, and jaggery ; total annual value about £17,000.
, THE
MALDIVES.
HISTORICAL
StBTCH.
Note*.
(ii)
Presents. — According to universal Oriental custom the tender of presents has always formed
a necessary part of the ceremonial attending the annual Embassy from the Maldive Sultans, and is
significant of their feudatory relationship with the Ceylon Government, It would be a departure
from established usage for the Governor to receive the Ambassador with the Sultan's letter
unaccompanied by presents. Thus in 1846 audience was denied the Maldivian Envoy until the
presents (which had been accidentally left behind) could be brought from Galle.
On the occasion of the first recorded Embassy to the Dutch (A.D. 1645) from the Islands
the return presents voted to the Sultan "to gain his friendship" (ten eynde zyne vrundshap
daar door mo gen genie ten) were limited to two pieces and three rolls of satin. J The nature of
the Sultan's presents, at this time may be gathered from the list of those received the following
year (A.D. 1646) :—
5 bhar [480 lb. the bhar] of fine coir.
12 Do. [ do. do. ] of coarse coir.
63 parras [40 lb. the parra] cowries, and some dried fish (commelmas).
Presents.
(Colombo.)
• A.D.
1645-6.
* " Ces iflet de Diuandurou sont habitues de Malabares Mahometans, jqoi eont presqoe tons riches marchands,
qui font on grand trafic par tonte I'lnde, et specialement aoz Maldives, dont ils tirent quantity de marchandises, et Us
ont la des factenrs qui n'en bongent." — Pyrard, p. 238.
f " Us ont lea mesmes coostames et langaes que ceax de Cananor, de Calecnt, de Cochio, et antres Malabares."
— Idem, p. 233.
% Dutch Records (Summary of Resolutions of Council, Galle, December 21st, 1649).
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, THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Skbtch.
Notes.
A.D. 1688.
A.D. 1706.
Ambergris
sea-cocoanut.
and
Arecanute.
50 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
la return for these the Saltan wished to obtain two cannon with ammunition, some grenades,
and the loan of a Dutch gunner for a monsoon,
with profuse excuses, the following : — *
The Council, however, decided to send instead,
Rds.
Rds,
75
3 w grasshopper-guns" (sprinkhanen)
15
40
1 match-lock (lontroer), inlaid with
34
silver
25
18
6 Ceylon mats
6
12
Rds.
231
6
—
3 pieces satin (at Rds. 25 each)
1 piece double red damask
1 Japanese lacquered cabinet
6 muskets, with ammunition
6 fine lacquered pikes
6 grenades
Forty years later (1688) the Sultan sent : — f
2 cloths of silver, ornamented with gold and silk flowers.
2 Maldive mats.
2 Maldive turbans.
1,000 dried fish.
These were reciprocated by a present chiefly of spices, — the form it has continued to assume
up to the present time :—
10 lb. (each) cloves, mace, and nutmeg.
50 lb. cinnamon
100 lb. Bengal powdered spgar.
10 yards red cloth.
In 1706 the Sultan's presents were : — J
1 female dress (patta) woven with Chinese gold thread.
3 pieces of Bengal cloth.
2 Maldive belts.
2 women's gowns (rocken).
1 small piece ambergris.
1 piece of a sea cocoanut, " used for medicine."
The Dutch promptly sold all these" trifles" (kleynigheden) by auction to the highest bidder.
This seems to be the first record of ambergris (M. goma, mdvakaru) and sea-cocoanvt
(M. tavakdrhi) being included in the presents. The practice was continued for more than a
century at Galle,§ and is still in vogue at Colombo, where the Ambassador yearly hands over two
tiny bags containing pieces of these rare and highly valued sea products with the envelope cover-
ing the Sultan's letter. The weight of the ambergris and sea cocoanut varied from Rs. 1 to Rs. 2£.
The same year Governor C. J. Simons returned : — 1|
1 pair green Persian shoes.
3 lb. mace.
5 large bottles rose water.
10 „ cinnamon.
5 pieces red cloth.
6 „ cloves.
40 lb. sandal wood.
6 „ nutmegs, and
1 bottle camphor oil.
3 amunams fresh G
Arecanuts were specially valued by the Sultans formerly. In more than one instance when
they had been omitted from the list, either accidentally or owing to their scarcity, the reigning
Sultan did not fail to bring the fact to the notice of the Dutch Governor, with the result of securing
next year double quantities (e. g., 1776, 1790, 1792).
In 1716 the Ambassador brought from Sultan M. 'Imad-ud-dfn
1 piece ambergris.
1 piece of a sea-cocoanut.
2 silk cloths.
2 ornamented mats.
2 canisters of sweetmeat cake.H
1 large canister of sweetmeat cake.^f
1 bundle Maldive sugar candy.
2 canisters Maldive pancake.
2 jars salt fish.
* Batch Records (Summary of Resolutions of Council, Galle, December 21st, 1646).
f Dutch Records (Miscellaneous), December 4, 1688.
X Dutch Records (Resolution of Council, Colombo, June 27th, 1 706).
§ Bennett, " Ceylon and its Capabilities," p. 252, London, 1843.
|| Dutch Records (Resolution of Council, Colombo, November 24th, 1706).
K The general Maldive term for these various sweetmeats is avuru (S. qsgdcat, avufu pat).
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
51
It was customary during the latter part of the reign of Sultan M. 'Imad-ud-din and the com-
mencement of that of his son Sultan Ibrdhim Iskandar, for the wife, sister, or daughter of the
Sultan to occasionally supplement the annual present to the Governor by a smaller one to the
Governor's wife — a delicate act of courtesy, the lapse of which is to be regretted. Thus in 1718
the Sultan's daughter sent : — *
1 piece of ambergris of the weight of a rupee.
1 do. sea-cocoanut do. two rupees.
2 Maldive mats.
12 boxes of Maldive cake.
2 ' do. of koliappam (sweetmeat cake).
The Sultans' presents to the Governors at this time varied little from those of 1716
Cowries and dried fish were sometimes included ; cotton and silk stuffs never re-appear.
After 1736 no regular list appears to have been kept, nor, it is believed, is one kept now-a-days.
As a matter of fact, however, the presents of this day do not differ in any material respect from
those of 150 years ago.f
During the whole of the 18th century the return presents of the Dutch Governors consisted
almost entirely of spices— between 1712 and 1735 generally, and after 1744 always — in the
following quantities {e.g., 1781) :— '
To the Sultan:—
8 amunams Colombo arecanuts
10 lb. cloves
6 „ mace ••• ... ...
12 „ nutmeg ...
30 „ Malabar pepper
6 pieces sheeting, first quality
5 quires small medium paper
16 lb. cinnamon ... ...
To the Ambassador : —
3 cubits red cloth
£ piece cloth for packing
Except half a cask in 1712,' 1714, and 1715, arecanuts do not figure in the list between 1712 and
1744. In the latter year 8 amunams were sent, and that quantity is still given to the Sultan year
by year.
The Sultans' presents to the Commandants at Galle, judging by those of 1773, equalled, if
they did not exceed, in value, those tendered to the Governors at Colombo. For in that year at the
audience the Ambassador offered the Commandant from his Sovereign : — $
24 boxes bondialuva (sweetmeat).
1 box koliappam ( do. )
1 box alwa. ( do. )
1 jar salt fish
1 bag of ambergris
1 do. , sealed up in white linen.
The presents of Bennett's day (circa A.D. 1725) were much the same.§
Between 1752 and 1792 the return presents from Galle were invariably as follows : —
3 lb. cinnamon.
£ ,, (each) mace, cloves, and nutmeg.
/43
17
8
3
6
8
3
1
2
8
5
9
5
4
8
1
12
8
4
13
J3
2
18
8
/85
3
10
pepper.
2 quires paper.
* In 1720, 1721, 1723, 1724, 1726, and 1727, the Sultana, and in 1725 the Sultan's sister, made very similar
presents.
f The following constituted the entire presents received in November, 1 880 : — 1 small boxes sweetmeat (M. bo4%);
1 large Maldive pancake (M. vedun ga$u) ; 1 bundle koliappam sweetmeat, 1 jar salt fish (H. rhi hakuru) ; 2 bags
dried Maldive fish (M. kalubili mat) ; 1 small box of assorted shells ; < 10 Maldive ornamented mats ( M. tufu kund) ;
25 kcffaoi cowries (M. boli)*
% Dutch Records (Miscellaneous), Galle. § Bennett, " Ceylon, &c," p. 252.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Notes.
A.D. 1781.
(Galle.)
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52
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
THE
MALDIVES.
Historical
Sketch.
Notes.
Fire-arms.
The English Government in Cay Ion have been no less conservative in this matter of return
presents than were the Dutch, as the following comparative list will show :-~
8 amunams arecanuts - * - - -
125 lb. sugar candy - - - .- -
30 „ pepper -------
20 „ cinnamon ------
14 „ cloves -------
\\ „ nutmeg-
1 „ mace -
6 dishes --------
5 quire* gilt post paper - - -
1 silk envelope (embroidered with
gold thread) for H. £. the
Governor's letter - - - -
2 ells red cloth for Ambassador -
£ piece long cloth fir package -
Rds.
.1800.
Rds.
120
80
10 24
?
•
7
24
9
15
3
7 24
16
3
271
24
8 amufiams arecanuts - - - -
120 lb. sugar candy .....
1£ parra pepper ------
20 lb. cinnamon ------
2 lb. cloves -------
6 plates ---------
1 silk envelope (embroidered with
gold thread) for H. £. the
Governor's letter - - - -
2 yards broad cloth for Ambassador
Cost of package -
Rs.
1880.
184 O
45 O
15 O
13 70
2 O
3 O
10
20
12 50
305 20
The Sultans have always been partial to gifts of fire-arms. In 1769 Sultan M. Ghiyas-ud-din,
in acknowledging a present from the Galle Commandant of two pistols with am muni ton, made a
request for "a fire-lock (snaphaan) 6 or 7 palms long for my own use."!
Again, in 1831, Sultan M. ATuin-ud-din reminded the Governor that he had asked to be
provided with " a fowling-piece two cubits in length." A gun was accordingly sent the follow-
ing year with an amusing apology, considered due to the backward enlightenment of the Maldive
Ruler. " Your Highness is not to suppose," writes Sir R, W. Horton, " that the gun I send you
in pursuance of my promise last year is less valuable from not being ornamented or from having
been used. I have selected it because I know it to be an excellent one, worthy of Tour Highnesses
acceptance. In England the guns which are used by persons of the highest distinction are never
ornamented."}
* Value not stated. The Ceylon Government cinnamon contract with the East India Company in 1802
the price 8 shillings per lb. (See Bertolacci's Ceylon, p. 245, London, 1817.)
f Saltan's letter dated October 15th, 1769.
\ GoTernor Sir R. W. Horton's letter dated December 14th, 1882.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
V.-INHABITANTS.
PRESENT CONDITION AND ASPECT.
63
Briefly, the whole Mdldive group may be said to be peopled at this day by a civilized
race of A'ryan origin, professing the Muhammadan religion, who carry on a considerable
trade with British India and Ceylon.
POPULATION.
There is no means of ascertaining, even approximately, the total population scattered
over the Atols. It has been roughly estimated at 150,000 to 200,000 (Charton, Vol. IV.,
p. 255). On the other hand, Mr, Gray (J. R. A. S. Vol. X. n. s., 1878, p. 197) thinks
20,000 would be nearer the mark. This is perhaps too low an estimate, and a total of at
least 30,000 may, with more probability, be assumed. That the population was in former
days larger, is admitted by the Islanders themselves, who point with melancholy signifi-
cance to islands in nearly every Atol now lying waste where homesteads stood of old.
It is, however, satisfactory to find good ground for the belief that the gradual depopulation
— mainly attributable to the proverbially unhealthy climate— has not merely been arrested,
but that from the closer connection now yearly being established with the outside world,
and the increased facilities for obtaining necessaries of life, a steady reaction is setting in.
The Admiralty Chart, based on the Statistical Survey of 1835, gives the number of
inhabited islands as 175 ; the present number may exceed 200.*
The annual census mentioned by Pyrard as taken at the close of Eamazdn would
appear not to be enforced at the present day.f The causes which have brought about on
the Lakkadives the large proportion in the female population} are not likely to affect the
M&ldive group. M&16 (Sultan's Island) contains between 2,000 and 3,000 inhabitants.
GENERAL CHARACTER.
The Mdldivians are an inoffensive, timid, but — from their isolation — naturally a suspi-
cious people. This reserve seems to be the effect of a vague feeling of apprehension, lest
information given to foreigners may be used to their disadvantage^ When confidence,
however, has been once restored, they exhibit in their intercourse with strangers an excess
of inqnisitiveness often positively embarrassing. Sober, fairly honest, and of a disposition
naturally cheerful, they have but few wants, and are consequently inclined to be sluggish
and lazy. ||
To general discretion of action they add a wise discernment in the common concerns
of life, politeness and affability of manner, and considerable astuteness in matters of trade.
Above all, they are thoroughly humane and liberal in conduct. This last trait is
.confirmed by a long series of instances in which their " enlightened humanity" has
prompted these Islanders to treat shipwrecked persons with marked kindness and hospi-
tality, transporting them (under the Sultan's orders) in their own vessels to some port of
Ceylon or the coast of India.!
^Christopher observes : — " Of the character and disposition of the natives we were
impresssed on the whole with rather a favorable opinion. They are a quiet, peaceable
race, hospitable and kind to strangers, though suspicious and distrustful of them. Unac-
quainted, indeed, with the practice of the higher virtues, but equally unfamiliar with vifce
in its darker forms, with desires and wants circumscribed apd limited, and the means of
satisfying them attainable without much labor, they have little incitement to increased
, THE
MALDIVES.
Inhabit ants.
Population.
General character.
• Note (1). f fyrwd, p. 103. J See Hunter's " Imp. Gaz. of India," Art. ' Laccadive Islands/
§ Trans. Bombay Geo. Soc, 1836-8 (Reprint, 1844) p. 65.
| " The inhabitants of the Maldiye Islands are honest and pious people, sincere in good faith, and of a
strong will." — Gray, quoting Voyages <f IbnBatouiah par Pef. et Sang, Tome IV., 114.
Tf Vide Appendix B.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Inhabitants,
exertion for the purpose of augmenting their productions ; and hence, in all probability,
the little attention paid to the improvement of their resonrces, and the absence of all care
regarding the amelioration of their condition. The apathy and indifference evinced by
them on these subjects seem, however, to result in a great measure from feelings of
contentment, though of a spurious kind."
Towards each other the natives are kind and friendly, for, though usually of an
indolent habit and disinclined to work, they readily assist one another on emergencies ;
to their kindred they are very affectionate.* The upper classes are extremely hospitable
and not wanting in sociability.
In their few manufactures they display much ingenuity and expertness, whilst as
bold and skilful navigators they stand, perhaps, unrivalled. " In general," says Pyrard,
"the Maldivans are very ingenious. They apply themselves with great industry and
success to all sorts of manufactures, and also to letters and sciences ; after this manner
especially to astrology, which they hold in great esteem. They are a very wise, cautious
people, and very sharp in their merchandize and way of living."!
Crimes of a heinous character are scarcely heard of on these Islands, and even theft
and personal violence are of rare occurrence : murder has been seldom known.
"From a phrenological examination, Dr. Campbell concluded that this favorable
view of their moral disposition is not incorrect, since the organs of destructiveness and
combativeness were seldom distinguishable, whilst those of benevolence and veneration are
strongly developed."}: It is only natural to learn that cautiousness and secretiveness
were observed to be the most developed of all the phrenological indications. " Dr. Camp-
Veil's observations are equally favourable to their intellectual powers, among which
constructiveness and order appear most prominent."}
One of the worst features in the character of the natives is their sensuality, which is
little curbed by the very severe law for checking its indulgence and extension. This
vice, added to habitual idleness, has undoubtedly weakened their general constitution^
PHYSICAL TRAITS.
Physical traits. . The physical traits of the Mdldivians vary greatly, but exhibit in the main the broad
characteristics both of the A'ryan and Dr$vidian types, though the latter certainly pre-
ponderate.
On the one hand there is the A'ryan " oval contour of face," with large bright " freely*
opened eyes" more than balanced on the other by the Drdvidian "flatter face, with
features less symmetrical, but perhaps more expressive, at least of individuality ;" the
wide, short, but not ill-shaped, nose ; thick fleshy lips, and excess of jaws and mouth. |)
The general expression is pleasing, and free from any trace of sullenness. Very many
(chiefly among the Northern Islanders) present undeniable traces of Arab or Mdppilla
descent, and closely approach the " Moors" of Ceylon.f A small proportion disclose in
their physiognomy a decided admixture of the African type, due to the occasional impor*
tation of the Zanzibar slaves in former years.**
In the Mdldivian form there is in general "little symmetry," poor physique, "much
dumpiness and flesh." The average height of the men is about 5 feet 2 inches.ft
•* — , — — . — — m
* Trans. Bombay Geo. Soc, 1836-8 (Reprint, 1844), pp. 60, 66.
f Pyrard, quoted In Harris's Collection of Voyages, London, 1744, Vol. L, p, 705.
X Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., p. 108.
§ Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc ,p. 64. Pyrard too (pp. 141-2) strongly animadverts on the gross inmorality
which then prevailed on the Islands.
B Brian Hodgson ('» Essays**) on the Physical Characteristics of the A'ryans and Tamijians.
Tf " When ships arrive, those on board take wives, and repudiate them on their departure ; it is a kind
of temporary marriage." — Gray, quoting Voyage* <f Ibn Batoutah, Tome IV., 125.
** Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, p. 58. For possible traces of Malay contact with the Maldives, see Note (2).
tt Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, p. 58. An average supported by the measurement of 24 MakQvians from
six different Atols made by the writer.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 55
The men are commonly of a dark copper colour, but their skin is often marked by , THE
blotches of a lighter hue. At M&16 some of the higher olasses have a much fairer com- MA LDIV ES,
plexion, which may perhaps be attributed to descent from Persian stock.* Ihhabitasts.
Without exception, the men, from the Sultan downwards, keep their heads, and usually
their faces, shaved, though free to allow as much hair to grow on the latter as they like—)
a noteworthy departure from the custom of not three centuries back, which permitted the
soldiers, officials, and those of gentle birth to wear their hair as long as the women,
whilst forbidding all but church dignitaries and Hdjis to grow beards according to
fancy.f
The women are short, usually of a more olive colour than the men, much resembling
in this respect the " fair-skinned Kandyans," with oval-shaped faces, regular features, and
shapely figures. Clean and healthy in appearance, they are generally good-looking ; some
decidedly pretty. Their long hair, which they are at pains to render both thick and black
by frequent washing and the liberal use of dyes and unguents, is tied high up on the
back of the head.f Pyrard says that girls have their heads shaved once a week from
infancy to their eighth year, leaving a small tuft on the forehead to distinguish them from
the boys.
DRESS.
The ordinary dress of the men consists of short drawers (M. karuvdlu), a cloth wrapped Dress,
round the waist after the Sinhalese fashion (11. mundu ) and a plain handkerchief twisted
over the head (M. rumd). On board their vessels and when in foreign ports, some don
a thin shirt, generally white (M. kuru libds), and Turkish waistcoat (M. saduriya),
which, with the peculiar coarse blue waist cloth edged with red, and the red handkerchief,
mark a MAldivian at once among other races. .
The upper orders and those who have been the Hajj wear besides the waist cloth
(particularly on Fridays when attending Mosque) a kind of long dressing gown (M. digu
libds), reaching to the ancles, somewhat similar to those worn by Muhammadan Priests in *
Ceylon. § At M&16 the soldiers are still required to appear in a distinctive "uniform"
when oji duty, viz., a vr&iatfeliya, with a peculiar handkerchief (M. kachche ; bolujiliya) y
bound up in stiff angular shape. ||
No MAldivian not of the Priesthood now ventures to wear a turban (Mi.fagudi) in the
Royal presence or Island, this headdress being retained by the Sultan exclusively.
The Fadiydru, or K&zi, and the lesser Priests wear the appropriate Muslim garb.
Like the Sinhalese, the women wear a waist cloth, generally of native manufacture,
coarse in texture, the ground of a rich chocolate colour, relieved by black and white stripes
(M.ftliya). The upper part of the body is covered by a loose-fitting red-coloured "jersey"
reaching to the knees, short sleeved, and edged at the neck with silver tinsel lace
(M. libds)^ whilst round the high-worn konde is twisted a handkerchief matching the libds
in colour,** the tout emsemble forming a very becoming and picturesque costume. A
* Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., p. 53. t Pyrard, pp. 8 1, 83.
% Pyrard, pp. 79, 80 :— " Quant anx femmes, elles sont belles, horsmis qn' elles sont de conlenr oliuistre :
et mesme il s'en trouve plusieurs ausi blanches qu* en Europe. Toutcsfoia elles ont les cheueux tous noirs :
mais ils estiment cela beauteV'
§ The dress of the men, as minutely described by Pyrard, must formerly have been richer and mora
elaborate, including the use of turbans, silk scarfs, gold and silver chains, and fancy knives.
| C£ Pyrard, p. 123.
^f The libds (Ar.) was only partially adopted in the 14th century. " Most of them wear only a cloth
covering them from the navel to the ground : the rest of the body remains uncovered," writes Ibn Batiita,
who was much exercised at the scandal, which, even as Kazf, he was unable to abate.
*• The head-kerchief is a comparatively modern innovation at Male*, and said to be stiU as much " honoured
In the breach as in the observance" on the distant Southern Atols. Pyrard (pp. 80-1) speaks only of "une
fausse perruque,*' which the women occasionally added to their natural kontfe, and set off with flowers and
jewels, Ibn Batiita, too :— ** The women of these Islands do not cover the head : the Sovereign herself does
not so." (Gray, quoting Ibn Bat. IV., 122.)
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, THE
MALDIVES,
Inhabitants,
Meals.
Habitations.
56 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1*81,
profusion of bangles, with necklace, earrings, and other ornaments, deck the person. The
use of gold trinkets is no longer rigidly restricted to women of quality.
Girls, from the time they begin to walk until 9- or 10 years old, wear only a cloth
reaching from the waist to below the knees. Boys are forced to put on waist cloths after
circumcision at the age of seven. "Young children are covered with ornaments of
different metals according to the wealth of their parents to distinguish them from those
whose parents are poorer."*
MEALS.
The Mdldivians have nominally three meals a day— one shortly after rising, with
coffee : another about six hours later, the midday meal : and the third after dark, just
before retiring to rest ;t but among the common folk at least it is rather the practice, as
remarked by Pyrard, to observe " no set meal times, eating when their appetite provokes
them."
The usual meal of the natives consists of rice (often only half-boiled) mixed with
a few chopped chillies, a little fish, "fish sugar," and scraped cocoanut. This they
consume in silence, even when eating in the company, and with a haste that savours of
greediness. A draught of water closes the repast. Betel is universally chewed, and the
quda~gud& smoked constantly before and after meals.
For the supply of rice, their staple food, they have to depend entirely on foreign
importation. Those who can afford luxuries indulge in such articles as tea, sugar,
tobacco, biscuits, Ac., the consumption of which has much increased since a few "Moors"
and Pdrsf traders have opened boutiqueB at M&16.
The women wait on the men at meals and eat after them. Food is commonly
dressed only by women-cooks (M. badu-gi <mhenun).%
HABITATIONS.
The dwellings of the poorer natives consist on some Atols of rowB of huts adjoining
one another on either side of the street. The walls are of cocoanut thatch or wattle-and-
daub, with thatched roof. These are little better than the ordinary Tamil cooly " lines"
observable in Ceylon, low-roofed and dark, but not untidily kept. This is the class of
habitations on G&faru Island, and common also at Mild. In the SuvAdiva (Huvadti)
Atol the inhabitants appear to live in similar huts, a number of which stand within
kraals or enclosures. § ^
At M&16 the upper orders possess houses with a yard or compound attached, substan-
tially built of wood, the posts, beams and rafters of cocoanut or the tough kuradi
(? Pemphis acidula,) with cross sticks of duburi (Calophyllum inophyllum). The walls,
sometimes boarded, are generally of daub, or mats ; cocoanut thatch cover the roof, and
the floor is plastered.
In general about 28 feet long and 12 feet broad and 15 feet high to the top of the
roof, they are dark and cheerless inside, having but one window at most A partition near
the middle divides the house into two rooms, of which the inner (M. eteri-g6; m&valrgi) is
reserved for the women, and considered private, whilst the outer room is open to all visitors.
In this public room (M. birurgi)\ there are two ranges of seats 2 feet high by 4$ wide ;
the smaller one on the right of the entrance (M. kuda arhi) is held to be the more
honorable ; the other (M. bodu arhi), carried across the house, is left for persons of less
importance. The degree of respect intended to be shown to anyone is marked by the seat
to which he is invited. The various weapons used at festival sports are ranged on a rough
loft or shelf overhead. Most of these houses contain a few articles of furniture, the most
• Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 60. f MM* P- 61.
J The contemptuous term $idi (Pyrard citdy), applied to men who descend to this menial service,
retains its old force.
g F.*., Note (3), p. 19.
| The " malem" apartment (Ibn. Bat IV., 1 18) in which " the master of the house sits with bis friends."
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
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prominent being invariably the swinging bed described by Pyrard.* The women's apart-
ment, as well as the entrance door, is merely screened by a curtain.
Besides the Sultan's Palace, there would seem to be but one house at Mdl6 built of
stone or brick, faced with mortar — that of Galolu-ge Hasan Didi 9 the wealthiest Mdldivian
merchant. It has a pillared front verandah and tiled roof, according to the modern design
commonly followed by native architects in Ceylon. t
The Sultan's Palace is thus minutely described by Pyfard : — " The Royal Palace is
of stone, one story high, and has a great many fine apartments, without the ornaments of
tegular architecture. It is surrounded with gardens, in which there are great fountains
and cisterns of water, walled in and paved with large smooth stones, and guarded
continually to hinder people from washing in them, as being solely reserved for the
King and Queen's use. The Palace is divided into several courts, each of which has a well
in the middle, paved with fair white stones, and in one of these courts the King has two
magazines— one for ordnance and the other for ammunition. At the Palace gate there is
a guard, with many pieces of ordnance and other arms. The portal is made like a square
tower, and on festival days the musicians sing and play upon the top of it.J Passing on
from the gate, you first come to a hall where the soldiers wait, then to another great hall
where the noblemen and gentlemen attend ; for none but the officers of the household, with
the King and Queen's slaves or servants, are allowed to go further. The floor of these
halls is raised three feet high from the ground, to avoid the ants, being neatly boarded with
wood and covered with a sort of party-coloured mats which they make in these Islands.
• * * * The walls are hung with silk tapestry as well as the ceiling,
which has pretty fringes hanging about it. * * * * The chambers- and
inner apartments are hung with silk tapestry, and enriched with gold flowers and
branches of several colours. • * • • Daylight is never seen in the
Queen's chambers, or those of the ladies of quality ; for their only light is lamps burning
continually, and the place of the room where they usually retire is blocked up with four
or five rows of tapestry." §
SANITATION.
The Mdldivians on their Atols are decidedly above the average among Oriental races
in cleanliness. Not even on densely populated islands, such as M416, are any unpleasant
sights and smell encountered. "There is no filth, no pigs, and, except a little fishy odour
here and there where fish is being salted and dried, all is sweet and wholesome.'!
Though much aided by nature in possessing a loose, sandy, porous soil, considerable
credit is due to these Islanders for the sanitation that exists. Their compounds are kept
constantly swept and clean, and the streets always present a tidy appearance. Personal
cleanliness is no less attended to ; men and women bathe regularly once or twice a day.
, TUB
MALDIVES.
Inhabitants.
Sultan's Palace.
Sanitation.
RELIGION.
Muhammadanism has been the accepted religion of the Mdldivians for at least six
centuries past, and had not improbably obtained an earlier hold on the more Northern
Atols. On the evidence supplied by Ibn Batiita, Mr. Gray fixes " the probable date of the
conversion at A.D. 1200." The ever-growing commercial intercourse, however, between
the Maldives and Arab traders, added to the influence of the Muslim merchants settled
Religion.
* Pyrard, p. 157. Cf. Yule's Marco Polo, Vol. II., pp. 282, 289.
f Another proof of the " general deterioration" noticeable on the Maldives. The Indian Navy Surveyors
saw the ruins of some madrepore bouses (Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1836-8, p. 108), and the statement of Ibn
Batiita and Pyrard make it clear that such houses were common enough in former days. " They cut the
stones, each two or three cubits long, and place them in piles ; then they lay across these beams of the
cocoanut tree, and afterwards raise the walls with boards/* (Gray, quoting Ibn Bat. IV., 118). And
Pyrard, (p. 89) :— "The chief men and the wealthy have them built of stone which is taken from the sea
under rocks and reefs, where it is to be had in any required length and thickness."
{ Christopher says much the same. (Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, p. 67.)
§ Pyrard, in Harris, Vol. I., pp. 713-14.
| Allan Hume, on the Lakkadive Islanders, in " Stray Feathers," Vol. IV., 1876, V- 441.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, TUB
MALDIVES,
Inhabitahts,
Mosques;
Demonolatrv and
Nature worship.
along the coast of Malabar and Ceylon from the eighth and ninth century, may well have
brought about a partial religious revolution amongst the scattered Islanders some time
prior to its penetrating to the cotirt at M&16.* •
Tradition assigns to a Shaikh Yusuf Shams-ud-din, a native of Tabriz ,t the honor of
being the acknowledged successful apostle of Isldm on the group, and knows his first
kingly convert as " Darumavanta Rasgefdnu" — doubtless the Sultan Ahmad Shanurdzah,
of Ibn BatAta's narrative.^
During the few years they held the Maldives in subjection in the sixteenth century,
the Portuguese, in accordance with their bigoted policy, rigorously propagated the tenets
of their faith amongst the Islanders ; but the foreign yoke was soon thrown off, and
Muhammadanism once re-established has remained unassailable to the present time.§
Like the MusalmAns of Southern India and Ceylon generally, the MAldivians are
of the Sunni sect. || " In observing the fasts and ceremonies of their religion the
Islanders are very particular ;" but withal exhibit a freedom and laxity unrecognized by
orthodox Muhammadans. Thus, the month of Ramaz&n (M* Rodd), kept throughout as a
general holiday, is characterized as much by exuberant frivolity and licentiousness as by-
strict religious fervour.1T Their general religious knowledge Christopher puts at a low
standard, amounting to a bare acquaintance with "outward observances" and a loose
knowledge of "a few Arabic sentences."**
" Their temples (Mosques) are built of good stone, well cemented, and hive a thick
wall. They stand in the middle of square walled inclosures, where they bury their dead,
except those who desire a separate sepulchre. Their temples are square, and face the west,
as pointing to Mohammed's tomb. They have three doors, each of which is faced by a
broad well with steps, the bottom and sides of which are lined with polished and flat stones,
the floor of the temple being covered with mats and tapestry, whereas the church-yard is
nothing but sand."tt Their temples are kept scrupulously clean. u The roof or ceiling
is of wood, admirably well polished, and the walls are wainscoted, both of them being
firmly joined without nails, pegs, or any other visible artifice. Upon the walls of the
temples are large tables of stone or of wood with Arabic inscriptions. They have a parti-
cular place for the King and his Court, and galleries for the guards and separate apartments
for certain dignities, qualities, and ages, insomuch that any person who takes up an im-
proper place is fined accordingly. They constantly burn lamps, for which end certain low
trees are consecrated. Some of the islands have nine or ten temples, but that in which
they solemnize a general festival is built and supported at the common charge, under the
name of Oucouru mesquite IHukuru miskitu,^ 'the Friday Mosque.']"
Side by side, however, with Muhammadanism there has continued to exist an older
creed— not the less real because disowned — in demons and spirits, spells, charms, and the
like. "Of demon-worship, bali-worship, and Sinhalese superstitions generally," says
Mr. Gray, "abundant illustration is afforded by both Pyrard and Christopher, in de-
scriptions which have their counterpart in Knox's ' Ceylon,' "${ and anyone thrown in
contact with the modern Islanders (particularly those of the Southern Atols) will find
demonolatry and nature worship as rife as of old, if pursued now-a-days somewhat less
obstrusively. They believe in the existence of spirits and supernatural beings, who
* Note (3).
f Tabriz' tomb at Male" '* is held in great veneration, and always kept in good repair."— Trans, Bom.
Geo. Soc., 1836-8, p. 74.
t Note (4).
§ " Covetousness couched under the pretence of religion carried the Portuguese to conquer those remote
countries ; and the insatiable avarice of some expels and makes them esteemed less than rebels and pyrats."
—Stephens' Fariay Sousa, Vol. II., p. 382. See Hough, " Christianity in India," Vol. I., Chap. VI.
| Note (5). IT See Pyrard, Chap. XI. •• Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 74.
tf Pyrard, quoted in Harris, Vol. II., p. 707. Cf. with the Hukuru Aliskitu, the " Metzid Aditu" at
Ardebil (Mandelso's Travels, 1637, p. 239.)
X\ Journ. R. A, S., Vol. X., n. s., 1878, p. 179. Note (6).
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
69
exercise a disastrous influence on human affairs— in extraordinary phenomena, presaging
calamity, and in the auspiciousness or otherwise of certain tiroes and seasons for particular
transactions.* To be well versed in astrology and " the black arts" (K.fadita) is no mean
distinction ; some persons ereu gain their livelihood by writing philters (M. tavidu) and
other charms, worn as amulets, which are much relied on.f
On present evidence it would be unsafe to assume that Buddhism extended to these
Islands. The religious books of the Sinhalese make no mention of any mission to the
M&ldives ; nor does it appear unlikely that no organized attempt at conversion was
ever made, considering their isolation, unimportance, and, as far as is known, independence
of Ceylon rule. Mr. Gray, who seems to favour the idea of its existence at some period, is
bound to admit that "the traces are curiously faint." At any rate, there is little to be
gathered from the customs now prevalent among the MAldivians, and in their traditions
lives. only a vague belief that Muhammadanism supplanted' a rank form of demon
worship, untempered by Buddhistic or BrAhmanical influence^
But as Mr. Gray aptly remarks : — " Whatever further inquiry in that direction may
prove, the picture presented by the modern religious state of the two branches of the Sinha-
lese family is curious indeed. The one has held to the cosmopolitan principles, the atheistic
creed, and the simple worship of the Buddhist faith ; the other has adopted the exclusive
monotheistic, and ceremonious faith of Muhammad. These religions have not, however,
altered to any extent the characteristics of the race, and both have suffered the co-existence
of the older worship of demons and of the elements — a common inheritance of both
branches of the family, but an alien to both their creeds."§
, THE
MALDIVES.
I« HA BIT A UTS.
Buddhism tt the
Maldives.
EDUCATION.
Children of both sexes are required to read the Kurdn, under the tuition of the minor Education,
priests, from the age of three or four. When considered to be sufficiently grounded in its
precepts they receive no further instruction beyond being initiated into the ceremonials of
religion. ||
Christopher is at fault in asserting that a knowledge of writing is left to be acquired
anyhow. " Their studies," says Pyrard, " are to read and write and learn the Kurdn.
* * * * They write their lessons on small white tablets of wood, and
when they have got these by heart they rub out what they wrote and whiten (the tablets)
afresh." He adds that the letters are drawn on fine white sand spread over these boards.!
It would otherwise be difficult to account for the fact that at the present day the majority
of the men seem to possess a fair acquaintance with the ordinary M&ldive character
(M. gabuli tdna) if they had received no instruction when young.
Some who have visited India and Ceylon speak a little Hinddstdnf, Arabic, and •
Sinhalese.
MARRIAGE.
Marriages are not contracted very early, but a plurality of wives is allowed according Marriage.
to Muhammadan license. Few, however, are able or disposed to support more than one
wife. Notice of intended marriage is required to be given, for which a small fee of 1 bodu
lari or 4 kuda Idri (equal to about four cents Ceylon coinage) is charged. The bond is as
lightly dissolved. Both parties need only declare before the Katibu their wish to annul it.
The woman is not forced to attend, provided two witnesses appear on her behalf. Among
the lower orders many simply dismiss their wives without more ado. Naturally, intrigues
are not uncommon, and it is said not to be held disgraceful for ti widow to live unmarried
with a paramour. Recognised prostitution i$ unknown.**
* Trans, Bom. Geo. Soc., 1836-8, p. 76.
t See Ceylon A, S. Journ., Vol. VII., Part IL, 1881, pp. 1 19-124.
% Note (7), § Journ. R. A. &, Vol. X., n. s., 1878, p. 180.
| Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 60. \ Pyrard, pp. 134-5.
*• Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1886-8, pp. 59, 60.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Inhabitants.
The following details are supplied by Pyrard : — " Upon a design of marriage they
address themselves to the Pandiare [Fadiydru] or Naybea [Ndibu] who, after being suffi-
ciently informed that things really are as they are represented, takes the man by the hand
and asks him if he is willing to take such a woman on the conditions proposed, and the
woman always being absent, he likewise questions her parents as to their consent. If they
all agree, he marries them, and calls the bystanders to witness their consent ; then the
whole company waits upon the woman home, and several other persons visit her. All the
visitors being entertained with feasting, music, dancing, &c, the new-married man makes
presents to the King and the great lords, and the bride pays the like compliments to the
Queen and the other ladies ; both make presents likewise to their relations.
" But when the King is married he does not give, but receives, presents from all his
subjects, viz., cloths, garments, turbans, victuals, fruit, flowers, &c, and all these presents,
which arise to a great value, belong to the new-married Queen.
" A man may have three wives if he can maintain them, but not more.f • • •
" The bridegroom receives no dowry with his wife, and'is obliged not only to bear the
charge of the nuptial solemnity, and to maintain her, but to settle upon her a jointure
equal to what her mother and other ancestors had. They are so nice on this last condi-
tion, that if the priest apprehends the husband cannot afford such a jointure, he refuses to
marry them, notwithstanding both parties require it; but, after all, the bride may
renounce either whole or part of the jointure, after marriage, and, indeed, that is fre-
quently practised.
" Brothers and sisters, first cousins, and those who by way of friendship and intimacy
have used to call one another by the names of son or daughter, father or mother, brother
or sister, these, I say, are prohibited to marry.
" The males may marry when they will, but a female orphan cannot marry till she is
fifteen years of age ; indeed, if her father be alive (for the mother has no power) he
marries her at ten or eleven years of age, and that to the first suitor, whether old or
young, provided his quality is in some measure suitable to" hers ; for they reckon it a
great sin to keep the daughters unmarried.
" A man may turn away his wife, but unless she consents to the separation, she may
demand her jointure, though, after all, that demand is seldom made, as being reckoned a
mean action, and a sign that the woman fears that her merit will never procure her another
husband. On the other hand, the woman cannot part from the husband without his
consent. This sort of divorce, which is very frequent, must be attested by witness, or they
cannot have the benefit of a second marriage. The divorced parties frequently repent
of their separation, and marry again a second, third, or fourth time."}
BURIAL.
Buriil. The MAldivians, following the universal Muhammadan custom, bury their dead ;§ but
the funeral ceremonies, as carefully recorded by Pyrard, would seem to depart considerably
from the burial rites usually observed by Muslims.
" In the first place, the corpse is washed by persons of the same sex, who buy that
office of the King, and are paid for their service ; then they are wrapped up in cotton and
covered with fine white cotton cloth (which goes afterwards to the priest), the right hand
of the deceased person being laid upon his ear, and the left upon his thigh. This done,
the corpse is laid upon the right side in a coffin of candou [kadu] wood, and carried to the
burying place by six relations and friends, attended by the women washers, who cry and
howl most hideously.
" Every man in his lifetime provides for himself a burying place and all the other
necessaries ; nay, they are so superstitious that they will rather starve thfcn touch the
money they have laid up for that purpose.
f Pyrard errs here. The limit is four wives, according to the ordained Muslim licence,
J Pyrard, quoted in Harris, Vol. II., p. 709.
( Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 63.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
61
" Besides the six principal mourners, the other relations and neighbours are present
without invitation ; and upon the march from the house of the deceased person to the
grave, they pcatter shells for the benefit of the poor/ to whom they likewise distribute
sacks of rice and millet ; at the same time they give to the priest pieces of gold and silver,
the number of which is proportionable to the estate of the deceased person ; and these
pieces are distributed by the priest to those who have assisted in praying for the deceased
person. The priests sing continually during the whole course of the ceremony, and in the
procession a person of quality sprinkles the assistants with water made of sweet flowers.
" The grave is covered with a large piece of silk or cotton, which, on the interment,
goes to priests of the temple. When the corpse is laid in the grave, they turn the face
of the deceased person to the quarter that faces Mohammed's tomb, and then fill up the
grave with fine white sand, sprinkling it with water.
" When the ceremony is over, the relations entertain all the company with victuals,
and the three following Fridays they pray over the grave, where the priests sing, eat, and
pray every day till the third Friday passes, after which a general feast is prepared for the
relations, friends, and priests, who pretend that the soul of the deceased person is then
conveyed to paradise. This feast is prepared every year, and on All Souls' Day they
throw fresh white sand on the grave, and perfume it with burnt incense.
a The grave is surrounded with wooden pails, for they reckon it a great sin to walk
over it. They never bury two corpses in the same place, for they have such a reverence
for the bones of the dead, that even the priests dare not touch them.
" If a great lord dies, the priests sing for him a whole year, and are entertained every
day with dishes of meat and betel ; but if a King or Queen dies the ceremony is continued
to the death of the next successor."!
" The graves of the Sultans have each a building erected over them, all of the same
form, about 10 feet long, 7 broad, and 10 high, with a peaked roof, the sides being built
of coral stone covered with ornamental carving, except where at intervals a smooth
surface has been left for Arabic sentences. Over the entrance is hung a cloth marked
with a few words written in large characters."!
" In this country, the mourners make no alteration in their habit : only they go bare-
headed to the grave, and continue so for a few days after the interment.
"Those who die fighting with persons of a contrary religion are buried upon the
spot where they fall, without any ceremony ; and, in regard that they are accounted holy
and happy, neither the priests nor their friends pray for them.
"They never transport corpses from one island to another, and even the Bang
himself is buried where he happens to die.
" If any person dies at sea, they wash the corpse, and put it into a coffin, which they
place upon a float of candouittes wood. Within the coffin they put silver in proportion to his
circumstances, and a written paper describing his religion and withal praying those who
meet with the corpse to take the money and bury it handsomely."!
,THE
MALDIVES.
Imbawtahts.
EMPLOYMENTS.
" The labouring classes, exclusive of those engaged in pursuits oonnected with trade,
follow various employments as a means of subsistence. The most common of these are
fishing, gathering cocoanuts, drawing toddy, weaving cloth, and collecting the small
cowries. •
"The domestic duties are mostly attended to by the women." They beat out the
cocoanut fibre and twist it into coir yarn, make mats, prepare breadfruit for keeping,
extract oil from the nuts, spin cotton, and dye thread for the loom.§
Employments.
* Christopher witnessed the '^scramble, very much out of character with the occasion," for these
cowries, during the funeral procession of the Sultan's grandmother at Male.
f Pyrard, in Harris, Vol. IL, p. 709.
% Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 63.
S Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 61.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
Maldives.
Inhabitants.
Recreations.
Fishing.
Chess.
Sports.
Fire-arms.
Music.
The liberty enjoyed by the women is remarkable. Though their apartments are
considered strictly private, they are not kept from the view of strangers nor now debarred
from openly walking abroad unveiled in the daytime.* In every respect their status
would appear to compare favourably with that of Muhammadan women in India and
Ceylon.
RECREATIONS.
It may be said of these Islanders with much truth that they * take their pleasures
sadly.' They appear to have few games or other forms of amusement, and even these are
carried through mechanically and with little zest.
Pyrard mentions foot-ball as their sole diversion, adding that " the most universal
and the most considerable exercise they have is that of fishing, which is so common an
exercise all over the Maldives, that there is no such thing as a particular trade of that
nature, for gentlemen and even their Kings pursue fishing as we do hunting in this part
of the world. Every man there enjoys the natural liberty of fishing where and for what
he pleases."t
Chess (from the names of the pieces probably the Indian game) is commonly played
by men and boys.J
On ftte-days at MA16, sports (M. kulijahan) are exhibited, under rules and restrictions
to prevent injury to the performers. To teach the use of the weapons employed, masters
(M. eduru) are appointed by the Sultan, who always attends these sports and remains till
their close. The arena is simply a portion of one of the main streets, with thatched
buildings on either side from which the Sultan and ladies of the harem may view the
sports. All the male spectators stand round in a ring. The sports consist entirely of
mimic hand-to-hand combats between successive sets of performers, two at a time, armed
with sword (M. kadi) and targe (M. addana), lance (M. dadi-haliya) or quarter-staff (kali
jaha dadi). The players do little more than posture at each other ad nauseam, and
show but little skill in managing their weapons. The Sultan and by-standers alike
appear to evince no real interest in the proceedings, which are conducted from first to
last in gravity and silence, and repeated for days together with wearisome monotony. §
It is not considered beneath the dignity of -the principal men to take part in these games.
As curiously illustrating the absence of progress among the Mdldivians, it is worthy
of note that the use of fire-arms, which Christopher found just being acquired in 1835, is
to this day little understood. The principal men are no less anxious now to be initiated
into the mysteries of the "big-guns" (M. bodu badi) 9 but will not venture their lives by
firing even an ordinary fowling-piece. || This timidity seems the more unaccountable
considering the fact that the Islanders have had not unfrequently in past years to defend
their Atols against the attacks of Malabar enemies, in which cannon and small arms
j)layed a part.
For music they show an undoubted fondness, said to amount among boys to a " pre-
vailing passion." The tambourine (M. tdra) is common in their houses, whilst tom-toms
or drums (M. beru), trumpets (M, tdlafili), and flagiolets (M. dummdrhi) figure at festivals.
Many songs are current, particularly among the sailors.1T
* Two and a-half centuries have worked a revolution in this respect. " Quand les femmes vont par la
rue*, soit de nuit ou de jour, bien qu HI soitfort rare.qy? elles sortent de jour, eiles portent un voile sur la teste?
— (Pyrard, p. 124.) Even now Maldivian ladies of the upper classes do not walk, but pay their visits in closed
palanquins.
t Pyrard, qnoted in Harris, Vol. II., p. 71 1 . % Note (8).
§ Mr. Ellis describes a very similar performance by Sakalavas at Antananarivo in 1856, which seemed
"grave work with them all.** (Madagascar, pp. 399-401.)
U On the occasion of a recent visit to Male* (November, 1879) a most miscellaneous assortment of guns,
long disused, was produced— from the lengthy Arab gun to an obsolete air gun and revolver of European
*make. Nor would the owners rest content until each and all had been discharged— with considerable mis-
giving— by the writer, who was subsequently sorely pressed to fire one of the rusty iron cannon on the
ramparts.
Tf Christopher noticed Persian influence apparent in the musical taste of the Islanders.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
63
SOCIAL DISTINCTIONS,
The reigning Sultan and Royal family naturally rank highest.
Only closest relations of the Sultan have the right to assume the title of Mannipul;
whilst descendants of former Sultans, and, from the fourth generation, those of the dynasty
in power, have a claim to that of Dxdi, which implies more distinct connection with Boyal
blood. Ladies of this pure aristocracy are designated Didu
Besides position that springs of birth alone, there are adventitious ranks which accrue
either through court favour or the medium of wealth. Such are all State Officers, among
which that of Kilag6-fdnu takes precedence, being confined, formerly at least, to the
Regent acting in the absence of the Sultan.*
Many persons of respectable birth receive from the Sultan the titular rank of Takuru-
fdnu. Their wives are styled Bibl, and their lineal descendants Maniku (fem. Manxke.)\
The title of KaMge-fanu can be purchased for a few rupees— a small additional
payment ensuring the attainment of the higher grade, Himddi Kalegc-fdnu. Kamuloge-
fdnu is the appropriate designation of their wives.t
The bestowal of all ranks rests with the Sultan, and is notified by public proclama-
tions. Persons thus aggrandized are allotted the rent of certain Islands — the names of
which they usually adopt — and live at the Royal charges.
Nobility descends in the female line. " If a noble woman marries a plebeian, she
retains her rank, and upon her account the children are reckoned noble ; but a woman of
the lowest form cannot ennoble herself by marrying a noble man."§
Masters and tindals of vessels frequently assume the appellation of N&khudd, N6m,
and Mdlimi,\\ as implying skill and experience in seamanship.
Caste distinctions "are still rigidly adhered to, Pyrard speaks of ten companies
commanded by ten of the grandees of the country who serve the King in various civil
capacities, as sailors, masons, Ac. None but gentlemen could enter the first five, and
from the remaining companies toddy-drawers and slaves were excluded.1T At least
seven of such guilds are retained at this day, and there is no lower caste than the toddy-
drawer (M. Rd-veri.)* m
Class exclusiveness has lost none of its power. Inferiors always receive those of
purer blood or higher rank standing, and remain so in their presence unless invited to
be seated. Seats are invariably occupied and vacated according to the rank of those
present.ff Common people meeting a noble stand aside in a respectful attitude to allow
him to pass. None will eat with those of the lower caste.
The term Kalo (fem. Kamulo) applies to the common people generally.^
Slaves (M. Alun ), if not unknown, are no longer sufficiently numerous to be con-
sidered a distinct class.
Single Muslim names, e.g., 'AH, Hasan, Fatimah, are most common, though a
few, such as Don Maniku, bear the impress of Portuguese contact so noticeable in the
nomenclature of many Sinhalese families on the seaboard of Ceylon.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Inhabit akts.
Social distinctions.
Caste.
• Pyrard, Quilague : Ibn Bat (French edition) Calaky. Probably of Persian origin.
f Pyrard, Tacourou. Col. Yule (Marco Polo, Vol. II., p. 110) notes that that the title Takfur was
"applied by the Mahommedans to the Greek emperors of Byzantium and Trebizond Redhouse thinks
it is a corruption of Tov Kvplov, but Defremery says it is Armenian, Tagavor * a king.* " Cf. S. Tikiri, x8&5 ;
•and with Maniku, Manike, the S. Mwika, $i<gtas>. A few persons (e.g., the present Faotyaru or Kazi) are
by courtesy styled Maniku-fdnu, as more respectful.
\ Pyrard, Calogut, Camulogne. Christopher says that the sum of u J, 000 larins [copper kwfa ldri\ t
or about Rs. 350, will entitle a man to be called *Kelege'; no money can purchase higher." (Trans.
'Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 314.)
{ Pyrard, in Harris, Vol. II., p. 713.
| Ndkhudd (Hind.) ; Mdlimi, Ar. Mu'allim ; Nevi, cf. 8. nfviyd, SDi©o».
1 Pyrard, in Harris, Vol. II., p. 713. •• Note (9).
ft Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 59.
tt Pyrard, Callo ; Camulo. Christopher (Ibid.) " * Kalo* is applied to the names of all who have no
rank."
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64
8ESSI0NAL PAPERS, 1881,
, THE
MALDIVES.
IhHAJUTAHTS,
Sultan.
Fadiyarn.
Naibu.
GOVERNMENT.
The form of .Government is despotic, but rendered mild by the peaceable nature of
the people, and the influence of public opinion.
The supreme ruler is a Sultan 9 whose title and rank are hereditary. He resides at
M&16, the seat of Government. To the inherent veneration with which superiors are
regarded, and the wise provision or happy accident which has made M&16 the sole centre
of Government and trade for the whole group, may probably be attributed the immense
influence exercised by the Sultan over his widely-spread subjects. Rarely, indeed, is his
authority disputed even by his own relations.!
The Sultan is the fountain head of justice, but is not above the laws : .to him reverts
the property of all Government officers at their death :J and with him rests the privilege
of extending clemency to offenders, though it is seldom used without the advice of his
Council.f
Every means is resorted to in order to produce an impression of state and dignity
connected with the Sultan's person and authority. . All communications with him must
be made through his Councillors, and audience is seldom -granted even to Europeans. He
appears abroad only on public occasions. On Fridays lie attends Mosque on foot, accom-
panied by all the principal officials and escorted by a large body-guard, returning with
the same retinue. His dress is suited to his rank, but is noticeable for its want of display
both in gaudy colours and profusion of jewellery.
" The customs and etiquette observed in the durbdr are remarkable for their simpli-
city. The courtiers and officers take their stations according to their respective ranks.
No salutation is expected." § No one may presume to sit or wear any covering above the
waist in the royal presence, except by permission.
Katibu.
The administration of the country is conducted on a basis of constitutional freedom
hardly to be expected of a Muslim rfyime, and with a systematic completeness highly
creditable to a people so situated. A contented acquiescence of centuries furnished the
best proof of its adaptability to their wants and inclinations.
Two distinct, yet cohesive, branches of Government are recognized. These may be
broadly termed the ecclesiastical and judicial and the political and fiscal.
As " head of the church" and " chief magistrate" the Fadiy&ru or KAzf || receives from
all classes alike respect and veneration but little less than is accorded to their Sultan.
This reverence for the Fadiy&ru " indicates the sincerity of the Islanders in their belief in
the Mahomedan tenets. His decisions, as magistrate, are always received with deference,
and the natives in general show that they entertain a high sense of the importance of his
duties, particularly that of interpreter of the Koran, he being the only person amongst them
who has a competent knowledge of the Arabic, for a purpose considered so necessary."1f
Both " in his sacerdotal capacity" and as " the expounder and administrator of the
laws," the Fadiy&ru is aided by Ndibu and Katibu 9 * as deputies.
For each Atol he appoints one or two N&ibu, who " govern the inferior priests, and are
entrusted with the administration of justice and the management of religious concerns"
within the limits of their respective Atols. Once a year, or oftener if need be, the N&ibu
go on circuit through their Atols " for the sake of justice as well as the promoting of
religion." At such times they do not fail to " gather their dues and receive presents
from an infinity of persons, so that the circuits furnish by this means the best part of their
income."tt
On all Islands containing 40 male inhabitants, a Katfbu is stationed with deputed
religious and magisterial functions. Marriages are solemnized before him. These Katibu
* Note (11). f Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1S86-8, pp. 70, 77.
% Note (10). § Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1886-8, p. 67.
|| Christopher writes Fandiarhee: Pyrard, Pandiore : Ibn Bat, Fandayarkalou, Cf. T. PJagfiiyan.
f Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 70. ** Katib; Ndib; Muezzin— At.
tf Pyrard in Harris, Vol. II., p. 712.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
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are not stipendiary officers of Government, but supported by the Islanders, and are
subordinate to their respective NAibu.*
To every Mosque is attached at least one MudimuJ or minor priest. It is his duty
to see that all is decent and in order ; to lead the prayers, if required ; to proclaim aloud
the time for the performance of worship ; and to take charge of the tombs of holy men.*
At M416, the Fadiy&ru is assisted by four Ndibu and two Katfbu! These Ndibu,
according to Christopher, "are usually employed in transcribing passages from the Koran
relating chiefly to observances and ceremonies, with an explanation in the Maldivian
language, for distribution in the different Attols." Further, as Augurs of the State, they
are appealed to to declare auspicious times for momentous undertakings.*
Pyrard says the Fadiydru also makes a circuit once a year through the Island of
MA16, "condemning all to be whipped that cannot say their creed and prayers in the
Arabic tongue and construe them into the Maldivan."$
Justice is dispensed in the house of the Fadiy&ru or N&ibu, " and sometimes, in cases
of moment, in the King's Palace." J
" The mode of trial is equally summary and simple. On a complaint being made, the
defendant is cited to appear before the Fandiarhee or his deputy" by the D6vani£ or
process servers (six in number), acting by virtue of a special letter from the Ndibu. An'
accused person can even be at once arrested in the commission or upon strong suspicion
of a criminal or illegal act. " If he lives out of the Naybe's jurisdiction, he is summoned
by letters from the Pandiare, which enjoin him to come from any part of the realm to the
Island of Mal6. The Pandiare's writ is served publicly upon the defendant by the Gatibe
or the superior of the Island, and if he does not appear at the place appointed, he is not
only excommunicated and excluded from eating and drinking with his neighbours or
coming to church, but seized by a party of soldiers." " The testimony of one witness in
support of an accusation is held sufficient to establish its truth." When the complainant
can produce no witness, the accused, to clear himself, must make oath as to his innocence ;
should he decline this test, he is adjudged to be guilty. If appearances or probability be
in favour of the truth of the complaint, the accused will not necessarily escape punishment
by taking the oath.||
" Indictments, depositions, or sentences are never put in writing, being all very
short ; nay, in civil matters, the allegations are never written, unless it be in a suit for land of
inheritance, or cocoa trees, which are reckoned immoveable : then indeed the judges give
letters sealed with ink (wax they do not use) for an evidence of the person's right, to be trans-
mitted to posterity. If either plaintiff or defendant suspects the partiality of the Naybe,
they have, recourse to the King, who orders the cause to be tried before impartial judges." fl
Sentences are executed by the D6vdni, who, for their general services, receive a small
monthly allowance of rice, and one-twelfth share of all awards and proceeds of sale.
The M&ldivians have a written as well as an unwritten law, the former being based
on the Muhammadan code, whilst the latter is founded in the established and well-known
customs. of the country. ||
The penalties inflicted at this day bear a marked favourable contrast with those in
force a few centuries back. Mutilation in case of theft has long given place to scourging—
the ordinary punishment in all offences short of murder. Murderers are dealt with at
M&16, whence they are banished, after being publicly disgraced and flogged, to some
distant and sometimes uninhabited island.
A curious custom, still surviving, permits an insolvent debtor to work off his debt as his
creditor's servant. "If he thinks himself ill used, he may turn himself over to another
master, provided he lays down the money due to the former." These bondmen are called
Femusiri.^
.THE
MALDIVES.
Imhabitasts.
Madfmti.
Legal procedure.
Maldive law.
Penalties.
* Trans, Bom, Geo. Soc„ 1836-8, pp. 70, 71. t Katib; Ndib; Muezzin— Ar.
X Pyrard, in Harris, Vol. I, p. 712. § Pyrard, DeuaniU. Cf. Pers. DivanbeH 'judges.'
| Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1836-8, p. 77 ; and Pyrard, in Harris, Vol. I , p. 712-3.
T Pyrard, Pemoussere. See Gray, J. B. A. S., Vol. X., n.s., 1878, pp. 204-5; and Voyage$ d % lb*
Bat. JV., 124.
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, THE
MALDIVES.
Inhajhtabtb.
Vizier*.
Hadegiri.
66 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
Christopher mentions that severe regulations exist regarding the respect doe to
married women, and gives some details of the penalty exacted in cases of adultery!*
The management of all State and revenue matters is entrusted by the Sultan, subject
to his approval, to Viziers (M. Vaziru) or Councillors (formerly called MmhulL)\ " He
very frequently consults with them— a custom which tends much to cherish a reciprocal
confidence. Although the Viziers have the privilege of offering advice, they possess ng
authority to control the Sultan, but the influence they acquire from their situations often
enables them indirectly to restrain him from arbitrary exertions of power, or from adopting
measures injurious to the public interests, by exciting the people to remonstrate in a
body."*
Until comparatively recently this branch of the administration was vested in the
hands of six Viziers, a Treasurer, and a Harbour-Master, whose titles and duties had
remained substantially the same for centuries past.
The six Viziers were styled respectively : —
1 rt — DorMmSnd.
2 nd -Hakur&.
3«*_ Veldnd.
l^-^Fdmuderu
6 th —Ddhard.
Of their functions and status (circa 1835) Christopher writes : — "The Viziers are
executive magistrates in the different quarters of the town where they respectively reside,
exercising authority also over all the soldiers belonging to their respective quarters.
When an offender has been found guilty by the Fandiarhee, it is the duty of the Vizier
to whose quarter he belongs to see the sentence enforced. The Viziers superintend
public works and undertakings, such as building up the wall that protects the boats from
the swell, and, in fact, the execution of all orders issued by the Sultan. They are
appointed by the Sultan, and are removable at pleasure. On their installation they
Teceive from the Sultan a staff of office, which they carry when attending on his person,
on public occasions, and in his processions to the Mosque, &c. The nomination is pro-
claimed in all the streets of M&16 by the public crier, who blows a trumpet to attract
attention. We were informed that an oath of allegiance was administered to them and
other public officers."*
Christopher found that, with the exception of the Dorhim^nd and Veldni Viziers, who
had the respective supervision of military and naval matters, the rest had apparently no
particular duties allotted them.
As each incumbent of the first five Vizierships died, no successor appears to have
been appointed, and the titles thus gradually became extinct. That of the sixth Vizier
alone survives in the person of the son of the former Ddhar&.§
At the present day the Sultan has only three Chief Ministers, viz. : —
1. The Hadegiri,
2. The Ddhard.
3. The Mini BaAaru.
1. The Hadegiri or Bodu Badiri\ is, as his name implies, Chief Treasurer of the
realm. He seems to rank above the other two Ministers and to possess greater influence
in the community. A staff of accountants and clerks are employed to assist him in the
revenue duties at M&16.
" The Hindeggeree is vested with authority to enforce the payment of revenue when a
complaint is made to him by the Attol-wari."1T In case of default in the transmission
* See Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, pp. 77-8.
f Christopher, Muskull « elder' ; *Pyrard, MoutcouliU, Momcouly auare. Cf. S. Epd (Mahavanso.)
J Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, pp. 69, 71. § Note (12).
| Christopher, Hindeggeree ; Pyrard, Endequery. Ibn Bat. calls the Hendidjery, • Preacher,' assigning
the duties of Chief of the Treasury and Receiver General of Revenue respectively to the Fdmelddry
and Mafdcalou Viziers. Cf. S. Bhdntfdgdrikd (Mah, Bhdn<fdgdriho Amachcho ' Lord High Treasurer,')
f Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1836-8, p. 71.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
67
of the established dues, when no explanation is tendered, the Atolu-veri is held personally
responsible, and called to account for his remissness.
2. The Ddhard has no specific department of public business to supervise. But
for a certain voice in the military and municipal affairs, his office would be a titular
sinecure.
3. The Miru Bakaru (in the Arabic form Emir-el-Bahr)* is the Port Doctor and
Master Attendant of Mdl& He visits all vessels that arrive and refuses permission to
land until it has been ascertained to his satisfaction that there is no sickness on board*
It lies with him at discretion to put in force the strictest quarantine.
Generally speaking, the entire management and control of all public business not
falling within the province of the HadSgiri, and distributed a few years back among the
six Viziers, devolve now on the Mfru Baharu and the D&hard.
For the collection of the revenue from the different Atols one or two agents, called
Atolu-veri or Vdru-veriJ are appointed by the Sultan on the recommendation of the
Hadlgiri.
They do not necessarily live in the respective Atols assigned to them. The majority
remain at M416 and employ sub-agents* Each Atol has a storehouse (M. varu-fft) } where the
Government revenue is temporarily warehoused until required to be transmitted to M&16,
The emoluments of this office must be considerable, as it is held by relations of the Sultan
and Chief Ministers, and frequently by the Ministers themselves. Its tenure lasts for
life, or during the Sultan's pleasure, and at the decease of an Atolu-veri his estate is held
liable for any balance due, or alleged to be due, for his division.
In respect to the collection of the revenues, each island has its. own headman, Bar hu-
meri or Veri-miha, generally a Katlbu, who stands in the same relation to the Atolu-veri as
the latter does to the Had6giri.$
The revenue of the different Atols (usually paid in native produce and manufacture) is
collected into the Treasury (M. bodu badiri-gi) at M416, whence it is shipped in the Sultan's
and private vessels on Government account to different ports of India and Ceylon*
, THE
MALDIVES.
INHABITANTS.
Dahara.
Mfru Baharu.
Atolu-veri.
Barhu-veri.
BEVENUE.
It is impossible t<£ form any estimate of the total revenue received annually by the
Government at M&16. On no subject are the Islanders more chary of affording informa-
tion. It cannot, however, be inconsiderable. " As for the King's revenue," says Pyrard,
"he has many islands which are Crown lands, besides a fifth part of all the grain and
fruits of the country, and a tax on dried fish, shells called holly \boli } cowries], and cords
of cocoas, which he lays upon them according to their circumstances ; for he has no taxes
paid him in money, abating what is paid as a purchase for titles and offices, or for licenses
to wear fine apparel. He obliges his people to make him every year as much cotton cloth
as clothes his soldiers, for he gives them clothes as well as pay."§ Each Atol is bound to
pay yearly a certain portion of its produce, said to be levied as a poll-tax upon every male
and female over twelve years of age, at the following rates :— 1 kotta of cowries, 12 cadjans
(M.fan), and 1 tula (28 lbs.) of coir for every woman and girl ; and for each man and boy
the same, with the addition of 50 dried fish, 100 cocoanuts, and 50 adubd of jaggery.
A payment of cloth and mats is also exacted from Atols where it is manufactured*
Native money is now occasionally accepted in lieu of produce.
Besides a claim to all wrecks, the Sultan further asserts a right of pre-emption at
low rates on all cargoes imported from foreign ports.
The burden of taxation must be light, as it appears never to be demurred to. The
people at Mdl6 pay no taxes.
Revenue.
• In Pyrard's day there were two " Mir vaires" subordinate to the " Velannas"
f Christopher^ AttoUwOri; Pyrard, Yaruery* J Christopher, Rarhu-tcari.
§ Pyrard, in Harris, Vol. I., p, 714.
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68
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881,
THE
MALDIVES.
INHABITANTS.
Military force.
MILITAEY FORCE.
There can never have been a warlike spirit prevalent among a race so peaceful by
nature. "They make no war," says Ibn Batiita, "and their weapons are prayers."*
Long periods of peace, broken very rarely by rumours of war or actual conflict with enemies
other than roving Indian pirates, added to their constitutional timidity, has reduced
the military efficiency of the Mdldivians to a mere shadow.
The sole military force consists of a non-descript militia (Hagu-bi-kalun)\ at Mill,
divided into six companies numbering nominally 100 men each, but with an actual
strength at the present day of probably not less than 1,200 all told. These companies
were formerly under the command of the six Viziers as Captains (Bodu-b£-kalun.)
" The soldiers bear no arms, and are under no sort of discipline beyond that which
results from the habit of assembling, without much order or arrangement, when called
together.'' Their duties, according to Christopher, are so anomalous that they often
serve ad sailors on board the public boats, t
A body of 40 men (Kudi-be-kalun)§ is required to mount guard in rotation at the
Sultan's palace, and is in charge of an officer called Md Baderi Takuru-f&nu. These men
have certain privileges, and are distinguished from the flagubd-kalun by their head-
kerchief.
A small body guard (Degedetere-b6-kalun) bearing muskets, escorts the Sultan
When ever he appears in public.
The Government sailors (Kal&si-kalun) || number from 200 to 300, and are separately
commanded by eight officers.
Soldiers and sailors alike receive a fortnightly allowance of 12 measures (ndli) of
rice per man, and once a year additional pay in cloth and money.
LANGUAGE.
Language. Little light has been thrown hitherto on the Mdldive language. The grammar has
still to be written ; whilst the only vocabularies extant— those of Pyrard (1602-7)1[ and
Christopher (1836-8)**— are very incomplete.
The language spoken by these Islanders is substantially the same throughout the
group— including Maliku (Minakai)— though dialectal variation^ of the MdlS standard
occur at Minakai, and particularly in .the Southern Atols, which have been less affected by
foreign intercourse.
It can easily be understood that at M&16— the emporium of trade for the whole
group — the language must have incorporated into itself many foreign words and lost much
of its original purity. " There are other languages," says Pyrard, " such as those of
Cambaye, Guzerati, of Malalaca, and the Portuguese, which some learn for the sake of
trade, and by reason of the communication they have with those peoples."tt The
modern vernacular has in this way become specially interlarded with Hindfist&nf phrases.
* Lee's Travels of Ibn Battita, 1829, p. 176.
f Hertft (Ceylon Miscellany, VoL L* 1855, p. 128), Hangoobacolom ; Christopher, Hanggube; Pyrard,
JSngou. Mr. Gray compares S. anga, qey, in chaturanga, ' army.'
J Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 72. § Herft, Hodobicahon; Christopher, Kuqlibe.
H Pyrard, Callasir. Hind., Khald$i.*
% Dictionaire de quelquee mots de la Langue dee Maldiues interpretez en Francois, Supplement to Voyage
dt F. Pyrard, Paris, 1619.
*• « Vocabulary of the Maldivian language."— J. R. A. S., Vol. VL, o. s., pp. 42-76.
ff Gray, J. R. A. 8., Vol. X., n. s., 1878, pp. 181-2. The Portuguese language especially ruled in
correspondence between European and natives in India and Ceylon during the 17th and early part of the
18th centuries. The Danish Missionaries to Malabar, writing in 1709, speak of its "going almost through
all parts of the Bast.". (Account of Danish Mission to Malabar, Part II., p. 14, London, 1718). The ma-
jority of Raja Sipha's letters to the Dutch (between 1635-40 circa) were written in Portuguese, and there
are extant at least three letters from the Maldive Sultan, Ibrahim Iskandar, in the same language. V. *., p. 31 .
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 69
Recently Mr. Gray has done something towards showing the connection between the
M&ldive and Sinhalese languages by a partial comparison of vocabularies.* It is likely
that farther investigation will establish the position that the Mdldivian should be classed
among the A'ryan group of languages, by proving it very closely allied to Sinhalese
(under its older form of Elu)f both in grammatical structure and phonetic character.
In the Southern Atols the dialect approaches Sinhalese most nearly4
Since the Muhammadan supremacy, Arabic has been the language of religion on the
Islands, but not generally that of foreign official correspondence until within the last half
century.§
Besides the Arabic (old and new style), the characters found on tombstones and
Mosque tanks are of two kinds, generally carved in intaglio.
A knowledge of the oldest called Divehi akuru or Dives akuru, i the letters of the Island
(kingdom)' — probably used by the original settlers — is confined at the present day to the
Fadiy&ru and a few others at M&16, though it is more widespread in the Southern Atols.
Orders to these Atols are not now, as they seem to have been in Christopher's time, made
out in this old character. It is written from left to right and is syllabic. The letters
bear some resemblance to old Sinhalese, as Mr. Gray has shown, but would seem rather
to be modifications of the old Yatteluttu character once used throughout the South Tamil
and Malay&lam districts of India. ||
In the Dives akuru alphabet (which has neyer been published in full) there are
twenty-five letters (not counting duplicates) capable of some hundreds of vowel mutations.
The modern character, called Gabuli-t&na^ is that usually employed. It is said to
have been introduced when the M&ldivians recovered their independence after the
temporary subjection to the Portuguese, and has certainly been in use for more than
two and a-half centuries.
The alphabet contains eighteen letters peculiar to itself, besides a few derived from
Arabic and Persian, and is written from right to left, as opposed to the Dives akuru. " It
will be difficult," says Mr. Gray, " to find another instance of so radical a change." The
first nine letters are merely the Arabic numerals from 1 to 9 : the last nine probably
simplifications of the corresponding letters in the old alphabet. Vowels are not inherent,
but are supplied by diacritical strokes common to the Arabic. Unlike the Dives akuru,
these letters do not admit of being joined in writing. " It is customary to intersperse
sentences with salutations, Ac, in the Arabic character."**
There are varieties of tana writing, such as the Hatha tana and Defc? (ana, but these
are awkward and rarely employed.
Much confusion in the sound of letters and difficulty in determining the correct
orthography of words arises from the absence of any acknowledged written standard, and
the consequent vagaries of each writer.
With the exception of short expositions of the Kurdn, called tartibtf in lithographed
manuscript, and treaties on navigation and astrology — the property of ship captains— no
, THE
MALDIVES.
Inhabitants.
Dives akuru.
GabulTtana.
•"The Maldive Islands: with a vocabulary taken from Francois Pyrard de Laval, 1602-1607/*
J. B. A. S., Vol. X., N.S., Art VII., 1878. 8ee, too, " Contributions to Sinhalese Grammar," by Dr. E.
Muller (Ceylon Sessional Papers, 1880). Prof. E. Kuhn contributed in 1879 an article bearing on the
subject to the Munich Sitzungsberichte der Philos-Philol, Hist. Clone der K. Akademie der Wissenchaften,
Vol. II., Pt. III., pp. 399-434, of which Mr, D. Ferguson is preparing a translation for the Indian Antiquary.
f Note (13).
t See Ceylon A. 8. Journ., Vol. VII., Part II., No. 24, 1881, pp. 119-24. "In the Atoll of Souadou
and towards the south they speak a language hard to understand, rough and barbarous, but still it is
the common (Maldive) language.*' (Gray, loc. cit, quoting Pyrard.)
§ With rare exceptions the whole series of the annual letters from the Sultans to the Dutch Governors
in Ceylon during the 18th century was written in the Maldive language and modern character (gabuli tana J,
and the practice continued until circa 1830, since which time Arabic has been regularly employed.
| First pointed out by Dr. A. C. Burnell in the Ind. Ant., Vol I., 1872, p. 229.
If Gabuli « accepted ;' cf. Ar. kabul: tana; cf. Jav. tanu « writing.'
•• J* B. A. S., Vol. VI., o.s., 1836, p. 43. ft Note (14).
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, THE
MALDIVES.
Inhabitants.
70 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
other books exist. Not a few songs and charms are committed to writing for private use
on loose leaflets of paper, which has to a great extent superseded the use of pandamu
(M. Md-karhikeyo) leaves.
Notes.
Population.
NOTES.
(1)
Population. — Lieutenant Christopher, in 1836, (J. R. A. S., Vol. VI., o.s., p. 43) "estimated
that there were full 20,000 persons on those Islands," but added, " their numbers are evidently
diminishing rapidly, although very few, if any, of the people are known to reside permanently in
a foreign land." As far as concerns the alleged progressive diminution of population, this state-
ment would appear to be refuted by the following comparative table (unfortunately, not quite
complete) of the number of inhabited Islands throughout the group, shown in the Admiralty Charts
corrected up to 1866 (Gray, J. R. A. S., Vol. X., n.s., 1878, p. 197), as tested very recently by a
close personal examination of Islanders from different Atols :-—
Atols.
1830 (Admiralty Charts.)
1882.
Tiladummati
24
?
Miladummadulu
32
?
Fadiffoju
2
4
Majosmadulu
30
?32
Male
8
13
Ari
13
18
Felidu
5
5
Mulaku
8
10
Nilandu
13
14
Kolumadulu ...
11
13
Haddummati ...
12
13
Suv&diva (Huvadu) ...
17
21
Addu
7
7
182
It is said that a census of the Islands was last taken during the reign of S. M'uin-ud-dfn, but
no particulars are forthcoming.
(2)
There would seem to be but slight traces of Malayan influence on the M&ldive group.
Among prevalent superstitious ceremonies, the M&ldive custom of launching a small bark
loaded wiih perfumes and flowers, and turning it adrift at the mercy of wind and waves as an
offering to the Spirit of the Winds, Dr. Ley den* compares to the very similar offering to the god
of evil made by the Biajus, a race of Malay sea gypsies in the Indian Archipelago.
Priosep (Journ. Bengal A. S,, Vol. V., 1836, p. 793) considered the Maldive orthography of
Arabic to partake of " the Malay style ;" and a small proportion of Malayan words, though of little
importance, is undoubtedly to be found in the language of these Islanders, amounting only to 1*9
(Yule) per cent, in the Mdldive vocabulary (275 words) given by Pyrard. This admixture may be
casual, and have been brought about, as Crawfurd points out in the case of Malagasy, by chance
visits of " those strong fleets of rovers that, in all known time, have ranged the seas of the [Malayan]
Archipelago. I suppose them, while either in quest of booty or adventure, to be driven into
the South-Eastern monsoon or trade wind by a tempest. Unable to regain the shores of the
Archipelago, they would from necessity, and after some struggle, put before the wind and make
for the first land. • • • • They would settle, amalgamate with the inhabitants, and
convey some instruction to them along with a portion of their languages "f
* " On the Language and Literature of the Indo-Chinese Nations," Mr. Gray (J. B. A S., VoL X.,
p. 203), quotes Surgeon-Major Davie, ' Medical History of the Laroot Field Force.'
t Crawfurd, " Dictionary of the E. Indian Islands," 1856, p. 238,
N.0.,
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881, 71
Two Malayan inYasions of Ceylon are recorded during the reign of Pandita Parakrama
Balm IIL, (circa A.D. 1267), and to this day the weat face of the Fadiffoju Atol is known to the
M&divians as "Java karaT—i. e H ' the Malay Coast '—although the islands on that edge have for
centuries remained uninhabited.
(3)
Date of the Muhammadan Conveesion. — In his paper on the Maldives (J. E. A* S., Vol.
X^ N.s., 1878, Art. VIIL, p. 177,) Mr. Gray notes : " Ibn Batuta, while residing at the Maldives,
married, about 1340 A.D., the daughter of a Vizier who was grandson of the Sultan Daoud, who
was the grandson of Chenourazah, the first kiog who embraced the Muhammadan faith. (Ibn Bat.,
Paris, 1858, Vol. IV., p. 154.) The probable date of the conversion is, therefore, 1200 AJX
Ibn Batuta saw the record engraven in wood in the chief mosque."
If restricted to the first Royal convert on the group, the approximate date here assumed can
hardly be gainsaid. " They have a tradition," writes Christopher, " that about 400 years ago [AD.
1435 circa], the Muhammadan religion was introduced among them by a man whose name was
Tabriz, or whose country was so called. The probability is that the latter was the case. • • •
Tabriz, they say, came from Persia ; and they state ihal shortly after his death some of his coun-
trymen, who came in search of him, remained, and, when they died, were buried on the S. E. point
of the Island."*
Further confirmation would be afforded were it possible to identify the famous Muhammadan
saint of the biographies Shaikh Jalal-ud-din Tabriz! who died in A.H. 642 or A.D. 1244 and was
buried according to the A'fn-i-Akbarf at " Bandar Did Mahall" (held by some authorities to be the
Maldives) with " Tabriz," as known to the Maldivians under the name of Yusuf Shams-ud-din,
or even with one of his companions.!
Crawfurd properly remarks, however, in commenting on the introduction of Muhammadanism
among the islanders of the Malay Archipelago, that "the dates and times quoted for the conversion
of the different people refer to that of their rulers, and not of the people generally ; many converts
had in every ease been made long before the periods quoted, and many had still to be made."J
It was probably so at the Maldives. The wave of Muslim proselytism might not reach Male*
for more than a century — the spiritual conquest of the group dating from the conversion of the
sovereign at Male, circa AD. 1200,§ though the Southern Islanders may well have repelled the
faith for some time longer.
As in the Eastern Archipelago, the progress of conversion would be likely to be gradual. " The
missionaries who effected the conversion were not, for the most part, genuine Arabs, but the mixed
descendants of Arab and Persian traders from the Persian and Arabian gulfs — parties who, by their
intimate acquaintance with the manners and languages of the Islanders, were far more effectual
instruments. In the course of several ages Arabian and Persian merchants and Mahomedan mer-
chants from Gujrat and other ports of India had settled in various parts of the Archipelago.
Unaccompanied by their families, they intermarried with the native inhabitants, and from this
union sprang the apostles of Islam." J
So Pyrard : — u They received Mahometanism through the Moors and Arabs who, while
trading over all the Continents and islands of India, brought also their law, which has. since
remained in most of those parts."!
(4)
Legend of the Muslim Conversion. — The story of the Muhammadan conversion, given
by Ibn Batuta* runs as follows : —
" When the people of the islands were idolaters, there appeared to them every month an evil
spirit, who came from the sea, resembling a ship filled with lamps. It was the custom of the
natives, when they beheld him, to adorn a young virgin and to conduct her to a boudkhanah, or
temple of idols, built on the shore, and having a window by which she could be seen. They left
her for the night, and when they returned in the morning they found her violated and dead. So
, THE
MALDIVES.
IHHIBITABTS.
Notet.
Date of Muham-
madan Conversion.
Legend of the
Muslim Conversion.
• Trans. Bombay Geo. Soc., 1836-8, p. 74.
f Journ. Bengal A. S., VoL XLLL, PU I., 1873, p. 260.
% Crawford, "Dictionary of the E. Indian Islands," p. 286-7.
§ Sir W. Robinson puts the date of conversion of the Lakkadive Islanders AD. 1250 circa,
I Gray, J. &. A. S., VoL X., H.S., p. 177.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Inhabitants.
Notes.
every month they cast lots, and he on whom the lot fell gave tip his daughter. In course of time
arrived a Maghre*bin, named Abou'l Berecat, the Berber, who knew by heart the gloroius Koran.
He lodged in the house of an old woman at Mahal. One day he found her family assembled, and
the women weeping as at a funeral. He asked but could not be made to understand the cause,
until an interpreter came, who told him that the lot had fallen upon the old woman, and that she
had one only daughter. Abou'l Berecat then said to the old woman, ' I will go to-night in thy
daughter's stead' : he was then entirely beardless. So, at night, after his ablutions, he was led to
the idol temple. There he set himself to recite the Koran, and in a while beheld the demon. He
continued his recitation, and the demon, as soon as he came within hearing of the Koran, plunged
into the sea. So, when it was dawn, the people, who came as was their custom to remove and burn
the corpse, found the Maghr£bin still reciting the Koran, He was conducted to the King named
Chenourazah, who was astonished to hear what had happened. The Maghr6bin then proposed
to him to embrace the true faith, and pressed him to receive it. But Chenourazah said : ' Stay with
us till next month : and if you do again as you have now done, and escape the evil genie, I will be
converted.' The stranger remained, and God disposed the heart of the King to receive the true
faith. He became Mussulman before the end of the month, with his wives, children, and court.
At' the beginning of the following month the Maghr£bin was conducted to the idol temple ; but
the demon came not, and he recited the Koran till the morning, when the Sultan and his subjects
arrived, and found him so employed. They then broke the idols and razed the temple to the
ground. The people of the island embraced the faith, and sent messengers who converted the
other islanders also. The Maghrdbin remained among them and enjoyed their high esteem, and
it was the doctrine of his sect, viz., that of the Imam Malik, which the natives professed. Even
at present they respect the Maghre*bines for his sake. He built a mosque which is known by his
name. I have read the following inscription graven in wood on the enclosed pulpit of the grand
mosque t ' The Sultan Ahmed Chenourazah has received the true faith at the hands of Abou'l
Berecat, the Berber, the Maghrdbin.' "*
Vestiges of this romantic legend have been handed down by tradition current among the
Islanders to this day. But with more probability they assign to Yusuf Shams-ud-din, of Tabriz*
the honour which Ibn Batuta not unnaturally would claim for a Maghrlbin, and the votaries of
Hazrat Mira Sahib for the later Nagur saint (A.D. 1 504-1 570.)t
" Throughout the world," observes Mr. Conway, " are found legends of beautiful virgins sacri-
ficed to demons or deities." That connected with the Bahirdva-kanda — a hill overlooking Kandy —
bears a close resemblance to the Maldive tradition,} and Mr. Conway quotes a somewhat similar
legend current in Japan concerning the fiend Shuden-dozL§
(5)
Sunni Sect. Sunni' Sect. — Muhammadans in general are divided into two great sects.
1. — The Sunnis, or Traditionists ; so called because they acknowledge the authority of the
Sunna, or collection of moral traditions of the sayings and actions of their Prophet, as concurrent
with and supplementary to the Kuran. The Sunna directs the observance of several things omit-
ted in the Kuran, and in name as well as design answers to the Mishna of the Jews.
The Sunnis are sub-divided into four chief sects (which derive their names from their respec-
tive founders), viz., Hanxfxs, Shdfa'ias, Malikis, and Hamballs. These sects, though all are
considered sound in fundamentals, differ in some points of law and religion, and follow the inter-
pretation of the Kuran and the traditions of the four great doctors* Abu Hanifa, Malik, Al Shafa'f,
and Ibn Hambal.
The Arabians and Muslims of Southern India, Ceylon, and the Lakkadive and Maldive Islands
generally, follow the teachings of Al ShaTa'f.
2. — The Shia'hs, or partisans of the house of 'All, adhere to their own traditions, and reject
the authority of the Sunna. According to the Shfa'h doctrine the sovereign Imdmat, or temporal
and spiritual headship over the faithful, was by divine right vested in 'All and in his descendants
through Hasan and Husain, the children of Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet ; and thus the
Persian Shfa'hs add to the formula of belief the confession, " All is the Kaliph of God."
* Gray (J. B. A. S., Vol. X., N. a., pp. 180-1), quoting Ibn Bat, French edition, Tome IV.
t Ceylon A. S. Journ., Vol VII., Ft II., No. 24, 1881, pp. 135-136.
J Ceylon A. S. Jonrn., 1865-6, pp. 30-1.
§ " Demonology and Deril-lore," Vol. II. pp., 405-8.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
73
Between these two sects (Sunnis and Shicths) exists the most inveterate enmity. Though
the difference arose at first on a political occasion, it has notwithstanding been so well improved
by additional circumstances and the spirit of contradiction! that each party anathematizes the
other as abominable heretics and further from the truth than either the Christians or the Jews.*
(6)
Superstitions. — " Where the mass of the people is sunk in ignorance, as is the case here with
only a few exceptions, it is not surprising to find the most absurd and superstitious fancies exerting a
powerful and pernicious influence. In describing their superstitions, it may not be irrelevant to pre-
mise that, in the absence of other and better sources of information, an account of these may throw eome
light on the nature of the religion of the islanders which preceded the one which they now profess.
" One of the most remarkable of their customs is the offering made to the sea when a boat is
to be launched [M. salavdtu]. On such occasions a small vessel, three or four feet long, being
decked out with flags, and having samples of the various fruits of the island, is set adrift ; should
it be a boat newly built, other ceremonies are observed, accompanied with feasting, music, Ac.
The miniature vessel is decorated with flowers, and her gunwales are hung with fruits, for which,
as soon as she enters the water, there is a general scramble."!
41 When they set out upon a voyage they avoid touching or meeting any body, for if any
unlucky accident befalls 'them, they impute it to the person that touched them. When they go
a-fishing they must not salute any, or bid them good-morrow ; from sunset on Thursday till three
or four o'clock next morning they suffer nothing to be carried out of their house, but receive all
that is brought in."{
u Before a voyage is undertaken an offering is made to some saint for success, and in danger
or distress the mariners trust chiefly in the efficacy of vows or offerings to the tomb of some per-
sonage (dead or living) of eminent piety. We are informed- of large sums given as votive offerings,
made during boisterous weather, to an old priest resident at Calcutta. All moneys paid at Male* in
fulfilment of such vows go to the priest. § It is also a common practice for persons labouring under
sickness, or any other sufferings, to dedicate certain sums as means of ensuring relief. An amulet
obtained from a reputed saint is prized very highly as a preventive of calamity, and those who
possess such a thing constantly wear it."f
Mr. Gray has translated some remarks of Pyrard regarding other superstitious practices of these
Islanders: — '" Stare [M. Ziydra] ; a spot dedicated to the King of the Winds in a secluded corner
of each island, where those who hare escaped from danger (at sea),* come to make offering daily of
little boats and ships fashioned on purpose, and filled with perfumes, guns, flowers, and odoriferous
woods. They set the perfumes on fire, and cast into the sea the little boats, which float till they
are burned ; and this, say they, in order that the King of the Winds may accept them. 9 We have
here the remains of pre-Buddhistic worship of the elements, which grew into a propitiation of the
god or devil at whose hands they feared harm. This worship seems to have survived Buddhism,
and to have lived with Islam, just as the Dewale-worship lived with Buddhism in Ceylon, or as the
mysterious grove- worship existed along with Hebrew monotheism." Again : " ' Also when they
find difficulty in launching their ships and galleys, they kill some cocks and hens, and throw them
into the sea in front of the ship or boat. 9 A cock is a favourite offering to the Ceylon devils."]
4i They likewise pay a superstitious deference to the imaginary King of the Sea, and dare not
spit to the windward of the ship, nor look behind them."$
11 ' They believe that evil is caused by the devil troubling them, and that he is the sole author
of death and sickness. They invoke him accordingly, offering flowers and preparing a banquet of
all sorts of meats and drinks, which they place in a secret spot and leave to be wasted, unless
perchance some of the poor come and take them. With the same design, they kill some cocks
and hens, turning towards the sepulchre of Mahomet, and then and there lay them down and leave
them, praying the devils to accept the offerings and to take himself off and leave the patient at
ease. This sorcery they call cauerif (Sans* hawi * incantation.')"!
, THB
MALDIVES.
Inhabitants.
Note*.
Superstitions.
* See Sale, * Koran' ; 8tobbart, < Islam' ; and, for a forcible skit on the " differences" between the Sunnis and
ShfaTis, Moore, ' Two-penny Poet-bag' (Abdallah to Mohassan). f Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1886-8, p. 75.
J Pyrard, qnoted in Harris, Vol. I., pp. 710-1 1. M. Garcin de Tassy has shown that the god of the sea reverenced
by the Maldive Islanders is identical with the mysterious saint Khtfa Khizr, in whose honour, as the discoverer of
the water of life and patron of the waters, the festival of the Bira is held during the month of Bbadttn, (August—
September).-r-SeH., 'Faith of Mam,' pp. 260-1 ; and see Mandetao, « Travels,' 1687, p. S86.
§ Cf. Ceylon A. a Journ., Vol VII., Pt IL, No. 24, 1SS1, p. 126. | J. R. A. S., Vol. X., H.S., 1878, pp. 202-3-
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74 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881-
, THE (7)
MALDIVES.
Buddhism on the MAldivbs. — Mr. Christopher (Trans. Bom, Geo. Soc, 1836-8, pp. 313-4)
Inhabitants, adduces the following evidence in favour of the pre-existence of the Buddhist cult on the Maldive
Notes. group:—
Buddhism on the n\ »phe posture employed in burial alleged to be similar to that of the recumbent
Buddha, viz., the body laid in the coffin on its right side, the right ear resting
on the right band, and the left arm placed along the thigh,
(ii.) The assertion of a Buddhist priest, " considered a clever man, and well read in Sin*
galeae books," that there were formerly on the Maldives "two noted temples of
Buddb."
(iii.) The B6 tree (Ficus religiosa) said to be " still suffered to stand alone in the vici-
nity of mosques, when all other shrubbery is cleared away for the burial
ground."
(iv.) " The dread the Maldivians manifest of taking animal life.' 9
The points raised will be found to be materially weakened on examination :—
(i.) Christopher here evidently follows Pyrard (p. 117) whose exact words are * * *
" luy mettant la main droitte sur Poreille, et la gauche, tout au long de la cuisse,
et le posent • • * couche* sur le coste* droict iusques a ce que le carps soil
portS en terre; u but further on (p. 1 19) " Quand ils mettent le corps dedans
[la fosse], ils luy tournent la face vers le cost 6 du sepulchre de Mahomet," &c, —
in fact the usual Muslim burial with the important exception of the position of
the arms. Can Pyrard have been mistaken ? In Ceylon Muhammadan burials
the body is inclined on the right side with the face looking towards Medina, the
head slightly raised and supported on sand, and the arms placidly folded in
front. This is said to be also the practice now in vogue at the Maldives*
(ii.) In the absence of corroborative testimony, the accuracy of this nameless priest's
statement may fairly be impugned. It is quite possible that he may have iden-
tified the Maldives (Mdla-diva) with Fuvangu-divayina, or some other un-
determined island quoted in the Vihdra-asna, a list of Ceylon Buddhist shrines ;
indeed, it is very probable, for, adds Christopher, "he named the islands on
which they were situated, but I could not recognize them as perpetuated to the
present day." The religious and historical books of the Sinhalese yet dis-
covered are altogether silent regarding any Buddhist mission to the Maldives,
or the existence of Buddhist temples on the Islands,
(iii.) Only two B6 trees [M. B6i gas~\ are known to be growing at the present day on the
group — one upon the uninhabited island of Kederd in Suvadiva (Huvadu ) Atol,
and the other at MdU t near the palace, but not within the walled enclosure
or burial gronnd of any mosque. Pyrard says nothing to support the belief
that the Maldivians held the Pipul in greater regard than other trees, and they
do not in any way respect it now.
(iv.) Christopher again follows Pyrard (p. 129) : "le prenois plaisir avoir que pour l'ordi-
naire pour tuer vne poule, il falloit courir par toute vne isle pour trouuer vn
homme qui sceust tuer, encore pourueu qu' il le voulust faire : dautant qu' ils
reculent tant qu' ils peuuent a faire ce mestier-la." This reluctance to turn
butchers, instead of a survival of Buddhistic orthodoxy, may perhaps as rea-
sonably be attributed to the superstitious requirements enjoined on the select
few qualified to kill animals. " Quand il faut tuer quelque animal pour leur
viure, il y a bien du mystere. Ils leur coupent la gorge en se tournans du coste*
du 'sepulchre de Mahomet, et disent leurs prieres, et tout aussitost ils les quit-
tent, ou ils les iettent sans y toucher iusques a ce qu' ils soient morts entiere-
ment. Que si quelqu' vn y touchoit auparauant, ils ietteroient cette chair, et
ils n'en mangeroient point. Ce n' est pas tout, il faut que ce ne soft que par
vn certain endroit seulement qu' on leur coupe la gorge, autrement personne n'en
mangeroit. De plus, tout le monde ne s' entend pas a cela ; ce sont principale-
ment des Prestres ou des Moudins qui le scauent ; ou bien ceux qui 1' entre-
prennent doiuent estre anciens et non pas ieunes, et il faut qu' ils ayent eu des
enfans."
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
75
In this connection should not be omitted Mr. Gray's comparison (J. R. A. S., Vol, X., N.s.,
p. 179), of the M&ldive festival "poycacan (Pyrard) celebrated at the full moon of April or May" with
"the 'depdya' (full moon) of Wesak, when the Singalese commemorate the attainment of Nirwana
by Gautama" ; but, as Mr. Gray himself adds, " the Maldivans attribute the origin of the festival to
the first introduction of rice, to the islands, which would connect it rather with the Alut Sal 9 or 'new
rice, 9 festival of Ceylon (held in January) than with the thoroughly Buddhistic holiday of May,"
Whilst, therefore, the evidence available is both insufficient, and of a nature too vague, to
warrant any definite conclusion, it is far from improbable that a close scrutiny of names of islands,
of non-Muhammadan customs and festivals, and, above all, an archaeological survey, will make it
abundantly clear that Buddhist missionaries, in the spirit of the A?oka edicts, departing ' to inter-
mingle among all unbelievers, teaching better things,' carried their doctrine across the sea even to
the despised and little known Maldives.
[Since the above note was penned important evidence has come to hand in favour of the
contention of " an intervening Buddhism" on the Islands : —
(a) The strikingly Buddhistic title " Darumavanta" (S. a)$>9«fo, Dharmmavanta * Reli-
gious,' ' Just') applied by the Maldivians to their first Sovereign converted to Muhammadanism.
{b) Similarly, the undeniable significance of such island names as MufiHa-furhi (? S. Muni-
pur a t 'Buddha's city') in Haddumati Atol, Huludeli (S. «C5®> saladala 'B<5 tree' isle) in
Nilandu Atol, Vihama-furhi and Vihamand-furhi ('the island of the delightful Wihares/ Gray)
in Ari and Male Atols.
(c) According to the reliable assertion of resident natives, on the island of Fua Mulaku
(lat. 0° 7' S,) exist the jungle-covered ruins of a tope or ddgaba, and amid them the stone image
of a Buddha in the sthdna-mudrd or standing position. This tope is described as resembling the
solid bell-shaped ddgabas, rising from platforms, usual in Ceylon.
Such ruins the Islanders of the Southern Atols term as tabu (Addu Atol), havitta (Fua
Mulaku), and vere (Atols further north), in which it is easy to recognise the Sanskrit stupa,
chaitya, and vihdra.
" It may be that during long centuries no life was imparted to Maldive Buddhism from Cey-
lon, and that the religion of 'the Blessed One' at last JUckered to extinction, while the barbarous
rites and superstitions of the Dewales and the groves remained connected in the native mind with
those purely temporal ills from which, in their daily life men sought deliverance."]*
(8)
Chess.— Sir W. Jones assigns the invention of chess to the Hindus (' Asiatic Researches,'
Vol. 7, 1803), and.Major Forbes (' Eleven years in Ceylon,' Vol. II. f p. 265), mentions the Hindu
belief that it was originated by Havana's Queen, Wandddari, during the tedious mythical seige of
£ri-Larika-pura.
The Sanskrit name for the game is Chaturanga, i.e., ' the four members of an army,' which,
according to Amarakosha, are hasti (elephants), asva (horses), ratka (chariots), and pdddtan (' foot
soldiers.') The same names are employed in India at this day.
Pieces.
Sanskrit, Mldivs.
Rdjd Bodu.
Mantri MaMvri.
King
Queen
Bishop ...
Knight ...
Castle or Rook
C Hasti \
\Pilu J "•
Asva
(Ratha \
\Roka )
(Paddti\
\Padica)"
Chaturanga (of. S. sivu-
ranga keli, £§<*» «*o<S)
M&ldive chess-men are of wood, roughly carved into the simplest of forms, in accordance with
the Muslim prohibition .against the making an image of anything that has life.
Pawn
Chess
Bodu-bo.
As.
Biya.
Mdnd\
Bdzuvd kuli. (cf. S. Rdja-
vil keliy dSdScf e*o<3.)
, THE
MALDIVES..
IWHABITANTS.
Notes.
Chess.
♦ Gray, J. R A. 3., Vol. X., N.a, 1878, p.
ISO.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Inhabitants.
Notes.
Social Distinctions.
The Saltans of
the Maldives. ' .
(9)
Social Distinctions* — Compare Mr. E. O. Thomas' account (Madras Journ. lit. and Science
1859-60) of the different class appellations borne by the inhabitants of Maliku (Minakal.) The
divisions are :— *
(1) Malikans j (3) Klasies (Eato)
(2) Matummies (Ydekurd) | (4) Maylacherries
1. "The Malikans (about 116 in number) form the aristocracy of the Island* Three of
them have considerable landed property there, and own all the trading vessels which go to Bengal,
&c. Though now consisting of several families, they are all connected, being sprung from Kamba-
koth Kombaramy, who lived 200 years ago. They have by no means the over-weening influence
exercised over their countrymen by the aristocracy of the Laccadive Islands. This is consequent
on the different relative position of the parties* The Beebee of Cannanore has endeavoured more
or less to identify their interests with her own, by supporting their wishes occasionally with
reference to the conduct of their sailors, and by usually employing one of them as her Agent or
Konnakar on the Islands.
2. " The Malummies are the pilots and mates of the vessels. This is no hereditary title, but
is conferred by their neighbours for ability. Any man in Menakoy may obtain this rank, and is
not then excluded from the society of the Malikans who will even intermarry with them* They
number about 180.
3. " The Klasies (1,107 in number) form the bulk of the population, and, though in general
poor, are exceedingly independent of the other classes. They possess no sea-going boats or vessels
of their own, nothing fit to use far outside the lagoon ; but they work the larger vessels and the
mass [fishing] boats of the Malikans, as it is impossible for the merchants without their aid to
carry on their trade : and as the Klasies are not landed tenants-at-will as in the Laccadives, but,
with very few exceptions, small landed proprietors themselves, and only going to sea for regular
wages given for work done at the time, they enjoy a very comfortable independent position, and
both on land and at sea yield by no means implicit obedience to either Beebee or Malikans.
" Besides those who are employed in the Beebee's and Malikans' vessels, many of them take
service in English ships, and are absent for many years together. During this period they get
high wages, but usually spend it all before they return to Menakoy*
4. " Those who follow the occupation of the Maylacherries, or tree climbers, are about 583
in number. They climb the trees of the ryots and the Beebee for hire, and extract the juice from
which sugar is made."*
(10)
The Sultans of the Maldives. — The rule of succession governing in the Malabar States
generally, and notably in Travancore and Cochin, according to the usages of the Nairs in favour of
descent in the female line does not appear to have extended to the M&ldive Islands. On the death
of a Sultan the Sovereignty usually passes to one of the sons. History — so much at least as has
come to light — affords but three instances of a female succeeding to the throne — the first in the
ninth century, the second four centuries later, (Khadijah, circa A.D. 1344), and the last after the
lapse of a similar period (A'mina, A.D. 1754).
The Maldive Sultans have assumed the fulsome cognomen Iskandar, — applied by Arab and
Persian writers to Alexander the Great (**Iskandar Al Runf"), — perhaps by virtue of supposed
descent from the wide-ruling Iskandar Dhu'lkarnein (i.e., 'the two-horned'), a Persian king of
the first race, the contemporary of Abraham, and alleged tenth descendant from Noah, through
Japhet and Elisha.
Other eulogistic epithets (clearly of Sanskrit origin) attached to the Sultans' names in written
communications are explained elsewhere.f
The ordinary Maldive term for the Sovereign is Rasge-fdnu t but the Arabic title Sultan is
used to accompany his Muslim name after Muhammadan custom.} The Sultans' wives are called
Rasge-fdnu Abi-kabalun> and their children Goma-fulun or Gon-fulun.
Eligibility for future Sovereignty is betokened by the elevation of the umbrella over some
member of the Royal family. This honour was conferred upon a younger brother of the Sultan during
the residence of Mr. Christopher at Male\ "On this occasion there were great rejoicings in the
* Report on the management daring Fasli, 1 263, of the Five Laccadive Islands.
% A'mina* is styled in her Minister's letters to the Dutch Ra^i-kilagc-fiinu,
t Tide Note (13) infra.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
77
town. Guns were fired, and the public were entertained in the evenings with games, at the
conclusion of which they were treated to a grand feast On this day the young Prince was for the
first time seen in public. The ceremony partakes of a religious character, inasmuch as the heir-
apparent is required to proceed in procession to the mosque, and to the tombs of the principal saints
to repeat the Fatha. The umbrella [M. haukofu; S. ewef, sat.'] being one of the insignia of
Sovereignty, none but the Sultan can have it carried over him."* Among other insignia borne by
his attendants are a fan of peacock's feathers (M. samara-koto ; S. ec&&6, semera), a brass betel-
box (M. adafi forhi kola), and ornamented slippers (M.faivan-kolu).
, THE
MALDIVES.
INHABITANTS.
Notes.
(id
Sultan's Claim to the Property of Deceased Maldivtans. — This is confirmed by a
statement in one of Sultan M. M'uin-ud-dtn's letters of 1819 regarding the property of a certain
Sayyid or Muhammadan Priest, towards whom the Sultan appears to have acted with much
consideration and liberality*
u Strangers who take their refuge in this Island, and who, for want of money, may crave the
assistance of Government, are always supported and kindly treated by us. But it is customary
with Our Government on this Island when money is issued from the Public Treasury to individuals
to enable them to carry on trade, at the death of such persons to take to Government alone all
such property as they may leave behind, whether too little or too large (sie); so money is never
issued but to those who consent to the above conditions. Nevertheless in this case of the Sayyid
I have not taken one rupee from his estate. I have written these circumstances to Your Excellency
thinking that it would be proper that Tour Excellency should be acquainted with the same.^f
Previously, in 1804, the Sultan having received intelligence that a suit had been commenced in
Ceylon about the estate of a Mdldivian named Don Kalege-fdnu, requested that His Excellency the
Governor would, " after investigation of the case, cause all the goods [of the deceased] and the
money for the goods he disposed of there," to be delivered over to the hands of the Ambassador
u as all of the same did not belong to his relations but to the Sultan's Court" (sic.)%
Upon another claim to a house in Ceylon made by the same Sultan in 1830, it was considered
advisable to point out that M&ldivian law had no extra-territorial effect in civil proceedings in
rem. " There are Courts of Law established on the Island," wrote Sir E, Barnes, " which are
open to all persons ; and Your Highness may order your Agents to have recourse to the Courts for
the recovery of any property Your Highness may have to claim ; and the case will be decided
according to law and justice: but it is not customary for Government to interfere in such cases
wherein the rights of property of the inhabitants are concerned, and which may be decided by law
by the Courts of Justice appointed for that purpose." §
See also Lord Torrington's reply (1850) regarding 'Ali Dfdf.Q
(12)
Government. — The constitution of the M&ldive Government has ever continued to retain
the main features of the ancient Indian polity, based on the Institutes of Manu, and followed
" throughout the history of Ceylon. At the head the King [Mahd Rdja"] f bound by no law, but
never altering the law ; his despotism only restrained by his own sense of justice or fear : at his
Court one or more ministers, [Me ti, Mantrt] 9 among whom the departments of State were some-
times divided, but to anyone of whom usually an appeal lay from every inferior officer, and who
[as the Amdtya-mandale or Council of State] advised the King, or administered in his name, on
all affairs : over each province a Chief [ Yuva-rdja*] 9 bound to pay into the Treasury not the exact
revenue he received, but a lump sum, and intermediate appeal judge in all cases arising in his
district: under him, again, inferior officers, some of whom were clerks and accountants with
specified duties, others petty territorial headmen over villages or small districts, with judicial as
well as administrative power."f
A comparison of the modern designations of the M&ldive Sultan's Ministers of State, and
their respective functions, with those recorded by Pyrard as ruling at the commencement of
Sultan's Claim to
the Property of De-
ceased M&ldivians.
Government.
• Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 66.
t Sultan's letter, A. H. 1235 ; ( translation dated November 16th, 1819 J
X Sultan's letter, (translation) dated November 2nd, 1804.
$ Governor's reply, dated December 18tb, 1830. | Governor's reply, dated October 4th, 1850,
^ Ebys Davids, J, B. A. S., VoL VIL, Pt H, M.S., Art. XVII., p. 370.
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78
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
MALDIVES.
INHABITANTS.
Notes.
the 17th century, and by Ibn Batuta two and a-half centuries earlier, discloses that, -whilst a
redistribution of duties may have occurred from time to time, the official titles at least have
suffered but slight change.
Of these the majority bear intrinsic evidence of ancient A'ryan origin.
(a) Hadegiri, in whom are combined now-a-days the offices of Chief of the Treasury and
Receiver-General of Revenue (Chris., Hindeggeree ; Pyrard, Endequery, "a Lord Privy Councillor,
always in attendance upon the King ;" but Ibn Bat. HendtdjSry, ' Preacher'). Cf. Bhdnddgdriko
amachcho, the Lord High Treasurer of the old Sinhalese Court (Tumour's Mahavanso, p. 231, 3).
(b) Dorhimend, (Chris., Durimina\ 1st Vizier, " Chief or General of the Army ;" Pyrard,
Dorimenaz, Torimesnas, "Commander-in-Chief of the Army;") possibly the Dvdra-n&yaka
(Mah., p. 260, 10), but cf. T. &mir t turai :
(c) Fdmuderi (Chris., Famederi, 4th Vizier ; Pyrard, Pammedery calogue, one of the great
lords ; Ibn Bat, Fameldary " Receiver-General of Revenue." Cf. S. 03«*©a«J, 0^9 ; pdmok, defa,
and the Amachcha Pdmukha (Mah., p. 69.)
(d) Mdfat (Chris., Mafae, 5 th Vizier ; Pyrard, Manpas, " Chancellor, Keeper of the King's
Privy Seal ;" Ibn Bat., Mafacalou, " Receiver-General of Revenue.") Cf. S. ©»*, mahd y and o£ t
pati, in Sendpati, ChamupaH (Mah. passim).
(e) Ddhard (Chris., Dakar a, 6th Vizier ; Pyrard, Darade Tacourou, " Count or Duke."
Cf. the Dovdrika (Mah., p. 117, 11.)
Ibn Batuta makes no mention of the Dorhimdnd, Hakurd (Chris., Hakura ; Pyrard, Aeouraz)
and Veldnd (Chris., Wilono Shadander ; Pyrard, Velannas "First Lord of the Admiralty and
President of the Board of Trade") Viziers ; but styles " the Minister of Police" Fitnayec, and the
u Admiral" Manayec. Cf. S. ®s», mahdy »xo®, ndyaka.
(13)
Without attempting in the compass of a Note to enter' into a lengthened comparison of
Sinhalese and Maldive vocabularies, already partially essayed by Mr. Gray (J. R. A. S., Vol. X.,
Art. VIIL), it may strengthen the position assumed regarding the affinity of the two languages
(whilst serving of interest on other grounds) to insert here a fac-simile of one of the annual letters
of the Maldive Sultans of the last century, with a transcript in Roman characters and an English
translation.
It will be at once seen that the proportion of words clearly traceable to Sinhalese or Sanskrit
sources is large, amounting to at least 65 per cent.
Transcript.*
jffuwa' I ghani.
Suvasti sirimata maha sir! bari kusa furad£ :
: na sir! kula sada ira siaka sastura audana Ka :
: ttiri As-Sultdn Hasan Nur-ud-din Iskandar Kattiri Bowana
Maha Radun. Kojubu Gorunu D6re-ve kiya Rasge-fSna' mita'
lakka has farhun saldm. Maniku-fanumenge Kojubu-gai ihu u :
: lunvi Ras-Ras-kalunnai, mi Divehi Rajj6-gai ihu ujun :
vi Ras-Ras-kalunnai raAmolrikan behettevi fadain-me, Mani :
: ku-fanai Timan Maniku-fanu hif-fu]u-gai rahmat bahattavaigen hunne :
: vime. Maniku-fanumen kibain edi-tibimave. Mi Divehi Rajjein odi ;
; ye' done* behigen gos Maniku-fana 9 khabari-v& tanaku tibi na :
: ma, e bayaku gendavai, e mihunge haihunu-kan bellavumai. Mi Divehi
Rajjjea' 'at&fvatteriaku Maniku-fana' egijje nama, e bayaka*
Maniku-fanumen nu-russevumeve. Maniku-fanumenn&i araf<5digen-
nuva kuda hadiya-koja-kai Ahmad Kuda Bad6ri K£vi tia fonuwimu. Mia:
: ]a dennevi kame' kurawai ; mi ajun kibain tahsir vias mu'df
: kurawai. Avvalu musumu-gai furuva kama' edi-vadaigen hunne :
: vime. 1210 sanaU
* The Mrfldive character (gabufi-tdna) is transliterated as far as possible according to the system recommended
by Sir William Jones and Professor Wilson, and adopted by the Ceylon Government (Minute of November 16th,
1869), for the Sinhalese and Tamil languages.
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S S
v >? «**f +r ' * t~* n
r 9
s s
/
* <£ > t
»* * f T* + , / * S
t * *
, ** a /,
* *
y»t>rf>*£»y> I 9^£ z »>"»/>
<9 '
, 9
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*> / O + ? " T
»,*2* »trj> vx >
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r>
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r '
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'A' - 1 r t ± — — '
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SESSIONAL, PAPERS, 1881.
79
Translation.
He (God) is the richest !
Hail ! Saltan Hasan Nur-ud-dfn Iskandar, Mighty Monarch of the Universe, a Kshatriya,
endowed with beauty, possessed of great wealth, who imparts wisdom, (born) of illustrious raoe»
resembling the sun and moon, conversant with arts and sciences, of unsullied (fame), to the Ruler
namely, the Governor of Colombo, many million salutations ! As the former Rulers at Colombo—
Your Excellency's predecessors — and the former Rulers of this Island Kingdom (Maldives)
preserved mutual friendship, Your Excellency and Ourselves have borne (reciprocal) friendship in
oar hearts. May this (amity) continue on Your Excellency's part ! Should any Maldive vessel
(odi or ddm) be driven ashore at any place with which (Your Excellency) is acquainted
(We request that Your Excellency will kindly) send for those (shipwrecked) persons, and enquire
into their wants. Should Your Excellency be aware of any persons ill-disposed towards this Island
Kingdom, (be pleased to) show them no countenance. We send for Your Excellency's acceptance —
all unworthy though it be — a small present by the hands of (Our Ambassador) Ahmad Kuda Badexi
Klvi. (We beg Your Excellency will kindly) issue directions, that his requests be attended to.
Should he commit any fault, (We hope that Your Excellency will) pardon it. (We trust that
Your Excellency will) allow him to return in the favourable monsoon. A.H, 1210 (A.D. 1793.)*
Explanatory Notes. f
Suvasti • • * * Mahd Radun* Adopting the above translation, the Sultan's title
may be rendered into Sinhalese as follows : — on© e&zh ; ^etafg ; itoat <§ o)d«to*e}; ga^ 9G><*>
»<5«to»§; (®ciw^ «V3*>g); $ Soo qi&; <S<5«^ S)g§; gtosfiai »j«cq &8g; eg© (;&S) ?*&;
jaau§tt ©o® ?i£@; mc^a^aS etaa> d>d: Sepa vevd; srimatvu; mafia sri dharanndvu; prajnd
praddna karanndvu ; (kalydna ddyakavu) sri vansa eti; hira sanda banduvu; pratyaksha
sastra dhdrivu; subhra (kirti) eti; kshatriya vansa eti; Ukayi mahd rdja.\
Mahd stri-bari = S. ©acj <§&)&> mahd sri-bhdri, ' possessed of (a great weight of immense
glory" (or) 'wealth.' Cf. inte ralia- inscriptions at ljUaveva Pansala and ]£taviragolleva (Gold-
schmidt, C. A. S. Journ,, 1879, p. 34.) In some letters dirt takes the place of bari: dxri may
equal S. oo&ai <&&, dhairyya eti, ( courageous' (S.D.); but, as reasonably also, S. gc dula*
'glittering/ « splendid,' by metathesis §g, dili, thence §6, dirL
J£usafuraddna=S. s%<BgGhta 9 kusapradhdna. The meaning 'wisdom's-S. giafi) ) praj£dva
(D.) 9 or ' goodness' =» S. *a(*i»4my kalydna, has been assigned to kusa. The compound will
also bear the sense, ' lord of the waters' =• S. d(+$oh&Q t jala pradhdnavti, (S.) t and ' Chief of
Eusa, 9 ie. 9 one of the great dwipas or divisions of the universe, (S.) 9 some letters reading kusha
(S. £g«, kusha.)
Sada ira : — The order of Sanskrit compounds is here followed, hira sanda becoming sanda
ira, and by abbreviation sada ira.
Sidha sdstura; — Sidka, a doubtful word. Subhuti proposes. to read siydna (Hindi) 'clever*
or * wicked/ and renders the compound by (a) S. qc& q^gojaaag), daksha anvsdtakavu, ' skilful
teacher* or 'commander/ or (b) S. g^SdODewO »0)ie), dhurta janaydta satruvu ' enemy of wicked
men.' Dhammaloka, deriving sidka from Sans, sdyaka, ' bow/ would make it (c) ■= S. cD^gfcde},
dhanurdhravu, ' skilled with the bow/ Gunasekara suggests : — (d) -= Shiaka satura (satru)
* enemy of the Shia'hs (heretics,)* (e) «=» 'subduer of (his) passions/ i.e., S. fioo, siya, *own ;* q?co>
aka (Sans, aksha, * organs of sense.') (f) — S. fica, siya, <pao, aka, * eye ;' S. gaa»o», pratyaksha,
4 experienced/ coupling it with sastura, S. cswttODae), sdstruvu, ' experienced teacher/
, THE
MALDIVEa
Inhabitaiiti.
Note*.
* In Bennett's "Ceylon and its Capabilities*' (London, 1843), opposite to p. 259 may be seen a fairly correct
copy in lithograph of Sultan M. Mu'fa-nd-chVs letter to the Galle Commandant in 1825 ; and at p. hriv. of the
Appendix the roogh official translation. Lieut. -Colonel Campbell (" Excursion*, &c, in Ceylon," VoL I., pp. 199,
200) also gives a like translation (dated January 3rd, 1821) of a letter from the same Sultan, received by him when
in command of the detachment at the Southern port. For another specimen of Maldive writing, see the private
letter at the end of Christopher's Maldivian Vocabulary, (J. R. A. S., O.8., Vol. VI.)
j A complete glossary is held over for the Ceylon A* 8. Journal.
% Towards the elucidation of these complimentary epithets valuable aid has been generously afforded by the
learned scholars Waskaguwl Subhuti Unnanse* (5.), Dhammaloka Unnanee' of Batmalana (!>.)» and B. Gnaa-
se'kara, Government Translator (#.).
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80
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Inhabitants.
Notes.
The last translation has been followed.
Auddna : — appearing almost invariably in immediate connection with kiriti (S. z£&&3 kirtit,
1 fame/) — may perhaps be traced to Sans, avaddta, s white* * unsullied* ( G.)
Bowana: — Older letters give the true form buvana (S. «es)«3, bhuvana, • the universe/)
The list of magniloquent epithets — * great swelling words of vanity' — employed by the Sultans
in their annual letters to the Ceylon Governors has strangely waxed and waned, so to speak, since
the commencement of the 18th century.
Sultan Imad-ud-din Muzaffar (A.D. 1711 ? — 1721) was content to affix to his name, Ranna-
valdka Maha Radun. By 1750 Maldivian official bombast had reached the height, beginning
Suvastl, Sfc*, and attained its zenith some twenty or thirty years later. Reaction then -ensued, and
in letters subsequent to 1805 (?) the Sultan's Arabic titles have been followed merely by the words,
Kula Sundura Kattiri Bowana Maha Radun — expressions which Christopher considered " tinex-
plainable at the present day."* The fuller string of epithets is still prefixed to orders and
communications issued by the Sultan to his subjects,
Rasge-fdnu : — V. *., p. 76, Note (10). In early letters of last century sometimes written
Radun ge-fdnu, or Rasge-fdnanse. Fdnu, fananse, =» S. skatsStoaS, vahanse, honorific affix,
by consonantal change through vananse*.
Maniku-fdnu-men : — V% s., p. 63.f Euphemistic plural-singular.
Fadain-me: — 'as,' 'in the manner/ — S. o8>§, o8^e^«f, paridi, paridden, by rejection of
liquid medial consonant ; me ■=» S. S), ma, intensive suffix.
Hif-fulu-gai : — ' in mind,' loc. = hit (S. &&&, kite) + fulu (honorific) + gai (gdtun, € near*),
by euphonic assimilation.
Behigen gos : = S.' 6H«9qmo wsnti, behigana (3>&s&i, bahinavd ' to descend') gos ; Pvrardi
behigue, a term applied to being driven by the current.
Araf6digen-nuvd : — * in all humbleness/ * unworthy though (the giver and the present)
be/ Alternative forms in older letters, ara kddi, arai hodi, aranu hdde, arainu hdde. Cf.
Pyrard, vedon a Rouespou, the present paid to a delegate of the Sultan. Christopher, vedun,
* present.'
Baderi : — V. s., p. 66 || ' HadSgiri.' Originally confined to the Treasurer or Keeper of the
Royal Stores (S. «»^3a)3<5&8ffl>, Bhdnddgdrikd), the title, as in the Kandyan districts of Ceylon,
gradually acquired a wider use, though still restricted to persons of high birth.
Kevl : — f N4vi, q. v., p. 63 || supra.
Aid, alun : — Cf. T. ^&r, dl, 4 person.' Alu-gadu, alu-gadu-men, the ordinary designation
employed by the Saltans and Maldivian nobles when writing of themselves in the first person.
Gadu, kolu, fufu (e.g., hadiyd-kolu, hif-fulu), honorific suffixes, generally implying connection
with Royalty.
Awalu * * • • hunnevime : — A periphrasis for the simpler expression,
occasionally found, datum (H, jdtrd) avas-kurravvai, " (kindly) hasten (his return) voyage."
Vadaigen. — Cf. the Sinhalese complimentary use of dStotb, vadinavd, as applied to Buddhist
priests.
Some ruling vowel and consonantal changes from Sinhalese into Maldivian may be noticed :—
Vowel Changes.
Sinhalese a, becomes Maldive e, (S. danvanavd, balavanavd ; M. dennevi, bellavumai)
i, (S. tamun ; M. timan)
o f (S. evanavd ; M.fonuvvimu)
u, (S. ihata, karanava ; M. ihu, hurravvai)
, 9 u, (S. innavd ; M. hunnevime)
„ a, (S, tamun ; M. timan)
o 9 (S. bhuvana ; M. bovana)
„ t, (S. me 1 , tibenavd ; JA.mi, tibi)
„ u 9 (S. no-(rusanavd) ; M. nu-(russevumeve) »
» e t (S. hengenavd, tena ; M. egijje, tana-ku.
9>
Of
* Even in the official translations (English) these words appear simply transcribed as part of the Saltan's name
The Dutch translators entirely ignored them.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
Consonant Changes.
Sinhalese t, becomes Maldive r, (S. pitatvenava ; "M.furuvd)
81
n,
A, (S. das ; M. hds)
l t (S. unna, ulun)
fj (S.pradhdna; M. furaddna)
f 9 (S. evanavd, vara ; M.fonuvvtmu,farhun)
Many words, purely foreign or of probable foreign origin, occur : —
Arabic : — Iskandar ; saldm ; rahmat ; khabar ; add ; hadiyd ; takrir ; mu'df;
musimu ; sanat.
Tamil : — D6re (&ea>ir 9 turai) ; mita (L&&&ib, michcham) ; Bas (cf. T. form jyir*«r,
arasan); odi ($LJLb, 6dam) ; ddne (QfifiGsfi, tdni) ; kolu, (? Q&ffgb, kolu) ; aid,
alun (<%&, dl).
Malay :— Edi (? ada,' be.')
Dutch (English). — Gorunu (Governor.)
Truly " a party coloured dress
of patch' d and py-balFd languages."
(14)
Tabtib. — Copies of these commentaries on the Kurau are now freely exposed for sale in the
boutiques at Mal£, at from Rs. 1 to Rs. 1£ each — a faint, but possibly hopeful, sign of mental
awakening too long delayed.
In 1835-36 Captain Moresby thought that the natives did not " appear indifferent to
improvement, for all (particularly the chief ) evinced a strong desire to become acquainted with
our language and with our knowledge."*
This is unfortunately contradicted by facts. Governor Mackenzie offered, in 1838, to educate,
free of cost, two Maldive boys chosen by the Sultan and sent over to Ceylon for the purpose.
"Having understood," the Governor writes, "that it is the wish of Your Royal Highness as
well as that of many of your subjects to be taught the English language, I am prepared to give
them the opportunity of acquiring that language without any cost to themselves, and I invite two
of Your Royal Highness' subjects, not exceeding 16 years of age, whom you may be pleased to
select and send to Colombo. I would also propose that those youths should be accompanied by
some members of their own family, who will be kindly received on a temporary visit. They will
have the means of seeing where the scholars are to be settled, and of being satisfied as to the
place and situation where the two youths will reside while they remain in Ceylon to learn the
English language."!
The Sultan's answer of the ensuing year, though couched in language studiously polite,
destroyed any hopes which might have been entertained that the time was ripe for this
experiment. " Your Excellency has been pleased to desire us to send from our dominions two
youths below 16 years of age to your Island for the purpose of being educated in your language,
without any expenses to us, either, for their education or boarding, and, moreover, that two of our
people may be sent thither, to see if these youths are well settled and confortably kept there.
This proposal, we are aware, emanated from Your Excellency with a view of promoting and
perpetuating the good understanding existing between us, but we regret that our religious principles
do not allow us to avail ourselves of the benefit of the kind offer thus made by Your Excellency,
because our religious, tenets prohibit our children being so instructed in their youth.' J
This reply was at the time accepted as u decisive against education and conversion of the
Maldivians," for the subject was not again broached.
Happily, the course of events in the interval of forty years had led, though by an
indirect channel, to a partial realization of the enlightened objects contemplated by the Right
Honourable J. A. Stewart Mackenzie.
A chance law-suit brought over to Ceylon, in 1850, the Sultan's cousin, 'All Didi, son of the
late astute Prime Minister Ahmad Didi ( V. *., p. 37.) Settling ultimately at Galle, where he
died a few years back in affluent circumstances, he gradually established, as the recognised
Maldivian agent, a brisk through trade between the Islands and Indian rice ports.
THE
MALDIVES.
Inhabitahts.
Notes.
* Trans. Bom. Geo, Soc, 1836-8, p. 108.
% Sultan's reply, dated Slmwwdn, A. H. 1255.
f Governor's letter, dated November 26th, 1838.
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82 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE His son (Ibrahim Did!) and nephews ('All and Isma'il Didi), as they grew up together, in
addition to acquiring a fair knowledge of the English language, imbibed involuntarily just
Ihhabitahts. impressions of European breadth and freedom of thought, which, with advancing years, have
^~ taken deep root.
Haji Ibrahim Didi is now the most trusted adviser of his Sovereign, and in all matters of
moment is summoned to the aid of the Council at Male\ He and his cousins may yet live to
exert a salutary influence on the future destiny of the Maldivian race, by weening the minds of the
ruling aristocracy from the narrow ezclusiveness and " Cimmerian darkness of ignorance" in which
they have persistently been enveloped.*
* For a sweeping condemnation of the English policy in India regarding Mnhammadan education, see the
trenchant remarks of Dr. W. W. Hunter, B.C.S., in his " Indian Muttlmans," Chap. IV. i ' The wrongs of the
Muhammadans under British rule.*
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881,
VI -PRODUCTIONS AND MANUFACTURES.
83
The M&ldive Islands present a field of botanical and zoological research, almost
unexplored, but hardly likely to yield much fresh store of plant and animal life, judging
by results obtained on the more Northern and very similarly situated group.
A short cruise among the Lakkadives sufficed to establish that "they have no
distinctive Fauna or Flora : no mammals, except the common Indian Mus rufescens, that
even in the neighbourhood of Calcutta infests cocoanut trees : no land birds, except a very
few of the commonest Indian species : no non-Indian plants, the flora consisting mostly of
species common on the sea-coasts of India, and more or less diffused over China, Java, and
the Straits, extending in many cases to the Malayan Archipelago, Australia, and the South-
Sea Islands, and in several to the tropics generally : that the majority of the species of
plants possess, according to native ideas, medicinal properties, and are, therefore, jnst
those most likely to have been introduced by human agencies ; and that, as a matter of
fact, it is in the largest island, where the population is greatest and the communication
with the mainland has been on the largest scale, that the number of species is greatest.*
, THE
MALDIVES.
Productions and
Manufactures.
VEGETATION.f
At a little distance most islands appear " a mass of vegetation down to the waters*
edge, dense with cocoanuts above and screw pines below." The undergrowth, in which
the rich green fleshy-leaved sccevola everywhere stands out prominent, runs riot in
entangled luxuriance of growth, impenetrable in places.
The fine coraline sand of these low-lying sea-girt Atols is peculiarly suited to the
growth of the cocoanut palm (Cocoa nucifera), which thrives with a vigour and luxuriance
unequalled, save, perhaps, on the Polynesian groups.
At least three distinct species are found, bearing fruit ranging in. size from the huge
gourd-like nut (M. ubukadd kdrhi) to the tiny nut not much larger than an orange
(M./uredde odi kdrhi) so valued for its copperah.
To the Islanders, the economic value of the cocoanut is incalculable. " It is far the
best and most wonderful manna imaginable ; inasmuch as this single tree can provide
every necessary of life for man, supplying him with wine, honey, sugar, milk and butter
in abundance. Moreover, the kernel or almond may be eaten as bread with viands of all
kinds ; besides which, the wood (of the tree) and its leaves, with the husk and shells (of
the fruit), serve for the manufacture of the greater part of their furniture and utensils." X
Few indigenous trees are fit for timber. In boat-building resort is had almost
exclusively to the cocoanut. The tall straight varu and mas kadu (M.) — the softest and
lightest of their woods— are not sufficiently durable for this purpose, but the latter is used
for rafts (M. kadu-fatu)
The duburi (S. domba, Calophyllum inaphyllum) is well adapted for the minor wood-
work of their houses, as wall sticks, &c, and is valuable also on account of the gum resin
which exudes from the tree when wounded, and for the medicinal oil obtainable from its seed.
Of large trees the most noticeable are the los (the bois mapou of the Chagos), kadu,
and kirundu (S. suriya 9 Thespesia populnea). The banyan (M. nika, Ficus indica) is
hardly less rare than the bread-fruit (M. bamba-keyo, Artocarpus incisa) and jack (M. sak-
keyo, A. integrifolia.)
A dark and extremely tough wood which the Islanders much rely upon is the kuradi
(? Pempkis acidula). This tiny-leafed tree— -or rather shrub, for it rarely exceeds 15 to
20 feet in height— grows on nearly all the islands. Its wood is selected for implement-
handles, wall-plates, cross-beams and pieces in houses and boats — in fact, wherever
strength and durability are needed.
Vegetation.
Cocoanut.
Timber Trees.
* Allan Hume, in « Stray FeatherB," Vol. IV., 1S76, p. 459. f Note 0)-
X Pyrard, p. S5, who later (TraiM des animaux et des arbres et fruits des Indes, pp. 22-33), devotes
a special chapter to this " wonderful tree.**
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84
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
THE
MALDIVES,
Productions and
Manufactures.
Pan dan u 9,
Fruit.
Vegetables.
Fine grain.
Flowers.
From the scarcity of good timber a high value is set on teak and other hard wood?,
occasionally obtained from wrecks. Some timber is annually imported.
The natives make some use of the fruit of the Pandanus r but would seem to be other-
wise ignorant of, or indifferent to, the many serviceable purposes to which this despised
tree is capable of being turned.* The leaves even are no longer used as a writing
material.
At M416 and other populous islands, a* variety of exotic fruit trees are found, which
have been introduced gradually from the continent. Such are the lime (Citrus timetta),
biling (Averrhoa bilimbi), and almond (Terminalia catappa), with bananas, oranges,
pomegranates (Punica granatum), rose apple (Jambosa vulgaris) shaddocks (Citrus decu-
mana)) custard-apple (Anona squamosa), guava (Psidium pyri/erum), and pine-apple.
The areka palm (Areca catechu) is rare, necessitating the importation of the nut, on
which the Islanders set great store for mastification with the leaves of the betel-creeper
(Chavica betle, Miq.)
Among esculent vegetables cultivated are chillies, pumpkins, brinjals (Solatium
melongena), and several yams, notably a large bulbous root, " round and large as the two
lists," in shape and appearance much resembling an ordinary potato, called kittala
(? S. hiritala, Dioscorea oppositifolia) , which, after being grated down and steeped in
water for some time, is dried, and forms a very palatable flour, t " The castor-oil plant
(Ricinus communis) is very common, and appears to be indigenous, but the seed is not
collected either for domestic use or exportation." A little cotton (M. kafa y S. kapu,
Gossypium Indicum) is grown, chiefly in Miladummadulu Atol.
Rice will not thrive, but two kinds of millet are raised on the Southern Atols—
Setaria Italica (M. urd, S. tana hdl) and Panicum miliaceum (M. kudibai, S. meneri) 7 t and
some nacheri or kurakkan (Cynosurus corocanus, M. bimbi) at the North of the group.
Pyrard says the Islanders are passionately fond of flowers, which bloom perennially
in great variety, using them commonly as chaplets, garlands, &c. He particularises
the innapa [hind-fai] — used as in Persia for dyeing the hands, feet, and nails red — the
onnimaus [uni-md], a white sweet-scented flower, that falls after twenty-four hours, and
the iroudemaus \irude-md'], the suriya-kdntd or ' sun-flower' of the Sinhalese. Roses
(M.Jini-fen-md) are not unknown at H&16, but are cultivated with difficulty.
Zoology.
Animals.
ZOOLOGY.§
The zoology of the Islands is only redeemed from complete insignificance by a fair
show of sea-birds, terns, gulls, &c. (all known species), and an extensive ichthyology, yet
unworked.
Domestic animals are everywhere scarce. Except a few cattle kept for the use of the
Sultan at M&16, the only ruminant reared is the goat.|| Cats are not common, and the
dog and pig, as unclean animals, are naturally absent.1T The mongoose (JA.mugarhi;
Herpestes griseus) is rare.
* See Cooper, " Coral Lands," Vol IL, pp. 220-37, London, 1880.
f Trans. Bom, Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 80. Pyrard, itelpoul. Ibn. Bat, Tome IV.
} " All the Maldjve Islands are destitute of grain, except that in the Province of Souweid [Sutxidiv*]
there is a cereal like the anly which is brought thence to Mahal."— Gray, quoting Ibn Bat., Tome IV., 112.
§ Note (2).
|| Uorses have been rarely imported into the Islands, and are retained for the exclusive use of the
Sovereign. Ibn Batiita (A. D. 1344) scandalised the natives by venturing, even as Kazi, to ride one of the
only two — a stallion and a mare — then kept in the Royal stables. Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar obtained a horse
from Ceylon in 1724 (D. R. Miscell.), and more than a century later (A.D. 1840) Ahmad Didi induced the
Ceylon Government to present his son with a horse, saddle and bridle. In November, 1879, there were
but two horses at M&16, «• wretched wry-legged weeds, not fit to ride,*' and apparently, with a caged leo-
pard, &c, merely forming a motley menagerie.
^f De chiens il n'y en a point, et dauantage ils opt en horreur. Pendant que j'y estois lea Portugais do
Cochin en enuoyerent deux au Roy par rarete\ qui les fit incontinent noyer. — Pyrard, p. 88.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
85
The " flying-fox" (M. vdvuld, Pteropus Edwardsii) is very plentiful, and only second
in destructiveness to tlfe cocoanut-rat (M. bodu midd, Mus ru/escens.) As in the Lakka-
dives, these rats are a source of great annoyance and loss to the natives. " Living up in
the crowns of the cocoanut-palms they incontinently drop the nuts on the heads of
passers by and otherwise seriously diminish the outturn of the trees,"* by eating into the
nut, or by drinking the toddy. Minor pests are ants and mosquitoes.f To escape the
ravages of the former, granaries have to be built on piles some distance into the lagoons. J
With the exception of the ubiquitous scavenger crow— nowhere more persistently
obtrusive than at the Maldives— and the half-wild domestic fowl, the only land bird is the .
Indian koil, Eudyamys konorata (M. kalu and didi kovili.) Pigeons and parrots are
occasionally met with, but are migratory.
Of the ordinary sea-birds, turnstones (Strepsilas interpres), noddies (Anaus stolidus),
and terns (Sterninae) are numberless, and herons (Ardeidae) very common in the
shallows. A variety of teal come over from the continent in large flocks at certain
season 8. §
Lizards, " blood-suckers" and geckoos, frequent gardens and houses, as on the coast,
but noxious reptiles are confined to the sea. The ' water-serpents,' Hydrophis Spiralis
(il.fen-harufd) and Pelamis bicolor (M. mdridd) are much dreaded by the natives. The
only land snake known is the harmless Lycodon aulicus (M. nannagati).
These Islands would seem to be a special habitat of the turtle ; from the largest
—the logger-head (M. musimbi 7 Couanea olivacea) — or veld, the shell of which is sometimes
of sufficient size to roof a hovel, and accommodate ten or more persons seated || — to
the smaller edible (M. kakabu, Chelonia virgata;)^ and hawksbill turtle (Caretta
imbricata), which supplies the tortoise-shell of commerce. Many small islands were
entirely covered by them formerly, and the supply has always exceeded the greatest
demand. " They commonly take turtle while it is floating at the surface, and also when
it lands."** On Sultan's Island the small fresh-water tortoise (M. kanza kaAabu, Emys
trijuga) is found in tanks.
It has been claimed for the Maldives that no place in the world can vie with
them in the abundance and diversity of the fish caught in the encircling seas. ft
Within the Atol lagoons coral-fish of every hue may be descried. The biche-de-mer
( Holothurion) is found, but the collection of this sea-slug does not form an industry as
in the Polynesian groups.
The much dreaded shark, large (M. miyaru, the tuberao of the Portuguese) and small
(M. femunu)) is only too plentiful, "The natives catch the largest sharks with a hook.
While the fish remains within the Attol in 20 and 30 fathoms depth of water, they pay
out a long scope of line, and the shark when unable to descend deeper darts onwards
horizontally, dragging the boat after him, but if a large fish is hooked and it dashes
outside of the islands into deep water, they immediately cut the line asunder for fear of
accidents." % X
The sword-fish (M, hibaru, Xiphias gladius) is common, " and sometimes attains
18 feet in length." Pprpoises (M. kd-mas) yield some oiI,Jt and the dried skins of the
larger Rays, when well stretched, still serve to cover drums and tambourines. §§
, THE
MALDIVES.
Productions and
Manufactures.
Animals.
Birds.
Reptiles.
Turtle.
Fish.
* Allan Hume, " Stray Feathers," Vol IV., p. 433. The Lakkadive Islanders organize fortnightly
rat-hunts (hoot) to keep down their number.
f " There was a vast number of mosquitoes or gnats that made the blood run where they stung."
Stephen's Faria-y-Sousa, Vol., HI., Ch. XL, p. 397, of the shipwreck of D. George de Almeyda on the Maldives
in 1631. Cf. Mr. Thomas (Madras Journ. Lit. and Science, 1859-60) of MinakaT.
J Pyrard, p. 87. $ Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1836—8, p. 79.
| So Pyrard (Traxttf, &c, p. 5), and cf. Tennent's Natural History, p. 293.
1 The Maldivians, according to Pyrard, resort to " the cruel expedient" of suspending turtles alive
over fires to obtain their shell. Cf. Tennent, loc. ciL
♦♦ Trans. Bom. Geo. Sec. 1836—8, p. 79. ft Pyrard (Traitte, &c, p, 7.)
X\ Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1836—8, p. 79, §§ Pyrard, loc. ct/., p. 8.
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86
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Pboductions ahd
Mahufactttbbs.
Bonito fishery.
Other
fishing.
modes of
Crustacea.
As fishing is " the most constant exercise" of these Islanders — the bonito fishery in.
particular having mainly supplied them with the means of subsistence for centuries—
Pyrard's detailed description of the various times and modes of fishing adopted at the
Maldives will not be out of place :—
" The fish which are taken in the deep sea about six or seven leagues off the bars of
the Attollons are large and of seven or eight sorts, such as bonitos, albacores, gnilt-
heads, Ac, which are all much of the same taste, and have no more scales than a mackreL
The instruments with which they catch them are a line of a fathom and an half of great
cotton thread tied to a cane, together with a hook that in form resembles the letter A.
The bait is not fastened upon the hook, but thrown about into the sea ; for they drag after
their boat a quantity of small fish like our roaches, which are very numerous among the
banks and sands, and which are preserved alive in purse-nets of cocoa-thread ; and when
they come to the deep sea they cast these little fishes about, and throw in their lincL
Upon which the great fishes perceiving an unwonted quantity of little fish crowd upon them
in shoals, greedily swallow the whitened hook, taking it for one of the little fish. The
fish that swallows the hook falls off as soon as the line is brought into the boat, and so
the line is thrown in again. At this rate they will fill their boat with fish in three or
four hours' time,* and (which is very strange) the boat is all along under sail. The fish
thus taken are all black, from whence they are called cobolly masse [kalu-bili-ma&\ ix., ' the
black fish.'t
" They hj«ve another way of fishing in the night time upon the banks that surround the
Attollons. At every full and every new moon they convey themselves to the banks upon
hurdles [or rafts, kadu-fati], and the fishing lasts three days every time. 'Tis performed
by lines of hard coarse cotton thread, some of which are fifty or sixty fathom long, and are
blackened over with the bark of a tree that serves instead of pitch, in order to preserve it
from corruption. At the end of this line they have a hook with a bait fastened upon it,
after the same manner as is usual among us. By this means they catch a prodigious
quantity of large red fish, such as I never saw elsewhere, which eats most deliciously and
is by them called the King of the Sea. In fine, they have such plenty of several sorts of
fish, and different ways of taking them unknown to us, that 'tis impossible to distinguish
them ; for, besides the lines abovementioned, they have all sorts of nets of cotton, twine,
wheels and other instruments for fishing. Upon the flats near the shore they catch small
fish like pilchards with casting nets.
" At the two equinoxes they have a general fishing, which is very remarkable. At
these two periods of the year, as the tides flow beyond their wonted bounds, so they ebb
more than usual and discover several rocks and flats, which at other times continue under
water. Upon this occasion the Maldivians pitch upon several dry corners, which they
encompass with stones raised like a wall to a great height, being forty paces in circum-
ference, with a door or entrance left that is three paces wide. This done, thirty or forty
of them stretch out, all round the flats, a large wide circle of the great cocoa cords at each
fathom of which they tie a piece of cocoa shell dried, and that supplies the place of cork,
making the line float. Now the fish inclosed within the circle are so scared with the
shadow of the floating line as if it had a net underneath it, that instead of making their
escape by swimming, they fly from it, and by the gradual contraction of the line are
brought into the inclosure, the entry of which is thereupon stopped with all expedition
with faggots of the boughs and leaves of cocoa compacted together of the bigness of a
man ; after all the sea runs out and leaves the fish on the dry land. This fishery, which
continues fifteen days together, produces commonly ten or twelve thousand fish."J
Crustacea are widely represented, including most species of cray-fish from the larger
Palinuriy and crabs — Painted, Hermits, Paddlers, Occypodes, &c. — in numbers sufficient
to " cover whole islands."
♦ " The quantity thus taken in a day by one boat sometimes amounts to 1,000" (Trans. Bom, Geo.
Soc, 1876—8, p. 79) ; 600 or 700 is considered a fair take.
t See Note (3) on « Fish-curing at the Maldives.' J Pyrard, quoted in Harris, Vol. L, pp. 71), 712.
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SE8SI0NAL PAPERS, 1881.
87
Mr. Allan Hume found the Lakkadivee "a perfect paradise for crabs/ 9 none new, but
in variety astounding. " There were massive built, sturdy, purple chocolate rascals
(Eriplia serabicula and levimana) that ensconced themselves in holes of rocks in
which they fitted to such a nicety that it was most difficult to dislodge them. Small
long-legged silvery fellows (Occypode cordimtma) that scampered along the land at the
rate of ten miles an hour, and just when you thought you had them, vanished into a hole.
Then there were some strange enormous-clawed, cream-coloured, and grey-mottled, knobby
fellows, grubbing about in shallow water (Calappa tuberculata) which, when they opened
out their huge arms, seemed to be dividing their bodies into three parts. Then, under
every stone we turned, were dumpy brownish-red individuals, with black tips to very stout
claws (Leptodius sanguineus), the hardest biters of the lot Hundreds of orange-red or
Hermit crabs (Cenobita Olivieri) lurked under branches of all the low-growing littoral
shrubs. Of course, the variegated Grapsi swarmed in myriads on every part of the reef,
and on the coral blocks at the outermost face of the island.*'*
Throughout these groups Mollusoa abound in rich profusion. " The shallows were
full of shells —huge massive Cones, enormous Tiger-claw shells (Pteroceras Iambi*) with
their beautiful wide-spreading glossy pink lips : cowries of many species, amongst them
some very large tiger shells (Cyprea tigris), deep-red King Conks (Cassis rufa), Olives
Cerithium, Murex, Mitra, Nassa } Jiatica, Nerita, TrocAus, Volvorina*
" The sea beach was strewed with large bunches of a delicate snow-white pointed
coraline ( Isis Aippuris), that looked as if it would have formed an appropriate moss for
the Arctic regions. 1 *
The small money cowry (M. boli, Cypraea vumeta) is found in myriads at the M&ldives.
Twice a month, when the tides suit, men and women wade into the sea waist deep
and detach them from the stones under which they cling, f One man will sometimes
gather as many as 12,000 in a day. The shells are then buried until all traces of
putrefaction have disappeared ; after which they are generally put up for the market
in three-cornered bundles of cocoanut leaf-plat known as kottas, weighing 25 lbs. each.
Two minor products, obtained by the Islanders from the sea, require notice. These
are ambergris (M. goma, m&vaAaru), and the so-called ' sea-cocoanut' (M. t&va-kdrki,
Lodoicea SeycAellarum) — rated at so high a value in the estimation of the MAldive
Sultans as to be retained as part of their royalties.
Ambergris— the kind known to the natives of the continent and "Ceylon as min or
' fish' amber — was formerly found in large quantities, and occasionally exported.
The curious double-cocoanut, now proved to be confined to the Seychelles, but long
believed to grow beneath the sea near these Islands, and hence ealled Coco~de-mer or Coco
des Maldives, is rarely washed ashore at the present day.
Both these casual products have ever been held in the greatest request by natives
throughout the East on account of their real, or supposed, valuable medicinal properties.^
,THE
MALDIVES.
Productions and
Mahufactubbs.
Molluscs.
Cowries.
Ambergris and
Sea-cocoanut.
MANUFACTURES.
The chief mannfactnres in which the Maldivians display much skill, and have attained
considerable success, are those of coir, mats, and cloth.
The coir (M. ronu) of these Islands, *s that of the Lakkadives, has been noted for
centuries for its light colour, fineness, and comparative strength, as contrasted with
Ceylon and Indian coir, and fetches a much higher price in the market. The Portuguese
drew most of the rope required for their fleets in Indian seas from the MAldives. The
best quality is made in Tiladummati Atol.
Manufactures.
Coir.
* Stray Feathers, Vol. IV., pp. 435-6. " From our cruise we brought back over 100 species of uni-
Talres, of which at least 12 were new ; and a still large number, I think, of bivalves."
f The practice of collecting cowries, by placing cocoanut boughs in the sea, as described in the Travels
of the Two Muhammadans, and later by Barros (Asia, Dec. IIL, Liv. IIL, Cap. IV., p. 312), and Captain
A. Hamilton, Account of the East Indies, 1727, (Pinkerton, Vol. 8, p. 389), would seem to be obsolete.
% Note (4).
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, THE
MALDIVES.
Productions and
Manufactures.
Mats.
Cloth.
Lacquer and fancy
metal work.
Scientific instru-
ments,
Architecture.
Stone carviog.
88 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
The well-known M&ldive mats [M. tudu kuna] are made only in SuvAdiva (Huvadii)
Atol, from a rush (M. kdu) which thrives best there. In delicacy of pattern, in happy
combination of the only three colours adopted — black, yellow-brown and white — and in
permanency of dye, these fine mats surpass anything in the same line the world over, and
have justly obtained unqualified commendation. The best quality are worked up on Gaddti
Island, the ordinary mats at Havara-Tinadti, and a small kind on Gemand-furhi.
Two or three qualities of cotton cloth are woven, chiefly in Mdjosmadulu (Eda-
furhi island), Addfi, and Suv&diva Atols, though occasionally made elsewhere for private
use.
A peculiarity in this article consists in the uniform tasteful colouring of the waist and
head cloths, sometimes plain red, or blue edged with red an inch wide, but more commonly
of a rich chocolate colour relieved by a black stripe between two of white on either side,
and finished at the ends by a narrow yellow silk border and a neat fringe.
The dyes employed are excellent, particularly the red and chocolate, which are
extracted from a root (M. ahi, Morinda citrifolia.) The black dye is obtained by boiling
gall-nuts and rusty iron together in cocoanut water.
The price of cloths of native manufacture is much higher than that of the various
coloured ones imported from India, in consequence of the demand induced by all persons
being expected on public occasions to wear the former.
The natives also spin a large quantity of foreign cotton. " The spinning-machine
(M. tatun) is simply a large and small-wheel of light frame work."
In painting fancy articles, such as favourite boats, lances, wooden dishes (M. kurandi),
axe-handles, &c., they have reached a degree of perfection both in brilliancy and gradation
of colour and beauty of design, which it would be difficult to surpass, throwing in the
shade the by no means contemptible efforts of the Eandyans in similar lacquer work. The
best specimens are procurable at Tul&dti in M&losmadulu Atol.
The art of working in metals, though still imperfectly understood, needs but
developing.
As it is, ordinary Mdldive waist-knives (M. vali) chastely inlaid with silver and mother-
of-pearl, leave nothing to be desired in portability and serviceableness, whilst for shape
and handsome finish the larger silver-mounted knife-dagger with ivory handle (1/L.jiyoAi,)
worn exclusively by grandees and soldiers, is unique.
Knife-handles are carved from kuradi wood, black coral (M. endiri) and whales*
teeth (M. bodu-mas da%) ; and some small cleverly-designed betel boxes are fashioned in
brass.
Jewellers (M. aikan-kura mihun) are now to be found on most Atols, but were
formerly limited to two islands in Nilandu Atol— Ribudu and Huludali — whence they
made their rounds periodically to the other Atols, taking their tools, Ac, with them,
and remaining at each island as long as they got employment.
Other artizans still follow this practice of visiting Atols "where there are no
workmen in the same line."*
Among ingenious— if to European notions crude and antiquated— instruments, con-
structed on scientific principles hardly to be expected of a people so cut off from the world,
the quadrant (M. digu-fila), astrolabe (M. r6-fila) and bellows (M. giruba), merit special
praise.
There is little, if any, attempt at ornamental architecture discoverable on the group.
The Mosques, even at M&16, are poor, cadjan-roofed edifices ; nor does the Sultan's palace
redeem the general mediocrity.
In the art of carving on stone, however, whether in intaglio or basso-relievo, the
MAldivians exhibit skill of a high order. Nearly two centuries back the excellence of
their chiselling called forth deserved eulogy. "At the island of Hammandou, which lies
* In Pyrard's time, " each different trade was confined to a distinct cluster of islands, as the weavers in
one, the goldsmiths in another, the locksmiths, mat-makers, potters, turners, joiners, on other several
clusters."— Pyrard, p, 86, quoted in Asiatic Annual Register, 1802,
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881, 89
in 7°," says Captain Alexander Hamilton, " I saw carving on some tombstones, as
ingeniously cut with a variety of figures as ever I saw in Europe or Asia."*
M&ldive sailing boats are remarkably well-built. The trading vessels, indeed —
furedde (' foreign') odi— 100 to 200 tons burthen, which venture as far as Calcutta, " from
their build and rig, are totally unfit to work to windward, or to make moderate progress,
unless the wind is even abaft the beam ;" but smaller trading boats [M. badu or Oludti
and datum odi] of about 50 tons are very fair sailers, with a fine entrance and good
bearings ; the smaller fishing boats [M. mas odi], in particular — often not exceeding 2£
to 3 tons burthen — have superior swift sailing qualities.
The boats are generally sewn together, but few nails being used, and have a single
mast and square sail of matted work. " Small sails of cloth are occasionally set on a
temporary light mast or hoisted on a shifting back-stay taken to the taffrail."t
From stern to stern these boats are built and equipped with materials furnished by
the cocoanut palm, and not unfrequently provisioned and laden with products from the
same tree.J
" In going from island to island within the Atols the natives often use rafts [M. kadu-
futi]."
/THE
MALDIVES.
Productions ahd
Manufactures.
Maldive boats.
NOTES.
(1)
Flora, of the Maldives. — No regular botanical exploration of these Islands has been, as far
as is known, yet carried out. There is, however, every reason to believe that a close examination of
the flora will prove it to be similar in nearly all respects to that of the Lakkadive group, already
dealt with by the late Mr. Hall (Report, November, 1871)§, and casually by Mr, Allan Hume
(Stray Feathers, Vol IV., Ib76).
Mr. Hume writes : —
" Two large shrubs are very abundant and are common to the shores of India, Ceylon, the
Archipelago, Australia, and South Sea Islands. Theone a Scaevola (8. Konigii, Vahl.^ with masses
of large glossy apple-green somewhat fleshy leaves surrounding irregular panicles of white flowers,
the other, a great coarse wild heliotrope (Tournefortia argentea, L.) with an infinite number of
close-set whorl 8 of oval leaves, with an universal glaucous blue tint Of course the sandy shores,
as elsewhere in all tropical countries, were covered by the bright green-leaved, purplish-lilac
flowered, trailing sand convolvulus (L. Pes-capra), and inside this were everywhere huge patches
of that remarkable rigid-leaved grass ( Spinifex squarrosus) peculiar to the shores of India,
which is often called the sea-pink [? M. bilin hut] ; not that it is anything of the kind, but only
that its densely crowded masses of stiff glaucous blue leaves remind one irresistibly at a short dis-
tance of a bed of pink plants after they have done flowering. A large sedge (Cyperus arenarius,
Retz.) grew here and there in profusion, and masses of a beautiful white moon creeper ( Calonyction
comospermum, Bojer) were in places densely draped over clumps of the large bushes already
mentioned, converting them into an impenetrable thicket. Everywhere the shore Quassia ( Suriana
marilima, L.), common on all tropical coasts, a stunted woody shrub, with multitudes of tiny leaves,
occupied the external and most exposed positions.
Natet.
Flora of the Mil-
dives.
* Pinkerton, Vol. 8, p. 390. f Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1886—8, p. 82.
J " Their hulls, masts, sails, rigging, anchors, cables, provisions, and firing are all from this useful tree.
It also affords them oil for their kitchen and lamps, sugar and candied sweetmeats, and pretty strong cloth'*
«!— (Captain A. Hamilton, Pinkerton, Vol. &., p. 388) — a statement almost literally true at this day.
"The Ambassador informed me that the same process adopted in Ceylon for propagating trees by
annular incision obtained at the Maldives for increasing the bulk of cocoanut trees intended for boat*
building purposes. Hence, perhaps, the superiority of their cocoanut wood for building vessels over that
of Ceylon, which, unless it be over fifty years old at least, is scarcely fit for anything except fuel, fences and
aqueducts.*'— (Bennett, Ceylon, Ac, p. 353.)
§ Unfortunately not available in Ceylon.
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, THE
Pw>M7onomi and
MAWVVACYUfttt.
» SB8BI0NAL PAPERS, 1881.
"The only other plants on the island [Bitra Par} were a sort of dandelion (Microrhynchus
sarmentosus, D. C), a miserable everlasting (Ackyranthes bidentaia, Blume) infamous for the
redkless prodigality with which it expends its seed on all passing legs, another covered with a little
white woolly caterpillar-like inflorescence (Aerva lanaia, Juss.), and a tropically-universally diffused
nyctago (Boerhavia diffusa, L.).
" This completes the scanty flora of the island — all plants of the commonest description and the
widest distribution."
Of Cardamum (Kadamat) Island. — "The common southern milk plant (Calotropis gig ant ea)
was noticed here for the first time [M. ruva\. There were also mallow-worts, the small trailing
Sida humilis, (Mull) , and the Abutilon Indicum, (G. Don) ; quantities of wild indigo— whole fields
of it, if I may use the expression— only broken by patches of a scarlet-flowered ixora (L bandhuca,
Roxb.), large clumps of a broad-leaved shrub, not unlike the common dak (Butea frondosa), for
which I think previous visitors have mistaken it, but which is really Guettarda speciosa, L.
" A great part of the jungle is composed of a dwarf tree, a verbena (Premna integrifolia, L.)
closely allied, though very different in appearance, to the gigantic Teak. A tall, fine, loose-flowering
grass (Apluda aristata, L.) fills all the outskirts of the jungle. A few other insignificant herbs
(Wedelia biftora, D. C, and Euphorbia pilulifera, L.), complete the list of wild plants which we
first met with here, and to which have to be added almost all those found on Bitra-Par and
Kiltan."
Amini resembles M&16 in possessing a goodly number and variety of fruit trees. " Here there
are some 700 bread-fruit trees, numbers of lime bushes, a good number of betel-nut palms, plantains
and pomegranates. Castor-oil plants, papaya [M. falo\ and horse-raddish [M. muragd'] trees are
common. I saw also several banyan, some tamarind, some aonla (Embica officinalis), and a
number of poon [M. duburi] trees (Calophyllum inophyllum, L.), so valuable for masts and
cross-pieces of small vessels, like those in use in these Islands. A good many vegetables are also
grown here — yams, sweet-potatoes, arooees (Collocasia antiquorum) and others.
" With the comparatively large trade of this island, it is not surprising that many more wild
plants are found here than in the other islands. We procured every species here that I have already
enumerated (except the sedge found on Bitra-Par), and, besides, saw many plants of the Datura or
Stramonium [M. kalu oreni], of the winter cherry (Physalis Peruviana, L.), of a large Cowitch
with bunches of deep blackish-purple flowers (Mucuma capitata, W. and A.) looking like Hamburgh
grapes, of the lovely blue-flowered creeper so common in Indian gardens — (Clitorea ternatea), of
two yellow-blossomed Acanthads (Barleria prionitis L., and ciliata, Roxb.), and many other incon-
spicuous herbs, including the broad-leaved, jointed (Panicum composilum, L.)> and common
three-toed ( Dactylocleniurn JEgyptiacum, Weld) grass."
At Bingaroo the undergrowth was also very dense. "Enormous patches of a great sedge
(C. pallidas, Heyne) common in Burmah, the Malay Peninsula, and Borneo, and now in full
flower, were very conspicuous. We observed most of the plants already recorded, but they grow
here with a luxuriance which contrasted strongly with the generally-stunted growth of the same
species on Bitra-Par. The rosemary-like shore Quassia (Suriana maritima, L.) was here in great
densely-packed bushes, dotted with small orange-yellow flowers. Interiorly the place was an
almost impenetrable thicket, full of grass of many species not obtained elsewhere, Panicum verticil"
latum, L. — [Cynodon dactylonT\ — a species of Hemarthria, Morinda bracteata (Roxb,), and
others not in flower and not identifiable.
" Masses of Casalpinia bonducella, Flem., with its all-pervading sharp double recurved thorns,
recalling the " Bide-a-wee" thickets of the Cape, in many places barred all progress.**
To which should be added the following plants verified by Dr. King : — Cleome viscosa, L. ;
Cardiospemum Halicacabum, L. ; Crotolaria verucosa, L. ; Vernonia cinerea, Less ; [M.
valikofd] ; A g era turn conyzoides, L. ; Plumbago Zeylonica, L. ; Tylophora asthmatica, W. and
A. ; Peristrophe bicalyculatd, Nees ; Rungia pectinata, Nees ; Leucas aspera, Spreng ; Euphorbia
atolo, Forst ? Phyllanthus Madraspaten*is> Miiil : and from the Maldives, identited by Mr.
W. Ferguson, F.L.S., Gloriosa superba [M. vihala godi or vxyula tdri] ; Cassia sophera [M.
digu Hydra or tSra] ; C. auriculata [M. rana* urd] ; Adenanthera pavonica ; and the 'four
o'clock' sendrikka, Mirabilis jalappa. [M. asaru md\
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1861.
91
(8)
The general' nature and extent of Mild man ornithology may be gathered from the list of bird*
five and thirty varieties in all—- observed by Mr. Allan Home during his cruise among the
Lakkadives in 1874.— (" Stray Feathers," Vol. 4, pp. 460-83.)
Birds.
THJE
MALDIVB8.
Pbodvckohs aw o
MAlfUFACTUUB.
Notes.
English
Classical.
MrfHir©,
The Common Peregrine
Falco peregrinus, Gmel.
:..
_
The Kestrel
Cerchneis alaudarius, Briss.
...
—
Cuncuma leueogaster, GmeL
...
—
The Indian Pariah Kite
Milvus govinda, Sykes.
• ••
—
The Black-winged Kite
Elanus melanopterus, DaucL
• •e
—
Indian Eoil
Eudynamis honorata, L.
...
Kalu kovili, Didi kov
The White-eyed Tit
Zosterops palpebrosus, Tern.
• ••
The Common Crow
Corvus splendent, Vieili.
...
Kalu.
Asiatic Golden Plover
Charadrius fulvus, GmeL
• ••
—
The Large Sand Plover
JEgialiHs Geoffroyi, Wagler.
...
—
The Mongolian Sand Plover...
JEgialiHs Mongolians, PalL
...
—
The Kentish Plover
JEgialitis Cantianus, Lath.
...
—
The Turnstone
Strepsilas interpres, L.
...
Rappa, ratajoK
The Crab Plover
Dromas ardeola, Payk.
...
Toravd.
The Whimbrel
Numenius pheopus, L.
...
Buftiibu.
The Eastern Curlew
Numenius lineatus, Cuv,
...
—
Tringa crassirostris, Tern. andSchl...
—
The Sanderling
Calidis arenaria, L.
• ••
—
The Common Sand-piper
Tringoides hypoleueos, L.
...
Iloli.
The Green Shank
Totanus canescens, GmeL
...
—
The Common Heron
Ardea cinerea, L.
...
Md-kand.
The Bine Here*
Demiegretta gularis, Boee.
.,.
— .
The Indian Pond Heron
Ardeola grayi, Sykes
...
Bdboli.
The Green Bittern
Butorides Javanicus, Horsf.
...
—
Sterna albigena, Licht.
...
—
Sternula minuta, L. (t S. Sinensis,
Kiri duni, villa.
Gmel.;
...
—
The Large Crested Tern
Sterna Bergii, Licht
...
—
Sterna Bengalensis, Less.
• ••
—
The Brown- winged (Panayan)
Tern
Sterna anosthatus, Scop..
...
—
The Sooty Tern
Sterna fuliginosa, Gmel.
•••
Vdri, vdH.
The Common Noddy
Anous stolidus, L.
...
Kalu duni, mdragd.
Phaeton atherius, L. ( t P. Indicus)
—
Sula fiber, L.
...
—
The Yellow-eyed Gannet ...
Sula piscatrix, L. (t S. Cyanops)
...
Kaduhheda.
For the Maldives the following may be also added, provisionally.
The Common Stilt
The Grey Plover
The Caspian Tern
The Lesser Crested Tern
The Antartic Skua
The Indian Whistling Teal
The Common Teal
The Large White Egret
The Little Egret
The Common Night Heron
The Brown Gannet
The Lesser Frigate Bird
Bimantopus candidus, Bonnat
Squatarola Helvetica, L.
Sterna easpia, Pall.
Sterna media, Horsf.
Stercormwd antarcticus, Less*
Dendrocygna Javanica, Horsf.
Anas crecca, L.
Spatula clypeata, L.
Herodius alba, L.
Berodius garzetta, L.
Nycticorax griseus, L.
Sula leucogastra, Bodd.
JPregaia minor, L.
Kokk&gofu
Durhin.
Bodu-gan-duni.
Md-kekUd.
Kukul u m 4 du nu
Ranvan rira.
Hdfatirertu
Kalu vera*
Langan4-d&nL
Iruv&-hudum
K*i>d*rdboUy kalu-rdbolu
Kanifuiu, galahiru
MdrhorA*
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92
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Productions akd
Manufactures.
Notes.
Systematic examination and description of the icthyology and conchology of this archipelago, —
the widest and most promising branch of its zoology, — must be left to future investigators. For
the present, a scanty list of sea fish and shells, identified with more or less certainty, is inserted,
as of possible interest.
Pish.
English.
Classical.
Mddive.
White Shark
Sgualus car char ias 9 h.
Miyaru.
Hammer-head Shark ...
Squalus zygoma, L. •„
Budi miyaru.
Elliot's Shark
Carcharias Elliott
Femunu.
Saw-fish
5. pristis, L.
Farutoli (Chris).
Sword-fish ...
Xiphias gladius, L.
Eibaru (Chris).
Histiophorus immaculatus
Fan-hibaru-
Sear fish
Cybium gvttatum ...
Toli.
Bonito
Scomber Pelamis ...
Kalu-bili-mas*
Leopard mackerel
Cybium interruptun
Kanncli.
Dolphin *.
Coryphaena hippurus, L.
Fiyala.
Tamarind-fish
Lates calcarifer
Falolu.
Spotted Sea-Perch
Serranus guttatus ...
f Kalu-bodu.
Block's Sea-Perch
Priacanthus Bloc kit
Bereli.
Humped Wrasse
Cheilinus undulatus
Md-kibalu-mas.
Russell's Parrot- Wrasse
Pseudoscarus rivulatus
Olu-mas.
Long-nosed Sea Beam
Lothrinus rostratus
Failu.
The Rangoo
Lutianus (g.)
Rdveri, akerd.
Coffer-fish ...
Ostracion (g.)
Gon, gonu.
Porcupine-fish
Dioclon hystrix
Karikolu (Chris).
Globe-fish
Tetrodon (g.)
F6fi.
Surgeon-fish
Naseus unicornis ...
Tubd, tubi.
Mangoe-fish
Polynemus plebeius
Kila-mas.
Flying-fish ...
Exocoetus evolans ...
Fulagi, hulun-mahd*
Muraena (g.)
Yen.
Shells.
Classical.
fialdive.
Nautilus Pompilius, L.
Nai-boli.
Cassis, L.
Fen-kakkd-boli.
Cassis cornutus, L....
Kuda-kokkd-boli.
Cassida rufa, L. ...
Rabboli.
Terebra maculata f L.
—
Conus aulicvs, L. ...
—
C. Mallaccanus
—
C. bttulinus, L
—
Do Hum perdrix
Badu-kokkd.
Melo Indicus
Kokhd.
diva, (g.)
Digu-boli.
TurrUella duplicata
Fuheheri.
Ampularia ...
Finihaki.
Neritina dubia
Haduwarigold.
Cyprcea reticulata* Martyn
C. mauritiana, L. ...
Bodu-boU.
C. lynx, L.
—
C. moneta, L.
—
C talpa, L. ... ..•
—
C. carneola; L. ...
—
Ccaurica,Jj.
—
C helvola, L. ....
—
C. inierrupta,GThj
— ' .
C. asellus
KafakibolL
Mazza rapa, (cbank)
Sangi.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881,
(3)
93
Fish-curing at the Maldives.— The fish caught in the seas encircling the Atols of the
Maldive archipelago are classed by the natives broadly into two chief kinds : —
1. Farti mas. This term includes what the Sinhalese call »c§®*d> gal mdlu, and bears the
same literal meaning, viz., 'rock fish'; such are the Sinhalese tambuwd, sildwd, koppard.
But among the Maldivians faru mas would seem to comprehend also the larger kinds, such
as * saw fish' (M. farutoli), ' sword-fish* (M. hibaru), ' sear-fish' (M. toli, S. tdrd) and 4 sharks'
(M. miyaru, S. mdrd.) These fish are of a soft, oily nature, unadapted for curing, only edible
when fresh, and never salted for the foreign market.*
2. The real 'Maldive fish' (M. kalu-bili-mas^ vulgarly komboli or kommala mas, S. umbala
kada) of the Ceylon and Indian markets are chiefly bonito (S. balayd, Scomber Pelamis, L.)
though two or three more species are similarly cured, e.g., M. godd (? S. etawalld), M. kanneli
(? S. kelawalld), M. rdgodi (S rdgoduwd.) The flesh of these fish is tough, dark, and not very
palatable, and— especially kelawalld and balayd — spoken of by the Sinhalese aff giniyam, 'heating.'
At one season of the year a large number of these balayd, or bonitos, are caught off the south-west
coast of this Island, and from the fishery the village of Balapitiya ('the hamlet of the balayd 9 )
on the sea- board, twenty-three miles north of Point-de-Galle, has derived its name.J
The details of the halu-bili-mas curing industry — the staple export of the Islands — are
extremely simple.
After the fish are brought on shore a portion is sold whilst fresh, and the remainder treated as
follows: — The entrails (M. gokoru, S. boku) and the lower part of the belly (M. badu, S. bada-
wata) are extracted, the head and tail cut off and thrown away, the fish split up, and the spine
bone removed. The two slices are then usually divided in one of two ways :—
(i.) If into two pieces (i.e., four pieces in all) they are known generally as Himiti-mas, each
individual piece as gadu, and all four together as make or emmas ('one fish'),
Fig. L
This plan of cutting the bonito is said to have originated in the island of Himiti (Nilandu
Atol), and is followed also by the Islanders of Kojumadulu and Haddumatf Atols.
(ii.) If the two slices are divided into four strips with a transverse cut across the front of
the fish, thus, —
Fig. II.
the pieces have separate names, and are valued differently —
a a the pieces along the back and belly, called gadu mas ;
bb those along the middle of the side, called medu mas ;
c that between the head and the ends of a a b b, called kird mas.
Gadu mas, so called because they are supposed to be the best pieces§ ; medu (S. meda) mas,
because they are from the centre ; kird mas, because these pieces are weighed (M. kiran, S.kiranavd,
* Christopher, however, (J. R. A. &, Vol. VI.) has faru mat 'salted and dried fish.'
f See Jnd. Ant n Vol. VIII., p. 321, "Notes and Queries," where Mr. D. Ferguson, on the authority of
Mudaliyar L. De Zoysa, would set old Pyrard right, by deriving ' cobUy math 9 from the Sinhalese kebili (pi. of
hibeUa) < pieces,' and mas ' fish.' Kafu-MH -» kafu ' black', WW (S. balayd) < bonito.'
% These seas are frequented by Bonitoes or good fishes, which are wholesome food, though the fleeh is dry.
They are of the same figure and bigness as carps, but somewhat thicker. They swim in shoals close together, and
always follow the ships. These also devour a great quantity of flying-fish, which yon find many times undigested in
their bellies."— A Collection of Voyages of the Dutch East-India Company, translated into English (p. 132,
London, 1703).
§ Gadu, holu, affixes employed when speaking of anything connected with the Sultan ; e.g., haX'hefu, * the State
umbrella ;' vedwn~ga4u, the large sweatmeat presented annually to the Ceylon Governor. V. *., p. 80.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Productions and
Manufactures.
Notes.
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94
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
THE
MALDIVES.
Productions and
Manufactures.
Notes.
'to weigh') — not counted — in selling. This is the practice in Mulaku, Felidu, Ari, Male, and, it is
said, all Atols further north.
Bnt in Huvadti and Fua Mulaku Island, and sometimes in Addu Atol, these fish are cut up, as
in Fig III., and called by the name of the respective Atol or Island ;
Fig. III.
a a a a = M. gadu,
b = M . kird or uguru,
and in Ad(Ju Atol as shown in Fig IV.
Fig. IV.
oa = M. gadu
b = M. kird.
The march of civilization has introduced modern weights (cwts. qrs. and lbs.) into the
Maldives, but until recently the different pieces of Maldive fish had a relative value to one another.
Thus : — 4 pieces medu mas = 2 gadu mas (of the same fish) ; 8 gadu mas = 7 pieces Himiti-mas,
— kird mas, as above said, being valued against their weight of gadu mas t &c.
When the fish have been divided into the deshed number of pi tees, these are washed with salt
water, then thrown into a caldron (or chatty) of boiling salt water and allowed to remain for a few
minutes only, to prevent the flesh becoming too soft. It is said to be important that the water
should be boiling from the first. On beiug taken out they are placed on the wattle loft or shelf
(M. mehi y S. messa) above the fire. There they are left three or four days till well blackened and
dried, after which, if necessary, they are exposed to the sun to be finished.
Thus dried they are, as is well known, of the appearance and consistency of blocks of wood.
Fish-curing is carried on at the Maldives all the year round, but chiefly in the dry season
from January to July. The same process obtains throughout the group, and it is worthy of note
that it has remained unchanged since Pyrard's day (a.d. 1602 — 1607.) " The fish," says he,
u which is caught in this manner, is called in their language by the general term 'cobolly masse*
because they are all black. Tiiey cook them in salt water, and then dry them by the fire on clayes
so thoroughly that when dry they keep for a very long time. It is in this commodity they carry
on so extensive a traffic, not only among themselves, but they even supply the rest of India, where
this article is in great request." (p. 138). And again (p. 141) : " The fish which are found on the
banks or lagoons of the Atols are called in the Maldive language * phare masse* [M. faru mas,~\
that is to say, 'rock fish' ; because * phare'* is a 'bank' or ' shelf of rock,' ' masse 9 is 'fish.' The
other kind which is caught in the high (open) sea is called, as I have already said, ' combolly masse,
that is to say * black fish.' It is in this that they have so large a trade, and with which they
supply all the coasts of the Continent. It is cooked in salt water and dried, for it is not otherwise
salted ; although sometimes they salt some of it, yet it remains always in the brinef until wanted.
But it is not this that they export or send away. As there is no salt made at the Maldives, that
of which they make use comes from the coast of Malabar, and it would not suffice for so large a
quantity of fish as is daily caught for the supply of the inhabitants as well as for trade. For, in
truth, I believe there is no place throughout India, nor elsewhere, where the fishery is richer and
more plentiful."
Two and-a-half centuries earlier Ibn Batuta (A. D. 1344) also wrote of :his fishery : — " The
food of the natives consists of a fish like the lyroun, which they call koulb al mas. Its flesh is
red ; it has no grease, but its smell resembles that of mutton. When caught at the fishery, each
* S. para, in ©^Jod, galpara * reef.'
t Le.> "the fish blood" and " salt fish" occasionally imported into Ceylon, called by the Mtidivians rhv-hakuru
(lit. ' fish sugar*.) This consists of the broth in which the bonito has been boiled, to which old scraps are added from
time to time, the whole after two or three days being again boiled down to a gelatinous syrup containing more solid
lumps.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 95
fish is cut up into four pieces, and then slightly cooked. It is then placed in baskets of coco
leaves and suspended in the smoke. It is eaten when perfectly dry. From this country it is
exported to India, China, and Yaman. It is called koulb al mas" (Gray, quoting Voyages cTIbn
Batouiahy Tome IV„ 112).
(4)
Ambergris. — "After having been long doubted, scientific opinion seems to have come back
to the opinion that ambergris is an excretion from the whale. * Ambergris is a morbid secretion in
the intestines of the cachalot, deriving its origin either from the stomach or biliary ducts ; and
allied in its nature to gall-stones, whilst the masses found floating on the sea are those that
have been voided by the whale, or liberated from the dead animal by the process of putrefaction.
(Bennett, "Whaling Voyage Round the Globe/' 1840, II., 826)."*
" It has a fragrant and peculiar odour when heated or rubbed ; and when good it is solid,
opaque, of a bright grey colour, which is darkest externally, and intermixed with yellow or
reddish streaks. It is used in perfumery chiefly. Localities; Madagascar, Surinam, Java,
Zanzibar, and the Arabian Gulf." f
The true origin of this substance much exercised the minds of older writers.
Arab travellers seem to have considered it a plant, or mushroom, produced at the bottom of
the sea, whence it was detached and washed ashore by the violence of the waves. (Travels of the
Two Muhammadans.) " The best ambergris," says Mas'udi, "is found on the islands and coasts
of the Sea of Zinj (Eastern Africa) ; it is round, of a pale blue, and sometimes as big as an ostrich
egg These are morsels which have been swallowed by the fish called Aw&l?*
Barbosa, notes of the Maldives : — "There is also a large quantity of ambergris (ambre) in
great pieces, part of which is white, another grey, and a third black ;" adding that the " Moors"
considered it to be the dung of the sea-birds (esterquo datives) which throng the reefs, and that
the white kind (ponambar), was held the most valuable, the grey next, and last the black-coloured
(minambar), which was swallowed and afterwards vomited by whales.}
" As for ambergrise," wrote Tavernier as late as 1670, " there is no person in the world that
knows either what it is, or where, or how it is produced. But the fairest probability is, that
it must be only in the Eastern sea : though some parcels have been found upon the coast of
England and in some other parts of Europe. The greatest quantity is found upon the coast of
Melinda, especially in the mouths of a river calPd Rio de Sena. The Governor of Mozambique
gets in the three years of his Government above 300,000 pardos of ambergrise, every pardo
containing 27 sous of our money. "§
Eaempfer devoted a special section in the Appendix to his " History of Japan"! to ' 80me
observations concerning ambergrease.' " Authors differ widely in their opinions, concerning both
its origin and production, nor do they so much as agree, what kind of substance it properly is.
Some take it to be a bituminous substance, others a sort of earth or clay, others a sea-sponge,
others an excrement of the whale, others the dung of the birds. Many more could be mentioned,
if I did not avoid being tedious. * * * * It is found chiefly in the intestines of
a whale, which is caught frequently upon the Japanese coasts, and is by the natives called Flakfiro,
that is, ( the hundred-fathom fish,' because of the length of ics intestines, which is supposed to equal
that number of fathoms. It is found, as I observed, in the intestines of this whale, mix'd with
chalky limy excrements, almost as hard as stone, and it is from the hardness of these excrements
they conjecture, upon dissecting, whether or no they are like to meet with ambergrease. The
natives have given a very despicable name to this precious commodity, a name, however, becoming
the meanness of its origin for they call it Kusurano-fu, that is, ' the excrement of whales.' %
The ambergrease, as it is torn off by the waves from the bottom of the sea and thrown upon the
coasts, before it is swallowed by the whales, is a deform'd, flat, slimy substance, and withal of a
very disagreeable, ungrateful smell. People that find it thus floating on the surface of the water,
or lying upon the coasts, take several small pieces, squeeze and press them close together into the
, THE
MALDIVES.
Productions and
Manufactures.
Notes.
* Yule, Marco Polo, Vol. It, 342. f Faulkner, Dictionary of Commercial Terms, Bombay, 1856.
t Noticiai para a flistoria et Geographia das Nacoes Ultramarinas, Tom. II., p. 352.
§ TaTernier's " Travels in the East Indies" (English translation, 1678, London), Bk. II„ Pt II., p. 152.
| Kaempfer's " History of Japan" (English translation by J. G. Schenchzar, London , 1726.) Vol. L, pp. 1 1 1-1 J 2 r
IL, Appendix pp. 46-51.
1 Compare M. goma = ? S. ©*5*f®, gtma, l cow-dung.'
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96
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Productions and
Manufactures.
Notes.
form of a round ball, which, as it grows dry, becomes also more solid and weighty. Others mix
and knead it with meal or flour of rice-husks, by which means they not only increase the
quantity, but heighten and better the colour. However, the ambergrease thus adulterated is easily
known, for if you take any quantity and burn it there will remain a coal, proportionable to the
quantity of the stuff mixed with it. It is observM, besides, that the worms get quickly into this
spurious sort of ambergrease. Others adulterate it by mixing it with a certain powder'd rosin of a
very agreeable scent, but this cheat also is easily discovered, for upon burning a piece of it, the
mixture of rosin will evidently appear by the very colour, smell and quality of the smoke. The
Chinese have another way of trying whether it be genuine ; it will dissolve and diffuse equally,
which the adulterated sort doth not. The natives use it no otherwise but as an ingredient of other
well scented spices, in order, as they say, to fix their volatile smell. In the main they value it but
little, and 'tis owing entirely to the Dutch and Chinese, who would buy it up at any rate, that they
have now learnt to prize it. And yet everybody is at liberty to take it up where he finds it and t
sell it as his own property. w *
Large pieces are occasionally obtained. Ta vernier mentions two which weighed respectively
33 lbs. and 42 lbs. ; but Kaempfer knew of a lump found in Japan seas weighing upwards of 100
cattis, or 130 lbs. Dutch weight, and of a yet larger tortoise-shaped piece (to be seen at
Amsterdam), that the King of Tidor sold to the Dutch East India Company in 1693 for 11,000
Rix-dollars, or about £2,000. It weighed 185 lbs. (Dutch).
Sea-Cocoanut. — " There is also a kind of nut, occasionally washed on shore, which is as large
as a man's head, and like two huge melons joined together. They [the Maldivians] call it
Tauarcarri [tdva-kdrht\ y and believe that it is produced by trees growing beneath the sea. The
Portuguese named it Cocos des Maldives : it is of great use in pharmacy and fetches a high price."f
" This fruit being uncommon, its form particular, and its origin unknown, all contributed to
assign to it extraordinary properties and to give rise to fable concerning its existence The
tree which produces the Sea Coco, rising in many parts of the isle upon the borders of the sea, the
greatest part of the fruit falls into the water ; where floating it is carried by the wind and
currents to the Maldivian Isles, the only part of the world where this fruit had been found before
the discovery of the Isle of Praslin [Seychelles], from whence the Europeans called this coco * the
Maldivian Coco/ and the Maldivians Travacarne', that is, 'treasure/ It was afterwards called
' Solomon's Coco/ to give it a name corresponding to the marvellous, which was annexed to its
origin. The tree being unknown that produced it, it was believed to be the produce of a plant
that grew at the bottom of the sea, which came off when it was ripe, and by its lightness floated
on the waves. There was nothing wanting to complete the fable but to ascribe very great and
extraordinary virtues to this fruit, and this was done accordingly. It was given out, and believed,
and is still believed, not only in the Indies, but through all Asia, that the almond of the Sea Coco
has all the properties which we attribute to Theriaca Mithridate, and which perhaps we exaggerate ;
(viz.,) that its outward covering is a certain antidote to all kinds of poison.} The grandees of
Indostan still purchase this fruit at a very high price ; they make cups and shell, which they
adorn with gold and diamonds ; and never drink out of any other, being persuaded that poison,
which they are much afraid of because they often employ it themselves against others, let it
be ever so active, cannot hurt them if their liquor is but purified in these salutary goblets. The
king of the Maldivian Isles avails himself of this general error. His predecessors assumed, and he
reserves to himself, the exclusive right to a fruit, which being carried upon waves, and driven
ashore by the wind, ought to belong to whoever picks it up, but the Sea Coco, when it shall be
found not to be so rare and extraordinary a production, will doubtless soon lose its value and
virtues, and the Maldivian Monarch the tribute, which has been paid him by ignorance and error. §
* Not so at the Maldives, where it was a criminal offence for private individuals to appropriate ambergris.
Car ii appartient an Roy, et nul n* oseroit, le reteoir qu' il n* east le poing conppe'. (Pyrard, p. 163.)
t Pyrard, p. 163.
% Faria-y-Sonsa (English edn. Vol. I., p. 229) says it is " a greater antidote against poison than bezoar stone."
" Here [Colombo, in 1777] is seen likewise a Borassvs or Sea-Cocoa brought from the Maldive Islands, which had
been set in earth, had grown up, and was now in the third year of its growth, having only three leaves. The nut
had lain eight months in the ground before it put forth the first leaf. They take of it [the kernel] half or even
a whole drachm. It is deemed a sovereign remedy against the flax, epilepsy, and apoplexy. The inhabitants of the
Maldives call it Ihvarcare."— Thumberg, " Travels," 3rd ed. Vol. IV., pp. 133, 159. "So much as 4,000 florins were
offered by the Emperor Rodolf IL for a single specimen."— Tennent, quoting Malte Bran, Vol. IV., p. 240.
§ Sonnerat's ^'Voyage to the Spice Islands" (English translation, pp. 2-6, London, 1781.) A description of the
tree and fruit follows. Tennent (Vol. IL, p. 126.) refers to Sir W. Hooker's full account in the Botanical Magazine.
Vol. XIL
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
97
VIL-TRADE AND COMMERCE.
The early export trade of the Maldives consisted in cowries, coir, cocoanuts, and
ambergris, and as regards the first two commodities had become so considerable by the 1 1th
century as to warrant traders of the day dividing the group into ' Cowry Islands' (Dyvah-
Aouzak), and i Coir Islands* (DyvaA-kanbar)*
By the 14th century dried fish and cloth were included amongst the exports.
" Ships export from the Islands the fish of which I have spoken, cocoanuts, fabrics,
the ouiliydn, [M. feliya] and turbans : these last are of cotton. They export also vessels
of copper which are very common there, cowries, and kan6ar ; such is the name of the
fibre which envelopes the cocoanut. The natives make it undergo a preparation in pits
dug near the shore : then they beat it with picks, after which the women work it into
rope. They make of it cord for joining the boards of their ships, and such cordage is
exported to China, India and Yemen ; Kanbar rope is worth more than hemp : with
this cord the (boards of) ships are joined in India and Yemen ; for the Indian sea is full of
rocks, and if a ship joined with iron bolts strikes a rock it is broken up, but when it
is fastened with this cord it has elasticity, and does not break." t
On their appearance in the East the Portuguese found the Mdldives visited by trading
and pilgrim vessels, passing to and fro between Arabia and the Persian Gulf, and the
Malabar coast, Bengal and China. " Moor" merchants virtually ruled the Islands from
Cannanore, exacting tribute of coir and other produce from the native King, and employing
resident sub-agents, who rented the public duties and were invested by the King with
administrative powers in order to enable them to levy their taxes.$
The Portuguese writers enumerate minutely the productions of the group, and dwell on
the brisk exchange carried on there for silver, rice, salt and earthenware which the
Islanders needed. § The native-made cloth of silk and gold— an industry, if not quite
extinct, long since reduced to a minimum— was in special request.
Mildive coir had the chief attraction for the Portuguese ; nor were they slow to force
the then powerful " Moor" Mamale into an annual payment of coir rope for the privilege
of an exclusive monopoly of M&ldive trade as against all other natives of India. A
conflicting contract with the Mdldive Sovereign followed || ; and both- alike were soon
shamelessly violated through the malversation of Portuguese agents (feitors), and
favourites of the Viceroys at Goa permitted to harry the Islanders by private descents,
made nominally on behalf of the King of Portugal .IT
Finally, later in the same century, the terms of the treaty of peace at the conclusion
of the protracted war, (based on the lines of those with every native Prince once
overpowered), gave the Portuguese, besides an annual tribute, the exclusive right of
trade with the Mdldives, and the consequent control over the price of their produce and
manufactures.**
As Portuguese influence waned, the foreign traffic of the Islands expanded with
increased vigour— the result of reaction — developing into no mean proportions.
THF
MALDIVES.
Trade and
Commerce.
Early trade.
14th century.
16th oentury.
* V. *., p. 24. t G rft y> quoting Voyages <T Ibn Bat., Tome IV., 120.
J Barbosa(CoZfccfao&c.,Tom.IL, 352); Barro8,Dec.III., Lib. III., Cap. vii. As late as A.D. 1589 the
Christian ex-King of the Maldives complained to the Portuguese Sovereign that the " Moors** of Cannanore
were absolute masters of the Islands, and appropriated the produce (se queixa que os Mouros de Cananor
*ao sinhores absolute* da quellas Ilhas, e as defructam de tudo o que ellas dao) — Archivo Portuguez Orien-
tal, Fasc. m. Pt. I., 211, (King to D. Duarte de Meneses, Viceroy, dated 22nd February, 1589), Goa, 1861.
§ Correa, Lendas, Tom., I. 341—2 ; Barros, Barbosa, loc cit. | V. #., p. 27.
1f Correa, Lendas, Tom , II., 132. The converted M&ldive Sultan, Don Manuel, seems himself to have
issued at Cochin "Letters Patent'* to various Portuguese adventurers for one or more*voyages to the Islands.—
See Archivo Portuguez Oriental, Fasc. V,, Pt. I., 455-6, for the record of such a privilege granted to Manoel
Silveira d* Arauja, as Capitao mor, in A.D. 1560.
•• V. *., p. 29 ; See Pyrard, Pt. II., p. 131.
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, THE
MALDIVES:
Tbadb and
Commerce.
17th century.
Pyrard's descrip-
tion.
17th and
centuries.
18th
98 SESSIONAL PAPEBS, 1881.
The 17th century was, so to speak, the heyday of M&ldive trade. Pyrard saw it at its
height, and more than a hundred years later, during the reign of the prudent Sultan
Ibrdhfm Iskandar, it showed but faint signs of decay.
" Commerce at the M&ldives," wrote Pyrard in A.D. 1611, " is extensive, and they are
much frequented for purposes of trade. From all quarters may be seen there merchants —
from Malabar, Barcelor, Onor, Bacalor, Cananor, Calecut, Tananor, Cochin, Coilam, Cael,
Guzerat, Cambaye, Surat, and from Chaul ; Arabs, Persians, natives of Bengal, St. ThomS,
Masulipatam, Ceylon and Sumatra, who bring the commodities which are valued and in
demand there, and take away those products in which the Maldives are so rich. First of
all, the cocoanut tree, which grows wild, from which are derived many articles held in
request by foreigners ; to wit, the cordage with which all the vessels of the Indies are
rigged ; then the cocoanut, which is exported in such quantity to Arabia, the Malabar
coast, and all parts of India, that every year more than 100 vessels are loaded with it, as
well as with the oil and the honey [jaggery] of the same tree, and its platted leaves
[cadjan] of which they make sails. But the greatest traffic is in [coir] rope."*
"They vend also little shells, that contain a creature in them of the bigness of the
end of one's little finger, white, very smooth and glittering. * * * *
These go only to Bengal, the inhabitants of which esteem them so much that I have seen
thirty or forty ships laden without any other commodity bound thither ; though in Bengal
they have [gold and silver and] enough of other metals, yet these shells pass there as
money, and the King and noblemen hoard up prodigious quantities of them, accounting
them their treasure. They give twenty measures (coquettes) of rice for a fardel [kotta] of
shells, each fardel containing 12,000,
" They have besides these a sort of tortoise-shell called cambe [kahabu] which is black
and smooth and has many natural figures. It is found nowhere but there and in the
Philippines, and goes off best in Cambaye. Here they also make fine reed-mats and
cloths of cotton and silk. In exchange the merchants export some cotton and silk cloths,
a sort of [toilet] oil, [arecanut, for chewing with betel leaves], iron, steel, pieces of
porcelain, and in short, all the necessaries of life ; yet everything is cheap, because of the
number and frequency of ships. They import all their gold and silver, which they never
send out again, but lay it up among their wives 9 jewels as their chief treasure."f
During the 17th and 18th centuries a considerable trade in dried-fish, cocoanuts,
cowries and coir continued to be carried on, both with the foreign vessels that visited
M&le*, and by the Islanders themselves in the course of annual voyages to Indian and
Ceylon ports in their native craft.
The Dutch, with but a precarious hold on Ceylon and still engaged in the struggle
with the Portuguese for supremacy in the East, yet assayed even in A.D. 1640 the unknown
Mdldive trade, mindful as ever of their commercial interests.}:
Hitherto, and until the demand for cowries induced by the Dutch rendered the export
of these shells to Ceylon profitable, M&ldive boats visiting the Islands loaded up mainly
with dried-fish and cocoanuts. Captain Hamilton§ and Abbe* Baynal|| assert that Achin
(Sumatra) vessels purchased this "comelamask" fish largely for gold dust and benzoin,
the latter being exchanged by the Islanders for coffee at Mocha. The price in the former's
time was as high as £8 per thousand.
By the Dutch the general products of the M&ldives were held beneath notice,
nor were restrictions placed on their free salel ; but they were not slow to gauge the
advantage of a complete control oyer the traffic in cowries. This monopoly they attempted,
with fair success, to establish throughout the latter part of the 17th and much of last
century.
* Pyrard, p. 165. f Pyrard, quoted in Harris Vol. L, p. 715.
J V. #., p. 30. § Pinkerton, Vol. 85, p. 389.
J History of the Settlements and Trade of the Europeans in the East and West Indies (Justamond's
Translation, Vol. 2, p. 83).
If Cf. Dutch Records, Miscellaneous (Diary, October 25th, 1663).
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
99
Some details of the coarse of this trade during the Dutch period of rule in Ceylon
may be supplied.
Governor Ryckloff Van Goens, in his Memoir* of A.D. 1663, commends to his
successor as remunerative the business to be done in Mdldive cowries "and sometimes
large quantities of ambergris."
The annual supply of cowries brought over by native vessels being at times insuffi-
cient to meet the home requirements, the Dutch not unfrequently sent over their own
vessels to M616 to negotiate. As early as 1669 the "Coca toe" was despatched, and
brought back 1,149 kottas (27,576 lbs.). The price then ruling was 1J rds. the kotta.
In 1688 it was 6£ larins, and the Dutch were anxious to establish an exclusive contract
with the Sultan. Governor Laurens Van Pyl wrote :— "The Company is very glad the
Sultan has always entertained friendly feelings towards them ; as regards the commercial
relation, however, between the Company and the Sultan there is room for an agreement
to be entered into."t
Fortunately for the Islanders no such contract seems to have been ever concluded.
Upon each successive Governor was constantly impressed from Batavia the duty of
inciting the Mdldivians to larger supplies of cowries (den Maldiver in den aanbreng van
courts meeren meer te animeeren), whilst the purchase price was stringently fixed at much
below the fair market value.
As a kind of set off, however, against the low rate at which cowries were taken over,
and also with the object of inducing larger importations year by year, the Mdldivians were
permitted to purchase a certain quantity of arecanuts upon favourable terms, as compared
with other vendees, though much above cost price. Thus in 1687 the Mdldive Ambassador
was allowed 15 amunams of arecanuts at 6 J rds. the amunam; in 1704 the price was
reduced to 5£ rds. ; and by 1740 to 5 rds.
The state of the trade with the Islands at the close of the 17th century is described
by Governor Thomas Van Rhee :— " For some years Mfildive vessels have arrived here
(Colombo) and at Galle with dried-fish {eomblemass) and now and then with cowries.
These small shells we have purchased from them, in settlement of the home demand,
for 1£ rds. the kotta of 12,000, or 24 lbs. In exchange they take arecanuts and spices of
small value, paying for Colombo and Galle arecanuts 6£ rds., and for those of Calpentyn
(Kalpitiya) 5 rds. the amunam of 24,000. To encourage them to bring over larger
quantities we are earnestly recommended to court their good will (Haer Edelen Aehtbear
tot Batavia ons ook seer ernstig recommandeeren de Maldives vaerdaers in alles te
carresseeren)"%
The price of cowries, which had been raised from 1$ rds. to 2 rds. the kotta, or 5
stuivers per lb. (1703), remained the same till 1718, but was insufficient to induce
the Mdldivians to face the risks of the sea in transporting them to Ceylon ; for in 1721
Governor Rumpf remonstrated with the Sultan that in spite of the higher price offered by
the Dutch in Ceylon, French ships brought away large quantities of cowries from the
Islands purchased at 1J rds. the kotta. At this time the Netherlands demand was
20,000 kottas, or 480,000 lbs.
The period between 1720 and 1750§ was, perhaps, marked by the briskest trade
between the Dutch and the Islands. To prevent the cowry trade falling into the hands
of other nations, special vessels laden with spices and grain were despatched to M&I6,
sometimes annually.
, TUB
MALDIVES.
TRABB AlfD
Commerce.
Trade in cowries
with the Dutch.
A.D. 1669.
AJ>. 1688.
A.D. 1697.
18th century.
A.D. 1700-1720.
* Memorie voor den E. Hecre Jacob Husiaert, Rood Ext. van India, jrc, dated Colombo, December
26th, 1663.— Valentyn, Oud en Nieuw Oost Indien, 1724-6., p. 183.
f Letter to S. Muhammad, dated December 4th, 1688.
J Memoir for his successor, Gerrit de Heere, dated Colombo, February 25th, 1697.
§ " The Island of Male, according to the latest accounts we have, is in a better condition than ever,
*nd the Dutch carry on there a very considerable commerce, the natives themselves also trading in their
own vessels to Ceylon, where they are well used by the Dutch, and make a very great profit of those little
shells which are called cauris, coris, and by our seamen cowries." — Harris, " Collection of Voyages," 1744,
Vol. I M p. 715. Other European nations usually procured them from the Dutch to be employed in
slave traffic on the Guinea coast.
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THE
MALDIVES.
Trade and
Commerce.
A.D. 1720-1750.
AJ). 1723.
A.D. 1734.
A.D. 1740.
100 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
In 1723 the vessels ' Adam' and 'Africa' visited M41<§, freighted with 70 lasts (1312
maunds) of rice, besides spices, under instructions to bring back from 8,000 to 10,000
kottas of cowries. Vessels were despatched again in 1727, 1728, 1732 and 1734.
" The wholesome dread" of the Dutch would seem to have made a ready market for
their goods at any cost. The Sultan's letter of 1723 (in Portuguese) states that owing
to the sickness of the crew the captain transacted no business, but that the Sultan had
exempted the Dutch vessels from the payment of the usual port dues, and ordered his
people to take the goods at the price demanded, viz.: —
1 amunam arecanuts, for 3J kottas cowries.
f 8 Bengal maunds ) n M , f
1 candy rice \ A . , \ for 4 J kottas.
I 4 parra8 = 1 maund )
2 lbs. cloves for 2 kottas.
2 lbs. nutmeg for 2 kottas.
36£ lbs. sugar for 1 kotta.
Again in 1734 the Sultan writes :—" As for the merchandize, I have taken it to
the best of my power, and the captain has taken back the rest. The pepper I bought
from the company I have sold to the captain of an English brig at a loss of 8 kottas of
cowries on each candy. Ships from Bellapor and Bengal arriving with supplies wait till
August or September : if they cannot sell they take back their goods, or sell on credit
till the ensuing year ; but I have paid in full for all the goods brought by the Dutch
ships, and, as there were no cowries to be had from the Islands (owing to the late
inundation), was forced to borrow the requisite quantity from various merchants.*"
These ventures were not altogether successful. Thus from one trip of the c Colombo*
the Batavia Government complained that no more than/2,970 (about £14) profit resulted,
and that on the 10 lasts of rice shipped no gain was made owing to foreign competition, t
Renewed efforts— apparently fruitless — were made to inveigle the Sultan into a firm
contract for exclusive trade with the Dutch Company (een vast contract om met dien
Sultan handel te dryven met seclusive tan alle ander natien).
It is probable that the Dutch continued to send over their own vessels to the Islands
occasionally during the latter half of this century, but not to the extent they had done in
the reign of Sultan Ibrdhf m, who displayed much tact in simulating peculiar attachment
to the Dutch while steadily encouraging trade with other nations.
"The Mdldive boats," Governor Van Imhoff writes in 1740, "import cowries, which
also form an article of our trade. It is not a profitable business, but also not expensive ;
and, therefore, even as ballast, cowries are worth sending home. I have fixed the price '
this year at 2£ rds. the kotta of 24 lbs. All that the M&ldive Sultan asks in return is to
have 50 amunams of arecanuts at 5 rds. per amunam without paying export duties.
This I have granted ; and he has shown his gratitude by sending us a larger quantity of
cowries this year than the last. The annual demand from home is 400,000 lbs. weight,
and we must therefore encourage the Mfildive merchants to give us exclusively all they
can find. This quantity would sell for / 100,000 (£8,300), but yet if we can send home
Madura cloths the vessels need not be filled up with casks of these shells, which yield so
disproportionate a profit."}
* Sultan's letter in Portuguese, dated May 9th, 1734.
f Possibly defeated by the very outrageousness of the fixed profit required on the several commodities
offered for sale at the Islands, The following is the outward manifest of the « Elisabeth* in 1 727 .-—
100 lbs. mace, per lb.
100 „ nutmeg „
100 „ cloves „
6,000 „ cast-lead „
6,000 „ peper, per bhar (480 lbs.)
200 amuQams, Colombo arecanuts, per amunam
10 lasts (750 parr as) rice, per parra
and Rds. 2,000, cash.
X Memoir, left for the in-coming Governor, W. M. Bruininck, dated March 12, 1 740.— Lee's " Ribeyro,*'
Appen., p. 175.
Purchase
price.
Sale price.
/ 11
3 ...
/ 8
1
8 ...
3
12
6
11 ...
5
2
6 ...
4 3
48
...
121
10
8 6
2 ...
17
5
1
6 ...
1
10 9
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
101
In 1752 each return vessel to the Netherlands was expected to take 500,000 lbs.
(2,000 kottas.)*
The following year permission was received from Batavia to purchase cowries at
1£ rds. instead of 1 rd. the kotta, to which price they had gradually fallen.f
The annual home demand slackened (1764-66) to 150,000, 200,000, or 300,000 lbs-
(6,000 to 12,000 kottas), if needed to fill the lower tier of vessels as ballast. In 1773 it
remained the same. Meanwhile the price was raised (1767) from/3'12 (72 st. =6*. 6d.)
to/4-5 (85 st. = Is. Id.) or even/ 4-10 (90 st. = 8s. 2d.) the kotta.
In 1769, Qovernor Falck refused to accede to the Sultan's request to raise the price
to 2 rds. per kotta on the ground that the Company did not make so much profit on the
trade as formerly .%
A few years later the Dutch were effectually ' hoist with their own petard.'
The Sultan apologised in 1777 for his inability to supply cowries as usual, because the
Geylon price remained so low, whereas English and French vessels purchased them at the
Maldives for Rs. 4 the kotta.§ In spite of the counter assertion by the Governor that
the Batavia and Netherlands Government had made it a fast rule that no change should
be endured except in the last necessity (which did not exist), the Dutch thought it
desirable the next year (1778) to make a reluctant concession of 5 stuivers (le., from 85 to
90) on the kotta, — and this when 12,000 kottas (900,000 lbs.) were selling at Amsterdam
for 7± stuivers the lb., or more than 100 per cent, over cost price !(|
How rapidly the price advanced, now that foreigners had regularly entered the
market, is proved by the fact that in 1795 the Sultan sent over to Ceylon a vessel laden
with oowries to be paid for at the stipulated price of Rs. 3 a kotta.^
The above sketch will suffice to show that the Dutch, with everything originally
in their favour, from the illiberality which characterized their commercial policy, saw a
trade that, judiciously fostered, would have continued to yield them ample profits,
gradually slip through their hands to the enrichment of other nations.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Tbadb and
commbbcb.
A.D. 1752-53.
A.D. 1764-73.
A.D. 1777-8.
A.D. 1795.
Suicidal policy of
the Dutch.
MODERN TRADE, A.D. 1830-80.
The whole of the export and import trade of the Islands is conducted at M616,
•whither the produce of each Atol is brought to be exchanged for that of other groups.
The port charges and duties are moderate, and levied in a very simple manner. A
port due [M. hagu-langa"] of Rs. 40 is payable by every trading vessel, without reference
to the period of her stay. The only cnstoms duty is a 10 per-cenk charge on rice.
Certain presents (M. hadiya), however — sometimes amounting to Es. 200 in value— are
required to be made to the Sultan and officers of Government.
Christopher has specified the port regulations and charges in force in 1835, and there
is reason to believe these have varied but slightly since. " From a large ship one candy
weight of merchandize is exacted in addition to what is demanded for a small brig. The
traders do not, however, take advantage of this custom, because they say a large ship
would not be able to barter her cargo within the season, and that consequently her profits
would scarcely cover the expenses of such delay.
"The hadiya is distributed as follows: — To the Sultan, one candy and one hundred
and thirty-three bamboos of rice (equal to five bags and a-half), and seven red handker-
chiefs, which are carried to his house at seven different periods. After the handkerchiefs
Customs regula-
tions and dues at
Mal6.
* First reckoned by the lb. in 1744, upon instructions from Batavia. The hoffa was also made to equal
25 lbs. about this time.
f Cauris de Maldivo; tegens ander half rd 't cotty, en niet hoger, t* accepteeren. — (D. R. Misc.)
{ Reply, dated January 26th, 1769, to Sultan's letter of October 27th, 1768. Note (1).
§ Sultan's letter, dated October 15th, 1777. Colombo letters, February 9th, 1778, and December 19th,
1778. Abbe* Raynal states that foreign vessels annually took away cargoes of cowries, valued at 7,000 or
8,000 livresy purchased at 6 sous and sold from 12 to 18 sow per lb. in their several capitals, and 85 litres
in Guinea.
B Wilcocke's Stavorinus, Vol. I., p. 852, note. \ Sultan's letter, dated July 13, 1795.
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102
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
,THE
MALDIVES.
Teadb ahd
commbbce.
External trade.
are thus delivered one is returned to the lascars who carried them, to which is added a
quantity of betel. To the officers of Government, the Sultan's relatives, &c, according to
a list which is provided by the Hindeggeree, eleven candies and fifty-three bamboos,
making a total of fifty bags of rice.
"The above presents may be made either in rice, salt, cummin-seed, chillies,
coriander seed, which are taken by measure ; or in dates, catechu, turmeric, and onions,
which are taken by weight; six gull [^aw], or one and a-half pound, of the latter being
considered equal to six bamboos, or twelve seers,. of the former.
"The Emir-el-Bahr is the officer whose duty it is to superintend the division and
distribution of the presents : for his trouble he is entitled to a sixth part of everything
given, which constitutes the principal emolument of his office.
"The presents are sent in small quantities on wooden platters carried by the lascars,
who are required to sing as they go to the different houses. The traders can so arrange as
to select for presents the articles in least demand in the market. This privilege, and the
inferior quality of the articles, render the duties very light. Besides the presents above-
mentioned, forty cotton handkerchiefs are required to be given when they are delivered,
the cheapest of any color being taken without objection. There is a small present of
Es. 5 in a handkerchief required to be sent to the Sultan, after the other presents are
delivered, to obtain permission to barter.
" There is another exaction of a different nature to which traders are subject accord-
ing to the established custom of the place. They are liable on a requisition to supply the
public stores with a certain quantity of rice, at a price fixed by the Hindeggeree, which is
about half the market value. The trader is always paid for such rice in kotos of cowries,
a kota consisting of 12,000, and valued at Rs. 2 each, though they can be purchased in
the bazaar for Rs. 1 ; but this is made up by the charges for godown rent and anchorage
being received by the Hindeggeree in kotos at his own valuation. If this be not
attended to and the charges be paid in cash by the trader, he sustains considerable loss.
"On the arrival of a vessel from the eastward near any of the Attols a boat immediately
puts off to her. The pilot receives a fixed and handsome remuneration from the
Hindeggeree, as does also the headman of the Attol to which the pilot-boat belongs. On
a vessel anchoring off the town of Mal6, the Emir-el-Bahr approaches her in a boat, and
hailing the pilot inquires whether there is any sickness on board. Should there be none,
he goes on board, when he is generally presented with a piece of chintz or a shawl, and
he then takes the master of the vessel on shore. If there be small-pox on board the
vessel is put under the strictest quarantine for forty days after the recovery of the
person last effected. In case the disease was prevalent at the place from which the vessel
has come, though there be no sickness, quarantine is nevertheless enforced, but the period
under such circumstances is regulated a& the Sultan may see fit to order.' 9 *
Boutiques and godowns — generally outside the Fort wall— are rented to the traders
(mostly " Moormen," with, of late years, a few Parsis) who barter their goods in them.
The rent charged is from Rs. 20 to Rs. 50 a month. " Should all the public buildings be
occupied, temporary thatched huts are put up as required."!
The external trade from Mdl6 consists of two branches, one carried on by foreign
traders, either themselves resorting to that place from Chittagong, Ceylon, and the Malabar
Coast, or by means of resident agents on the Island, and the other by the natives in their
own vessels.
The foreign traders call regularly, generally arriving about March and leaving with
t}ie South-West monsoon in July or August. " The part of the external trade which is
conducted by the natives themselves is carried on chiefly with Calcutta, [Madras and
Ceylon,] in boats of from 100 to 200 tons burthen, which leave for the coast late in August
or early in September, annually, having the South-West monsoon in their favour, and
return in December and January with the North-East monsoon." The boats which visit
Ceylon rarely exceed 50 to 60 tons.
• Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1836-8, p. 85.
t Note (2).
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
103
" Unfaltering in their adherence to their ancestral pursuits, the commodities which
the Islanders produce at the present day consist of precisely the same articles which they
exported a thousand years ago."* These exports are fish (dried and salted), fish-blood,
cocoanuts, coir-yarn, cowries, tortoise-shell, and sometimes a few mats and sweetmeats. In
return they take back grain (chiefly rice,) arecanuts, curry-stuffs, spices, earthenware,
provisions, sugar, tobacco, cotton and silk (raw and manufactured,) some timber, and a
variety of sundries. .
The progress of the commerce of the MAldive Islands since 1841 is indicated in the
annexed tables (A., B., C.,)f and is the more satisfactory as completely refuting the
prevalent notion that it has for years been in a state of decline.
The following table exhibits the average annual value for quinquennial periods of the
trade with British India and Ceylon : —
Tbadb.
Yean.
British Ivdia.
Ceylon.
British India & Ceylon.
Imports.
Exports.
Total
Trade.
Imports.
Exports.
Total
Trade.
Imports.
Exports.
Total
Trade.
1836tol840 ...
1841-1845 ...
1846—1850 ...
1851—1855 ...
1856—1860 ...
1861—1865 ...
1866—1870 ...
1871—1875 ...
1876-1880 ...
£
21,157
18,509
19,644
17,928
15,776
23,504
39,146
47,580
23,187
9,469
11,597
13,953
22,805
35,034
33,328
84,302
£
30,626
29,525
29,729
46,309
74,180
80,908
57,488
£
26,118
33,648
32,974
38,750
35,160
£
4,854
7,273
6,078
17,940
30,493
£
£0.972
40,921
39,052
56,690
65,652
£
41,894
57,152
72,120
86,330
58,347
£
18,807
30,078
41,112
51,268
64,794
£
60,701
87,230
113,232
137,598
123,121
Whilst between 1830 and 1840 the annual trade with British India averaged £30,626,
it had more than doubled in the corresponding period thirty years later (1866-1870), and
amounted to £74,180. In the following period of five years it had further increased to
£80,908 ; but has sunk considerably since.
With Ceylon the trade has advanced with faster strides. Between 1856-1860 the
combined import and export trade averaged £30,972 yearly, or less than half of the
annual amount reached between 1876 and 1880, viz., £65,652.
The total imports into, and exports from, British India and Ceylon rose from
£60,701 (1856-1860) to £137,598 (1871-1875), or two and-a-quarter fold, though they fell
to £123,121 in the next five years.
The united commerce with British India and Ceylon for 1880 amounted to an aggre-
gate of £123,562, of which £57,300 were imports and £66,262 exports.
The course of the external trade of the Islands is clearly shown in the accompanying
Diagram. The progressive improvement during decennial periods has been steady in spite
of curious fluctuations difficult to explain.
Of the whole trade with British India and Ceylon, the latter is able to claim as much
as 44 per cent.— a larger proportion than might fairly be expected.
Bengal absorbs three-fourths of the Indian trade, the whole of which may be said to
lie between that and the Madras Presidency, as Mdldive boats of late years have rarely
visited Burmese ports or Bombay.
In order to further illustrate the description of Maldive external trade, statements
(B., C.,) are appended showing the value of the chief articles imported into, and exported
from, British India and Ceylon since 1853.
THE
MALDIVES.
Trade and
Commerce.
Progress of trade.
British India.
Ceylon.
Total trade.
* Tennent, Ceylon, Vol. II., p. 175.
t The review of Mdldive trade extends to 1880 only. Figures for 1881 have been added to the
tables subsequently.
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104
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
/
, THE
MALDIVES.
Trade and
Commbrcb.
Cocoanuts.
Coir.
Cowries.
Imposts.*
Cocoanuts (M. kdrhi .) The high estimate set on M&ldive cocoanuts renders their
sale very profitable. In 1853 the value of nuts imported into British India was £8,668,
which had trebled by 1864 (£24,691), and in 1872 amounted to £46,241. The annual
average value during the six years 1870-75 equalled as much as £30,403, but only
reached £17,041 for the last five (1876-80).
Ceylon, with her home supply, naturally takes but a small quantity. The average for
the past twenty years (1861- 1880) has been only £103. The largest importation — valued
at £651— was in 1871.
The wholesale price of cocoanuts at M&1£, is about 3,000 for one candy (4 bags)
rice, or 1,000 for Us. 7 to Rs. 8. In Ceylon these nuts sell at Rs. 8 to Us. 10 per 1,000.
A small quantity of Mdldive copperah is in some years imported into Ceylon.
Coir (M. ronu.) Mdldive and Lakkadive coir has always borne a higher market value
than that of the Continent or Ceylon owing to its being not only stronger but of finer
quality and better colour. That of Tiladummatf is estimated at 30 per cent, above the coir
of other Atols.
In Ibn Battita's time, and during the Portuguese period, as stated above, coir formed
the chief article of export, and throughout last century large quantities continued to be
annually brought over to Ceylon to be exchanged for arecanuts.t
The average yearly value imported into India was £7,812 between 1870-1875, but
only £3,130 for 1876-80.
The importation into Ceylon shows an extraordinary increase. In 1859 the value
was £544 ; in ten years it had about doubled (£1,027), and in 1879 amounted to £3,997,
so that in twenty years the trade has increased more than seven-fold. The average value
for the last five years (1876-1880; has been £3,091.
Fifty years ago coir yarn of the first quality exchanged at the Maldives at the rate of
20 lbs. for 12 lbs. rice, or against dates weight for weight, equivalent to Rs. 3 per maund
(82 lbs.) Purchased in cash at Rs. 18 per candy, it sold at Calcutta from Rs. 25 to Rs. 30.
The present price in Ceylon varies from Rs. 5 to Rs. 15 per cwt.
Cowries (M. boll) The trade in .these small shells has steadily declined since last
century, and is almost certain to dwindle year by year as civilization advances.
The ultimate destination of the large shipments of the money cowry (Cypraea moneta)
was, and to some extent is still, the Guinea coast of Africa. They were formerly much
used in the slave trade, though even a century and a half ago a cargo of slaves could not
be purchased for less than 12 to 14 tons of cowries.J
In 1820 nearly 6,000 cowries could be purchased for Rs. 1 § ; twelve years later the
price in England was £20 per ton, and £50 to £60 on the coast of Guinea)]; in 1835 at
Mdl6 it was Rs. 2 the kotta (12,000)1T ; at the present day it has fallen to Rs. 1-50,
or Rs. 5 the cwt. About 1843 in India the exchange was 64 for one pice — which will now
purchase 200 to 400 — or about 5,000 for Rs. 1.** Some twenty years ago a temporary rise
in price is said to have occurred owing to a sudden home demand, and vessels visiting
M&16 paid as high as Rs. 6 the kottatf,
* Note (3).
f Abbe #aynal, loc. cii. f Vol. II., p. 83. The Dutch exported yearly 800,000 lbs. Ceylon-made coir-
rope to Batavia and the Gape, besides 400,000 lbs. in yarn to Batavia, paying the natives a fixed sum —
3£ fanams per bundle of 24 lbs. — and levying a heavy export duty. (Bertolacci, Ceylon, p. 178.) In 1816-17
Maldive coir sold in Ceylon from Rs. 11 to Rs. 14 per maund; Island-made at Rs. 6 J to Ba. 8. (Asiatic
Annual Register).
J Harris, Voyages, Vol. I., p. 716. § Princep's Indian Antiquities (Thomas' edn.).
|| Journ. R. Geo. Soc„ 1832, p. 83. ^ Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc, 1836-8, p. 85.
** Bennett, Ceylon, &c, p. 351.
ft The present dulness of the market is borne out by the following recent Produce Market Report
(Brookes and Faith's, London, Nov. 19th, 1880) :— " Cowries, Maldive, small, 15*. to 18*. per ton; medium,
10*. to 12*. ; large, 6*. Very dull. Bombay large common Maldive, 8*. to 10*. per cwt ; medium Calcutta,
20*. M The trade in the Ca**t* rufa for cameos (Tennent, Ceylon, Vol. II., p. 175) has equally declined.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 105
The chief trade is with British India direct : the Ceylon supply is merely warehoused
temporarily to be reshipped to Bengal.
If the returns are reliable as showing the actual value of cowries annually imported
(which may reasonably be doubted), the rise and fall is remarkable. The annual value
absorbed by British India between 1853 and 1855 averaged only £568, but rose in 1856 to
£2,008.
The same year Ceylon is credited with £15,905 worth ; but in ten years the value
imported had fallen as low as £89. Between 1870 and 1875 the trade appears to have
been brisker, the importation into British India reaching £6,774 in 1870 and averaging
for the five years 1871-75 £3,590, as compared with £2,049 during the same period into
Ceylon.
Dried-fisk (M. kalu-bili-mas) forms by far the largest article of export, amounting
during the last twenty years to more than 73 per cent, of the total value of imports into
Ceylon from the Maldives. It is noticeable that of the whole supply of fish required by
Ceylon nearly one-third is drawn from these Islands.
About forty or fifty years ago the quantity shipped from the Maldives rose in some
Jrears to 75 lacs (1824), though in others it fell as low as 10 lacs. At Galle and
Sumatra the demand was greatest Chittagong traders exchanged most of their fish for
pepper, which they carried to Bengal, generally making a profit of 300 to 400 per cent, on
the speculation. A lac offish, which cost something less than Rs. 2,000 at MA16, sold at
Sumatra for 2,000 Spanish dollars.*
The wholesale barter rate for dried fish at the Maldives is at the present day 1 candy
rice for 2± cwt. A few years back, before the system of modern weights was introduced,
the same quantity of rice exchanged for 4Q0 fish (i.e. } 1,600 pieces.) In Ceylon the price
runs from Rs. 12 to Rs. 20 the owt., according to the several sorts.f
From the returns it will be seen that the value of fish imported into Ceylon exceeded
£20,000 by 1862, and attained its maximum in 1876 (£35,548.) The annual average since
1856 has amounted to £23,337 and has remained very steady .during periods of five
years : —
Between
1856-60
1861-65
1866-70
1871-75
1876-80
it equalled
£
12,634
22,075
23,819
29,932
28,223
For the value offish-blood (M. rhi-hakuru, ' fish-sugar'), as distinct from dried fish
imported into Ceylon, the returns give figures only from 1856-1869, showing an average
of nearly £100 annually.
Tortoise-shell (M. hahabu.) In Pyrard's day the trade was chiefly with Cambaye :
a gau (±lb.) could be purchased for one larin. Mildive tortoise-shell is considered of first-
olass quality. Ceylon and Bengal are the markets for it.
Five maunds (lbs. 420) were exported from M416 in one season (1835). The Ceylon
returns show that the trade is steady. In 1856 the value imported was £1,157, fell to
£630 in 1862, rose to £1,510 in 1865, but fell again in the next two years to £992, after
which it progressively improved till 1875, when it amounted to £2,184. The last five
years, however, show an average of only £1,146. The annual average since 1856 has
been £1,296.
Tortoise-shell purchased at M&U for Rs. 16 to Rs. 25 per cwt. realizes in Ceylon as
much as Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 per lb. It is in great demand at Colombo and Galle for the
manufacture of native combs and ornaments.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Tbadb and
Commerce.
Dried-fish.
Fish-blood.
Tortoise sheU.
♦ Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1836-8, pp. 83, 106.
t Dried fish per cwt: gotjld-mas, Rs. 20 ; gcu}u>mas, Rs. 90 ; Himiti-ma*, Rs. 19 ; Medu-nat % Rs. 18;
iird-mas, Rs. 12 to Rs. 15 : fish-blood, Rs, 12 to Rs. 20 per lb. ; salt-fish, Rs. 20 to Rs. 25 per 100.
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106
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
,THE
MALDIVES.
Trade and
Commerce.
Mats.
Jaggery.
Confectionery,
Grain.
Sundries.
Arecanuts.
Cotton and Silk
goods.
The only other exports worth particular mention are mats, jaggery, confectionery and
grain.
Mats seldom make good the price expected, and are frequently taken back in
hope of a better market another season. The large mats of best quality are valued
at Rs. 5 or Re. 6 each at M&16, and can rarely be procured under Rs. 8 to 10 in Ceylon*
The value imported since 1856 has only averaged £74, whilst that of jaggery has been
less.
The figures under the head confectionery and provisions are so large as to leave no doubt
of their being exports from India and Ceylon returned, as in the case of grain, for want
of a market. Maldive confectionery is limited to bondialuva (M, bodi), koliappam, and a
few other sweetmeats mostly consumed on the Atols. Taking the figures as they stand,
whilst £1,258 worth of confectionery was imported into British India in 1853, the value •
amounted to £2,304 in 1872, and averaged £1,912 annually between 1871 and 1875, but
fell off (1876-80) to £531 only. A much smaller quantity is taken by Ceylon, the average
for the last 20 years (1861-80) being only £533.
The large quantity of grain returned from the Maldives every year — the whole of
which must have been shipped thither from India and Ceylon — is so far satisfactory as
going to prove that the Mdldivians are never threatened by impending famine, which on
occasions afflicts the more Northern Islanders, the Lakkadivians, calling for special
Government aid.
The import of superfluous grain has necessarily fluctuated with the requirements of
the market at the Maldives. In 1859 grain to the value of, £15,135 was imported, but
the next year it fell to £34. The re-importation in 1867 amounted to £16,939. Less
grain has been returned of late years. The average for the last five years (1876-1880)
was £906, whereas that for the five years previous (1871-1875) equalled £2,112. The
annual average since 1856 has been £3,997.
Among miscellaneous articles occasionally brought over from the Mildives it is not
surprising to find wreck goods. Besides £30 wreckage, £57 worth of wine and spirits
appear among the imports in 1859 ; two years later (1861) wreck goods to the value of
£137 were sent over; in 1863 £116, and the following year £53 worth. Brass and
copper — chiefly old cooking utensils — may also be found almost annually among the minor
sundry imports to Ceylon.
Expobts.
Arecanuts form an annual and large proportion of the exports to the Maldives. As
but few areca trees grow on the Islands, a very high value is set on these nuts for
masticatory purposes, either raw or in the preparation known as cutch. The special
indulgence as regards the purchase of arecanuts granted to Mdldivians by the Dutch has
been mentioned ( V.s. } p. 99.) Nearly the whole quantity required by the Islanders is
supplied by Ceylon. The value of arecanuts exported from this Island has averaged
£1,323 since 1856, exceeding £2,000 in 1856, 1872, 1876, 1879 and 1880, but falling to
£842 in 1869.
The wholesale price of best arecanuts in Ceylon is Rs. 30 per amunam of 24,000,
weighing about 2£ cwt. At the Maldives 1 cwt. exchanges for f cwt. of dried fish : a few
years back 1 amunam was valued at 500 fish (i.e., 2,000 pieces).
Cotton manufactures. — The value in 1853 of Indian cotton goods exported was only
£895 ; rose three-and-half fold in 1855 (£2,921) ; fell to £1,085 in 1862, but suddenly
rose again the following year to £3,517 — a considerably higher value than the annual
average attained between 1870 and 1875 (£1,809), though close to that of 1876-80
(£3,087).
•Cotton goods exported from Ceylon have shown a steady annual value since 1871,
viz., £4,299, as against £2,362 for the ten years previous (1861-70.) In three years only
(1857, 1859 and 1869) has the value fallen short of £1,000.
Whereas the total value of cotton manufactures exported from British India and
Ceylon in 1856 was £3,462, in 1863 it had increased to £5,203, and by 1876 to £10,359.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881,
107
If the purchasing of cotton goods be taken as a test of the prosperity of a people, it may
safely be said that the Maldive Islanders are considerably better off now than they were
twenty years ago.
Some silk goods are also yearly purchased from British India, averaging between 1870
and 1875 £565 worth.
Grain.— -The returns furnish interesting facts regarding this, the staple export to
the Islands. With increasing population, the amount required for consumption lias
rapidly advanced. This is made clear by the following statement. The value of grain
annually exported from British India direct averaged—
Bewteen 1834-1841
•1853-1862
1870-1874
1875-1879
(8 years) £7,124
( do. ) 9,401
(5 years) 21,245
( do. ) 20,614
so that in 40 years it has nearly trebled. No doubt quantities, if obtainable, would be a
fairer test, as the market price of grain has doubled during the last quarter of this century*
The average value shipped from Ceylon annually during successive quinquennial
periods exhibits extraordinary increase :—
1856-1860
£ 1,186
1861-1865
1,690
1866-1870
1,327
1871-1875
9,794
1876-1880
20,479
or a growth of over 17-fold in the last twenty-five years.
The expansion of the grain trade has probably in the main been due to the enterprize
of the few Pars! merchants, who have, during the last ten years, established regular
commercial relations with the Islands.
Practically, the whole supply of grain is drawn from Bengal. Rice purchased at False-
Point (Calcutta) for Us. 4 to Rs. 5 per bag (2 maunds) is either shipped to the Maldives
direct or brought to Ceylon and retained under bond for profitable reshipment.
It is believed (not without reason) that between 40,000 and 50,000 bags of rice are
now carried over to the Islands yearly.
The exports of curry stuffs and spices, as well as earthennxtre, from Ceylon, though
comparatively small, have been progressively improving during the last twenty years, the
annual average of the former between 1861 and 1870 being £172, as against £278 for
1871-1880, (from British India £258), and of the latter £309, against £626.
Merchandize exported amounted in 1874 to £1,337, and in 1879 to £1,893. Under
this vague term are included a large variety of sundry articles of insufficient value to be
classed under their respective heads.
Provisions and oilmanstores. — The average value exported from India between 1871
and 1880 was £2,246, and from Ceylon £234.
Sugar. — The exportation from India for the same ten years averaged £1,784 (£3,072
in 1872), or more than five-fold that from Ceylon, viz., £322.
Tobacco, muff, tfc, exported from India between 1871 and 1880 is valued at £1,352
annually, as compared with £338 from Ceylon. The yearly value taken from Ceylon has
fluctuated considerably. It rose from £87 worth in 1856 to £822 in 1861, had fallen to
£15 in 1866, rose the following year to £323, dropped to £1 in 1870, sprang as high as
£1,015 in 1874, but has sunk somewhat since.
Among other articles shipped to the Islands the chief are haberdashery (£634 worth
from India, 1879) gunnies (£1,000 from India, 1861), furniture, timber, mats, medicines,
oils, and terrajaponica, or cutch. Of these the only two calling for remark are furniture
THE
MALDIVES.
Tbadb ahd
commekcb.
Grain.
Curry stuffs,
spices, earthenware.
Merchandize.
Provisions,
8ugar,
Tobacco.
and
* Returns for 1842-1852, 1857, 1860, not available.
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108
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
THE
MiLDIVfcS.
Teadb and
commbbcb.
Sundries.
Live-stock.
Specie and pre-
cious stones.
and timber (annually shipped) as proving the dearth of serviceable wood on the Islands
already noticed ( V. s., p. 84).
Miscellaneous exports.— In addition to the above a variety of sundries are exported
every year. Among the commonest are ghee, glassware, grind-stones, perfumery and
soap , with bricks (40,000 — £57 value — in 1867), carts and carriages — probably hand-carts
— (12— value£12 — in 1879), gunpowder (never exceeding £5 value), and even such luxuries
as iodaavater, lemonade, and biscuits. The taste for the last item is evidently growing, for
£12 worth were purchased in 1876, £46 in 1877, and £40 in 1879.
As intelligent navigators, M&ldivians appreciate scientific instruments, charts, <fv?./
and that their children are not forgotten, crackers (£19, in 1874, and in 1878) and toys
will testify.
Live stock is little needed.* Two horses, valued at £50, were shipped from Ceylon
in 1862 (of which one was returned four years laterf) and two head of cattle, valued at
£12, in 1871.
Where barter still rules in business transactions it is to be expected that specie
would be rarely imported In two years only, viz., 1862 (£2,000) and 1868 (£400) does
it figure in the Ceylon returns. Precious stones, too, seem to have little attraction for
these Islanders, as £1,506 worth have sufficed them during the last 24 years (£1,306 value,
1860 ; £200, 1878).
SHIPPINGS
Shipping. It is curious that the growth of the external commerce of the Maldives has not
necessitated the employment of an increased amount of shipping. This will be seen
from the following return of average annual tonnage. Apparently the limit has been
reached — for native vessels at least; and any increase in tonnage under the lifeless
administration which has been suffered to exist for centuries must depend upon the
larger use of foreign vessels in the trade.
Tonnage.
Year.
British India.
Ceylon.
British India and Ceylon.
In-
wards.
Out-
wards.
Total.
In-
wards.
Out-
wards.
Total.
In-
wards.
Out-
wards.
Total.
1801—1810
4,535
3,932
8,467
1811—1820
4,762
4,7*9
9,491
...
...
...
• ••
...
...
1821—1830
3,311
3,611
6,922
•...
...
...
•••
...
...
1831—1840
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
1841—1850
3,806
5,404
9,210
...
...
a. .
...
:..
...
1851—1860
2,707J
3,685$
6,572$
4,145
3,8 19§
7,964§
...
...
...
1861—1870
3,944$
4,504$
8,448$
5,877
4,035
9,412
9,321$
8,539$
17,860$
1871—1880
3,391
4,718
8,109
6,877
4,376
10,753
9,768
9,094
18,862
In 1841 87 vessels, of a total capacity of 5,259 tons, entered inwards and cleared
outwards at British India ports, and 70 vessels, carrying 7,349 tons, in 1880, so that
there has been virtually no advance during 40 years. If the figures are correct, some very
exceptional cause must have brought about the extraordinary abnormal rise for one year
(1845) to 345 vessels from an average of 104 since 1841, and, on the tonnage, l±-fold the
aggregate tonnage for the four previous years. Between 1868 and 1874 the British
India returns are swelled by the addition of Lakkadive (including Minakai) vessels.
♦ F. *., p. 84. |
$ For 9 years only : no returns for 1853 and 1867.
f See tabular statements, D., E.
§ For 6 years only, riz., 1855-1860.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
ioe
The shipping to and from Ceylon Ports shows some improvement since 1855. One
hundred and eleven vessels, of 8,529 total tonnage capacity, entered and cleared out in
1856, against 131 vessels, amounting to 12,928 registered tonnage, during last year (1880).
On a rough average, the number of MAldivian craft which annually visit Ceylon is
about 22, of 1,380 total tons burthen, manned by 440 sailors, or 20 men to each vessel of
63 tons.
Of the total shipping inwards and outwards (classed in the Ceylop returns as " Bri-
tish" and " Foreign"), Mdldive vessels claim a percentage of 45, though the proportipn
of tonnage is but 15 per cent. The largest number of Mildivian vessels entered Ceylon
ports in 1875 (31, tons 3415) and 1876 (40, tons 3167) ; the fewest in the two following
years, viz., in i877 (6, tons 534) and 1878 (1, tons 65).
The generally slight fluctuatiqng in the annual tonnage of the shipping may best bp
seen by reference to the Diagram.
,TJIM
MALDiyto
Cqmhkbc*.
NOTES.
Notts.
(1)
The following letter from Sultan M. 'Izz-ud-din — in French so villainous that a copy had tp
be made — with reference to the visit of the Dutch vessel "Triton," Capt. Blume, in 1769, affords
an instance of the high-handed action of European nations at that period in their commercial
dealings with native Princes : —
Au gouvemeur de Coulombe
Pour le roi des Maldives
" J'ay Recu avec plaisir La lettre que vous mavee ecrit par le Senault* Capt ne Bliime J'ay
fait tous seque Jay pu pour satisfaire le Dit Capit ne etant anoncle de votre [part] ayant pris les
Marchandise au pris quil me L'est a fait : Je compte Envoyer quelqu'uns de mes Bateaux
J'esperre que vous les Receverez comme le terns pass6e. Vous scavez que nous Commercions depuis
long terns et espere* que vous me constinuree votre amitiee Le Capit™ n'a pas paiyee Les usages
nous a von s Laissle sa a sa Disposition : s'il Rienf Lan prochain nous esperrons qu'il nous sastisfera
Le Roy vous fait toute sorte D'amiti^e.
"le 3me Juin 1769.
" Raport£e vous en a seque le Captne Bliime vous Dira. Seque Je n'est que par Complesance.'
Translation.
" To the Governor of Colombo.
For the King of the Maldives."
" I have had the pleasure of receiving the letter which You wrote to me by Captain Blume. I
have done all that I could tp satisfy the said Captain, accredited as he was from You, having
bought the merchandise at the price at which he set them to Me. I intend to send some of My
ships, (and ) I hope' that You will receive them as in time past. You know that We (have) traded
together for a long time, and (I) hope that You will continue Your friendliness to Me. The
Captain has not paid the dues; We have left that to his settlement. If he comes back next year,
We hope that he will satisfy Us. The King sends You every kind of friendship.
"The 3rd June, 1769."
* Senault — t Senhor.
f Men for revient.
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110
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
. THE
MALDIVES.
Teadb and
COMMBECB.
Notes.
: " Satisfy yourself as to that which Captain Blume will tell you. What I (? have done) is
merely out of good will."
It seems that not content with driving a hard bargain, Captain Blume further forgot to pay
the Customs duties !
(2)
The following is a list of approximate retail prices ruling at Male* a few years back for
the chief bazar articles* : —
12 for 1 cocoanut
90 for Ks. 1.
1 bodi for 8 fanams, or 6 ndli rice, or 600*arecanut8.
1 Idhi (i ndliya) for 1 dried-fish (4 pieces).
Arecanuts
Cocoanuts
Coir
Corriander~seed
Chillies
Eggs
Fish (fresh, large)
Do. (salt) ...
Flour
Ghee
Jaggery
Oil (cocoanut)
Pepper
Plantains
Potatoes
Do. (sweet)
Rice
Saffron
Salt
Sugar
Do. -candy ...
Tea
Tobacco
Tortoise-shell
Vinegar
Chatties (M. bodufufe), S. muttiya)
Do. (M. etiri, S. etiliya) ...
Cloth (white) ...
Do. (mundu)
Do. (rumd)
Do. (feliya)...
Do. (libas) ...
1 gau {\ lb.) for 1 fish.
24 for 1 naliya rice,
1 for w kuda ldri %
1 adubd for 8 fish.
1 gau for 4 fish.
1 ndliya for 30 fish.
1 adubd for 8 fish.
1 ndliya for 24 fish.
1 Idhi for 4 fish.
2 for 1 fish.
1 gau for 1 fish.
do. for half a fish (2 pieces).
1 ndliya for 3 fish or 8 kuda Idri.
1 gau for 1 fish.
1 ndliya for l£ fish (6 pieces).
1 gau for 1 fish, or 1 kuda Idri.
do. for l£ fish.
do. for 8 fish.
do. for 2 fish, or 8 kuda Idri.
do. for 12 ndliya rice.
1 adubd for 3 fish.
1 for 8 fish.
1 for 2 fish.
4 riya (2 gazu, 'yards') for 8 fish.
1 for 24 fish,
do. .
do.
1 for 32 fish.
(3)
A comparative table of duties levied in India and Ceylon upon the chief articles exported
to, and imported from, the Maldive Islands is given below.
It is astonishing how insignificant a proportion of the Customs revenue of this Island is drawn
from the Maldives. The total value of the duty derived from the goods imported into Ceylon
reached Rs. 5,624,401 between 1856 and 1879, of which the Maldive Islands contributed only
Rs. 36,318, or a yearly average of Rs. 1,513 against Rs. 234,350. Again, whereas the total
Customs collection of export duty between 1858 and 1869 amounted to Rs. 576,741, or Rs. 48,062
annually, that recovered upon goods exported to the Maldives was but Rs. 389, or an average
of Rs. 32 for each year !
In port dues, between 1855 and 1879 Maldive vessels yielded an aggregate of Rs. 5,558, or
Rs. 2,815 for vessels entered inwards, and Rs. 2,743 for those which cleared outwards.
* In Pyrard's time necessaries of life were far cheaper : for a larin, or 8 tons, could be purchased 400 cocoanuts,
600 plantains, a dosen fowls, 100 large fish, or 300 cwt of roots. — Pyrard, p. 88.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
Ill
Comparative Statement of Customs Tariff.
THE
MALDIVES.
British India.
Ceylon.
Trade and
CoiiliBRCB.
Articles.
Imports.
Exports.
Imports.
Exports.
Notes.
Value on
which duty
is assessed.
Rate
of duty.
Value on
which duty
is assessed.
Rate
of duty.
Value on
which duty
is assessed.
Rate
of duty.
Value on
which duty
is assessed.
Value
of duty.
Arecanuts
Free.
NiL
Free.
NiL
Free.
NiL
Free.
Nil.
Do. in husk...
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Cocoanuts
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Coir
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Confectionery
Rated and
Ad val
5 o/o
do.
do.
Declared.
5 o/o
do.
do.
Copperah ...
Free
Nil.
do.
do.
Free.
Nil.
do.
do.
Cotton goods
Rated and
Ad val.
5 o/o
do.
do.
Rated
5 o/o
do.
do.
Cowries (Maldive)...
Rs. 7-8 y
cwt
do.
do.
do.
Free.
Nil.
do.
do.
Earthenware
Ad val.
do.
do.
do.
Declared.
5 o/o
do.
do.
Fishy salted
Free*
Nil.
do.
do.
Rated.
cts.* 50 f
cwt
do.
*do.
m
„ other sorts ...
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Grain, Faddy
do.
do.
do.
3 annas
atmaund
of 3200
tolas
do.
cts. 13 ¥
bushel
do.
do.
„ rice
do.
do.
do.
NiL
do.
cts. 29 %>
bushel
do.
do.
Mats (rash) ...
do.
do*
do.
do.
Free.'
Nil.
do.
do.
Metal
Rated and
Ad val.
5 o/o
do.
do.
Rated.
Various.
do.
do.
Oil (cocoanut)
Free
Nil.
do.
do.
Free.
Nil.
do.
do.
Provisions
Rated and
Ad val.
6 o/o
do.
do.
Ad. val.
5 o/o
do.
do.
Silk
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Spices
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Sugar, candy,(China)
Rs. 22 ?
cwt.
do.
do.
do.
Rated.
Rs. 2*50
y cwt.
do.
do.
» » Joaf ••
Rs. 26 do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
„ „ SOIv •••
Rs. 16*8 do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Rs. 1 25
f cwt.
do.
do.
„ other sorts of
sacharine produce
Ad val.
do.
do.
do.
do.
cts. 50 f
cwt.
do.
do.
Tea, black
lOannasplb
do.
do.
do.
do.
cts. 25 ¥
lb.
do.
do.
„ green
Rs. 1-2 ftb.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Tobacco, manufac-
tured
Ad val.
do.
do.
do.
do.
cts. 17 ¥
lb.
do.
do.
„ unmanu-
factured
Ad vaL
do.
do.
do.
do.
cts. 9 ¥
lb.
do.
do.
Tortoise Shell
Rs. 6 ? lb
do.
do.
do.
Ad. val.
5 o/o
do.
do.
(4)
It is unlikely that slave vessels from Muskat now venture to the Maldives. Even fifty years
ago their visits were rare. Christopher mentions that about five years before the time he wrote
a vessel had arrived at Male* {circa, 1830) and sold about 25 lads at an average price of
Rs. 80eacht
By Treaties of August and September, 1822, and May 31st, 1839, the Imauns of Muskat
bound themselves to use every effort for the suppression of the slave trade within their dominions,
and by the Further Agreement of October 2nd, 1845, it was stipulated that this trade should
definitely cease after 1st January, 1847.
* Except into the Bombay Presidency, where 12 annas per cwt. is charged .
f Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc., 1836-8, p. 82.
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U2 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE (6)
MALDIVES.
In 1843, when the obnoxious Navigation Laws (finally abolished by 12 & 13 Vict, c 29) still
Tbadb ahp remained in force, a question regarding the right of Maldive and Lakkadive vessels to land
CoMHSECK.
goods at Ceylon in their passage to and from the continent of Ind^ia. led to the boats of these
Islands being placed on the same footing as British vessels.
By Orfier in Council dated 2Ut January, 1823, aj*d subsequently by Act of 3 & 4 Won. IV.
c. 54, trade with Ceylon could only be conducted in British vessels or vessels of friendly foreign
States exercising reciprocal indulgence.
Upon it being pointed out to the Board of Customs in England that the privilege of free trade
had hitherto been allowed these Islanders, that their situation was peculiar, and that they were
under the protection of the Indian and Ceylon, Governments, it was not deemed expedient to
disturb tfie practice which had always prevailed.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1891.
113
THE MALDIVJE I8LA#DS.
Valui of Imports into, and Exports from British India and Grt(ON<
(Converted into tUrtinp at, 2$. the rupee.}.
Tear.
Bengal.
Madras.
Total of British India.
Ceylon,
British India
and Ceylon.
Combined
Xmpjrt
and Ex-
port trade
wilt
British
India.
Combined
Import
and Ex-
port trade
Combined
Import
and Ex-
port trade
with
Im-
ports.
Im-
ports.
Imports.
Experts.
Imports.
Export*.
Im-
ports.
Exports.
Total
Imports.
Total
Exports.
with
Oylon.
British
India and
Ceylon.
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
4
£
I *:
£
£
£
£
1841
13,433
11,731
6,549
...
20,082
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
1*42
15,716
> 4,368
10,170
...
15,886
...
...
...
...
...
• ••
•••
...
1843
10,279
3,848
6,921
...
17,218
...
...
...
...
•••
...
...
1844
16,344
. 3,458
7,498
13,842
1
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
1845
18,190
, 8,937
7,325
...
25,515
...
...
...
...
...
'
...
...
1846
17,413
■ 9,562
6,728
...
14,141
•••
'. '••
—
...
...
...
•••
•••
1847
19,082
7,655
6,247
...
25,329
...
...
...
1 -
...
...
...
...
1848
20,573
14,403
4^32
2,620
25,205
17,023
...
...
...
...
49,228
...
•••
1849
15,178
8,843
6,286
5,896
21,464
14,739
...
...
...
...
31203
•••
.«•
1850
16,453
10,845
5,630
3,352
12,083
! 14,207
...
...
...
...
29,290
...
...
1851
15,748
7,945
4,956
3,301
20,704
11,246
...
...
...
...
31,950
...
...
1852
13,629
6,063
3,339
2,051
16,968
8,114
1
...
...
...
25,082
...
•••
1858
8,339
6,119
5,582
1,769
13,921
7,888
...
...
...
...
21,809
•••
...
1854
11,633
6,035
5,174
1,538
16,807
7,573
•••
...
...
...
24,380
...
1855
20,752
22,666
487
496
21,239
| 23,162
...
...
...
...
44,401
...
...
1856*
12,877
12,678
2,205
756
15,082
13,434
31,934
5,072
47,016
18,506
28,516
37,006-
65,522
1857
13,972
13,585
610
427
14,582
14,012
2%531
4,032
43,113
18,044
24,594
32,563^
61,157
1858
16,805
11,575
3^76
601
19,581
12,176
24,508
4,314
44,089
16,490
31,757
28,822.
60,579
1859
10,156
.9,567
882
424
11,038
9,991
25,47fl
5,749
36,517
15,749
21,029
31,228
52,257
1860
17,761
19,767
838
387
18,599
20,154
20,136
5,101
38,735
25,255
3%753
25,827
: 63,990
1861
21,765
26,003
365
214
2?,13Q
26,217
2^,649
6,740
| 48,779
32,957
48^347
33,389
1 81,736
1862
20,313
,17,165
823
399
21,136
17,564
35,604
9,385
56,740
26,949
38,700
44,989
; 83,689
1863
17,669
18,890
1,653
617
19,822
19,507
32,978
7,418
52,300
26,925
38,829
40,396
: 79,225
1864
29,893
27,272
1,440
414
31,333
27,686.
41,881
6,741
• 73,214
34,427
59,019
48,622
; 107,641
1865
21,313
22,374
2,288
677
23,601
23,051
31,129
6,079
54,730
29,139
46,652
37,208
; 83,860
1866
28,077
25,587
1,419
816
29,496
26\S68
29,789
4,255
59,285
30,823
56,064
34,044
90,108
1867f
...
• •••
...
...
19,353
38,864
44,531
9,074
63,884
47,938
58,217
53,605
: 111,822
1868
17,294
26,848
17,795
3,906
f 35,0891
-31,3991
&6,914
6,579
62,003
37,978
66,488
33,493
i 99,981
1869
33,571
31,351
25,190
5,605
t -J 59,030
39,014 > J
30,104
4,774
89,134
43,788
98,044
34,878
132,922
1870
31,117
31,643
21,561
7,048
<• 52,760
3^,324 J
33,536
5,709
86,296
45,033
92,084
39,245
131,329
1871§
•••
...
•••
...
48,614
'1
h
38,907
139,683
10,413
88,297
49,320
87,521
50,096
187,617
1872
...
•*•
...
...
68,222
38^49
40,427
12,776
108,649
51,625
107,071
53,203
160,274
1873
•••
...
...
i •*"
59,711
31,567
40,666
15,819
91,377
47,386
82,278
56,485
138,763
1874
...
•••
...
l
40,790 J
.27,487
37,744
25,584
78,534
53,070
68,277
63,328
131,605
1875
•••
...
...
...
29,562
29,829
35,231
25,109
64,793
54,938
59,391
60,340
119,731
1876
•*•
•••
1 ...
...
26,026
34,758
39,955
34,554
65,981
69,312
60,784
74,509
135,293
1877
...
...
...
...
21,954
32,635
35,395
21,105
57,349
53,740
54,589
56,500
111,089
1878
...
...
...
...
20,562
34,485
26,964
25,001
47,526
59,576
55,047
52,055
107,102
1879
...
. •••
...
...
29,297
42,110
34,273
32,970
63,570
75,080
71,407
67,243
138,650
1880
...
•••
•••
...
18,085
27,519
89 t 215
38|,743
57,300
66,262
45,604
77,958
123,562
1881 ...
...
...
-.1
24,276
38,997
37,150
35,293
61,426
74,290
63,278
72,443
135,716
* Prior to 1856 the Maldives were included under die head " Other Countries" in the Ceylon Bine Books.
t Prior to 18^7 the Indian financial year closed on April 30th ; since then it has ended on Inarch 31st. The returns for 1867 are for
11 months only.
J Another return gites the figures for 1868-70 as 3—
.1888...
1869...
1870...
Britten, India.
Combined
trade with
British
India,
Combined
trade w^th
British India
and Ceylon.
Imports.
Exports.
84,020
63,782
49,608
80£8*
38,414
88,584
•4,90$
102,198
88,192
98^495
137,074
127,587"
§ Since 1870 the MaWfres appear, to have been included under the head " Other Countries" m the Bengal apd Madras returns.
I Including the Lekfcadtas and MinakaL classed since 1875 antong.BritWi Into Ports.
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114
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
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114 a
•f to the Maldivc Islands.
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
Arecanuts.
British
India.
Ceylon.
165
172
334
2,103
1,012
1,047
1,081
1,197
1,126
995
1,906
1,513
1,082
852
1,832
1,301
842
1,128
1,750
2,040
1,803
1,126
915
2,669
1,143
947
2.167
2,296
2,086
Ma
T
Bri L
Ind
1,
'3
'5
Provisions,
Oilmanstores,
Confectionery.
British
India.
11
75
83
88
1,200
1,787
2,207
1,671
1,333
1,625
2,647
2,541
2,996
3,797
1,853
Ceylon
199
43
145
26
42
139
214
83
23
212
41
163
78
368
157
215
292
182
616
385
206
136
199
108
194
Seeds.
Silk goods.
British
India.
2
2
100
47
26
6,938
195
203
15
327
121
124
112
Ceylon
12
5
Sugar, and
Other Sacharine
matter.
British
India,
£
653
15
4,560
18
577
549
483
449
708
622
317
278
139
Ceylon,
British
India.
20
130
2
120
£
470
132
1,106
503
Ceylon.
1,113
1,253
1,600
3,072
1,698
1,310
1,667
2,262
1,769
2,192
1,852
1,417
£
33
32
23
56
124
122
63
227
69
4
3
18
220
31
38
98
253
195
400
438
166
98
328
754
495
579
Terra-
japonica
(Cutch.)
Timber, and
Woods of sorts.
British
India.
Ceylon.
£
23
2
47
17
47
30
1
56
5
15
28
2
43
18
23
44
6
6
191
British
India.
37
66
25
16
Ceylon.
318
351
127
168
219
102
373
164
Tobacco,
Cigars, and
Snuff.
British
India.
Ceylon.
61
12
41
35
11
81
15
8
91
72
30
32
54
249
5
8
4
24
26
35
261
23
36
226
78
56
65
890
737
1,501
1,214
1,406
1,407
988
1,304
1,435
1,494
1,582
1,573
1,118
87
24
40
126
262
822
508
73
96
356
15
323
1
85
36
168
1,015
570
362
166
128
435
417
794
ences from 1856.
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8ESSI0NAL PAPERS, 1881.
115
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116
SESSIONAL. PAPERS, 1881.
09-
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
117
VIII.-MONEY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES.
.THE
MALDIVES.
MONBY, WEIGHTS
AND MSASUBBB.
Trade at the Maldives has always been conducted for the most part by barter.
At the same time, the advantages of a circulating medium could not fail to be recog-
nised, if but partially, at an early period.
Cowries, still employed on occasions, sufficiently served the purpose for centuries.
Not to go back to the 9th century — when, as Suleimdn the Persian traveller certifies,
the Queen's treasury was stocked with cowries, in which lay the Islander's wealth,* Ibn
Battita, writing 500 years later, found them passing as money on the group (A. D. 1344.)
" A hundred of these shells is called sy&h, and 700 /<W, 12,000 are called cotta, and 100,000
bostou. Bargains are struck through the medium of these cowries at the rate of 4 bostoA
to a din&r of gold. Often they are of less value, such as 12 bostoH to a din&r. The
Islanders sell them to the people of Bengal for rice, for they, too, use them for money.
They are sold in the same way to the people of Yemen, who use them for ballast in their
ships in place of sand. These cowries serve also as a medium of exchange with the
negroes in their native country. I have seen them sold at M&ly and at Djoudjou [Souddn]
at the rate of 1,150 to a din&r of gold."t
A machinery so cumbrous for the adjustment of an extensive external commerce
naturally yielded before the more portable metal currency of intrinsic value introduced
by strangers.
The Persians and Arabs— the first to develope the trade of the Maldives — would
soon familiarize the Islanders to the use of their money in commercial transactions.
It is interesting, therefore, to learn from Pyrard, that in his time (A,D. 1602-7), with
the exception of foreign coins of gold and silver alone, which were accepted at their value
by weight, the sole M&ldivian coin was a silver " larin" evidently copied from the Persian
coin of that name then current throughout the East. J " The money of the Realm is
only of silver. The (coins) are pieces of silver, which they call larins, worth as much as
eight sous (sols) or thereabout of our (French) money, as I have already said ; long as
the finger, but doubled back. The King has them struck in his Island and his name
stamped on them in Arabic characters * * * They make no other coins of less value
there, so that for the purposes of their traffic they cut the silver, and hand over a weight
of the same value as the goods bought : this, however, cannot be done without some loss,
because by cutting the larin one loses one twelfth of it * * * * Instead of
copper coin (billon) they make use of cowries (coquilles); 12,000 are worth a larin."§
To obviate the inconvenience of cutting up the " larin" for small payments, this
awkward ' fish-hook money' had given way a century later to the circular coins of the same
name (M. Idri), but of baser metal, still in currency.
Cowries.-
Silver 'fish-hook'
larin.
♦ V. *., p. 24.
J Gray, quoting Voyages d* Ibn Eatoutah, Tome IV.
I " Le Larin est une ancienne monnoye de Balsare et d* Arabie, et qui a cours jusqa' a Tisle deCeylan,
ou Ton ne parle que de Larins. Cette monnoye est un fil d'argent plie* en deux, de la grosseur d'un tuyan
de plume ordinaire, et long de deux trayers de doigt ou environ. Sur oe fil d* argent ainai plie* on voit le nom
du Prince dans les pays duquel cette monnoye a este* fabriquee. Le huit Larins font un or, et les quatre-
vint Larins un toman."— Tavernier, " Travels," 1625-1664, (A' la Haye, VoL I., pp. 135-6.) See, too,
Rhys Davids in the " International Numismata Orientalia,'' Vol. I., 1877, * Ancient coins and measures of
Ceylon, pp. 33-5, and the authorities there quoted.
§ Pyrard, pp. 163-4. With considerable difficulty the writer obtained (too late for insertion) a single
specimen of this unique coin. It weighs 71 } grains, and is apparently of the purest silver : age doubtful*
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, THE
Maldives.
Monet, Weights
and Measures.
Circular Idri.
Weights.
118 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
These coins are of two sizes and values, called by the Islanders bodu ('large') Idri and
kuda ('small') Idri. They are still struck at the M&16 mint, of mixed metal,* and bear
on one side the reigning Sultan's name, and on the reverse his title and the date Anno
Hijrae.
Coins.
The average weight of the modern bodu Idri is about 135 grains, and of the kuda Idri —
valued roughly at one-fourth (l-4th) the other — about 20 grains. t
At the present day these coins have a nominal exchange value respectively of 25 and
100 to the Bengal rupee; but not being made legal tender at that rate, nor too plentiful,
their actual value fluctuates considerably. It is generally about 20 per cent, above their
nominal value ; a rupee will rarely exchange for more than 20 bodu or 80 kuda Idri.
The Bengal rupee is received everywhere for large payments ; but money of any kind
is scarce, and all gold and silver coins are in request more or less for the melting pot
according to their purity.
Kuda Idri.
4 = Boda idri
100 — 25 = Bvfiya
Weights.
The principal are : —
1 gau (M. eg-gau) or gali (M. eggale) =±= \ lb.J
4 gnu (M. hatara~gau) = 1 rdtalu = 1 lb.
8 gau (M. ag-gau) = 1 bodu
12 bodi (M. bdra-bodi) = tulu*
1 tulu ( M. tt-tulu) = 24 lbs.
1 man (M. em-manu) = 84 lbs.
Coir is occasionally weighed and sold by the bodi; but of late years, since the arrival
of Pars! and " Moor" traders at M&16, the use of the cwt. has been gradually superseding
all other weights for bulky goods, such as fish, coir, and cowrie*.
Gau.
4 = Bdtalu
8 = 2 = Bodi
96 = 24— 12= Tulu
336 = 84= 42= 3£ = Manu
* An analysis of fourteen of these coins of various dates, made by Mr. A. C. Dixon, B. So., shows them
to contain 83*54 per cent, copper, 2'61 tin, 1378 zinc, and a trace of iron. In modern coins the proportion
of copper is as high as 96 to 97 per cent
fNote(l).
J A Cypraea mauritiana shell bearing the Sultan's seal in wax is the regular ' Imperial gau' weight in
the Southern Atols.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 119
DRY MBA8URE8. „ , J™ a
„ „ . . MALDIVES.
For grain the following Bre in use :—
1 ldhi or Use — 1 hvqduwa (S.)
4 /dAt = 1 nd/tya — I *er«wa (S.) Dr 7 Measures.
4 ndli = 1 kotuwa.
12 ndli = I fi or fara ( •bushel.' )
12 kotu= 1 muliya.
300 juf/t = 1 kadiya.
Fractions and multiples of the above are also sometimes adopted : —
± n&liya (M. baya-ndli) — 2 IMt (M. rfefafcy.
]£ ndli (M. Hn-baya-ndli) — 6 ZtfAL
i/ara of 10 *rf/i (M. diha-ndli-fd).
2 Mii/t (M. dem-muli) = 100 nrfff.
3 muff (M. tin-muli) 1 ,.
. , I. X. , . ,~ >=150»d/t.
^ Aaat (M. baya-kadi) )
4 mtf/t (M. hatara-mufi) = 200 nrfft.
5 mtr/t (M.fas-muli) = 250 nd/t.
Cowries are now usually sold in the Islands by the hiya = 100, the yate' = 800 to
1,000, and the kotti = 12,000 (bdra-fd).
The Dutch in purchasing cowries reckoned the kotta rather by weight than by tale, and
latterly insisted on its being made equal to 25 lbs., at which it still remains approximately.
Ldhi.
4 = Ndliya.
1<J « 4» Kotmoa.
48 — 12 — 8 — Fara.
192= 48 ■— 12 — 4 — Jf«%a.
1,200 = 300 = 75 — 25 — 6± — Kadiya.
Liquid Measures. Liquid measures.
The two commonly used are : —
Ndliya — for oil, ghee, and salt.
Adubd = 5 ldhi— for jaggery, fish-blood, and vinegar.
Lineal Measures. lineal measures.
Inch = en-igW.
Foot = ef-fu(u.
Span = baya-murhe or hdvayi.
Cubit — murhe or hunt riya.
Length of the arm — bodu riya.
Yard — gazu = 2 Aiirv rtya or 2 murhe.
Fathom = eb-bammd «=» 2 ^raztf .
Half mile = baya-kos.
Mile = ek-kos.
Land is measured by bammS (fathoms).
DIVISION OF TlME. Division of time.
Minute = sahadd.
Hour — eg-gadi = 1 p?ya (S.) — 24 minutes «=> /. 2£ gadi *» 1 English hour.
Three hours = 1 watch — ed-dama (S. ydmaya).
Day — duvahu.
Week = had-duvas (« 7 days').
Fortnight *=* foya duvas.
Month — mahaku.
Year = aharu.
Long distances are generally computed by time. For instance :—
Ed-dam hisdbu — the distance traversable (sailing) in one watch of 3 hours (fit.
* one-watch account').
Ed-duvas hisdbu *=■ (the distance of) a day's sail.
Bd-tiris dam hisdbu =» the distance to Colombo, i.e., 32 watches, or 4 days' sail.
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, THE
MALDIVES.
Monet, Weights
and Measurbs.
Nautical Instru-
ments.
120 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
The old A'ryan system of chronology (common to the Sinhalese) roles concurrently
with the purely lunar year of the Hijra era, adopted since the conversion to Muhamma-
danism. Sanskrit terms, in Mildive dress, are retained both for the days of the week
and the astronomical divisions of the firmament into rdsi and ' lunar mansions' (nekat).
English.
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday ...
Nautical Instruments.
TheM&ldivians, following c the sexagesimal system', divide the circle into 360 degrees.
They make use of the modern mariners' compass f M. samugd), and copy the Arab
navigators in the -notation of its 32 points* : —
N = gavvu or gahd.
Days of the Week.
ttOdivs.
Sinhalese.
.. A'dita
Iri-dd.
Hdma
Sandu-dd.
Angdra
Angaharuvd-dd
Buda
Badd-dd.
Bur as fati
Brahaspatin-dd
•• Huhuru
Sikurd-dd.
.. Honihiru
Senasurd-dd.
N by W. ■=» farugadi astamdn
N. N. W. — ndsi do.
N. W. by N. — ndgd do.
N. W. = a 9 yugu do.
N. W. by W. = gdsilu or gasal do,
W. N. W. =- simdgu do.
W. by N. — turaydn u do.
W. = murigu do.
W. by S. —jauza do.
W. S.W. — tiru do.
S. W. by S. — agurabu do.
S. W. — galbu do.
S. W. by S. = himdriyan do.
S. S, W. — riffs' do.
S. by W. =» sillavdru or sullavdru do.
N. by E. = farugadi irdn.
N. N. E. — ndsi do.
N. E. by N. = ndgd do.
N. E. = a'yugu do.
N. E. by E. =» gdsilu or gasal do.
E. N. E. = simdgu do.
E. by N. «= tura'yanu do.
E. =» murigu do.
E. by S. =jauza do.
E. S. E. = tiru do.
S. E. by E. = agurabu do,
S. E. = galbu do.
S. E. by S. = himdriyan do.
S. S. E. = silli do.
S. by E. — sillavdru or sullavdru do.
S. = suhailu or dakunu.
" These names would seem to point to a time anterior to the invention of the magnetic
compass, when, indeed, the only way of ascertaining the relative position of a ship at
night in the broad ocean was by observing the points of the horizon where prominent
stars rose and set. The system could only have been adapted to intertropical navigation,
wherein no very great variation occurs in these azimuths, and it is necessarily but an
approximation to truth, as hardly any of the prominent stars selected rise or set at the
precise azimuth named from them.t"
Their quadrant or T shaped cross-bow for taking bearings (M. digu-fila) is a rudely-
designed but ingenious instrument. It is merely a square wooden rod, with a cross piece
at one end, on which the divisions are laid off, and a sliding radius, but capable of giving
very accurate results.
" To avoid looking at the sun the eye is directed to the opposite point of the horizon,
[through a tiny hole in a slightly-projecting metal plate at] the lower end of the cross-bar,
while it brings the solar shadow of the upper end of the same to meet the horizon by
* The names are transcribed from a list obtained from a Maldive Mvtatlim. Subsequently the writer met
with Prinsep's careful « Note on the Nautical Instruments of the Arabs" (Jour. Bengal A. 8., Vol. V., 1836,
pp. 784-94), in which is given a very similar list in Maldivian-Arabic character. The whole article will
repay perusal.
t Prinsep, (loc. cit. p. 788), who proceeds to identify the majority of the stars upon which the
Maldiviins sail in accordance with the old Arab treatises on navigation.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881,
J21
adjusting the slider to or fro on the divided arm."* The bilistry, or astrolabe, (M. rt-fila) THE
is of yet simpler construction.
The Islanders are, besides, well acquainted with the European sextant, which they call Mohit, Weights
AND MbASOBSS.
godurxn.
Numeration.
The inconvenient duodecimal mode of numeration was formerly exclusively used by Numeration,
the Mildivians — the numerals from 1 to 12 being almost identical with the Sinhalese ;
but though still in vogue here and there, is gradually dying out, and rarely employed in
business calculations. Beyond 10 a modified form of the HindAst&ni decimal numeration
is that in common use. Some confusion, however, arises from the co-existence of the two
systems ; thus, /anas or/ansds may be either 48 or 50 ; hiya or saUka, 96 or 100.
NOTES.
Notes.
Coins. The specimens given are of nearly the last issue from the M&16 mint, prior to the
death of the late Sultan. The present Sultan, Ibrahim Nur-ud-dfn, has not yet uttered a coinage, f
Obverse.
As-Sult&n
Muhammad
'Imad-ud-din
Iskandar.
t.tf..
" Sultan Muhammad 'Imad-ud-din Iskandar.' 1
Reverse.
«.e..
" Sultan of land and sea. A. H. 1294" [A.D. 1377].J
* Prinsep, loc. cit. p. 787. A comparison of the actual divisions on the digu-fila with a scale of co-
tangents showed that the Maldive instrument was constructed on correct principles.
f As it is doubtful whether a single specimen of these coins is to be found in any Museum, a detailed descrip-
tion of the collection in the writer's own cabinet, dating from A. H. 1129 [A. D. 1716-17] to A. H. 1298 [A D.
1880] will shortly be communicated to the Royal Asiatic, or Numismatic, Society.
X Date of h*4a Uri specimen, A. H. 1292, ue. t A. D. 1875.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881. 123
APPENDIX A.
POLITICAL STATUS OP THE SULTAN.
It may not be disadvantageous to attempt to set at rest the question of the exact political
status of the Maldive Sultan as regards the English Government in Ceylon.
The Sultans have been past the records of their country Sovereigns of the Maldive group,
and have ever, as far as is known, exercised supreme rule in the internal affairs of the Islands
uncontrolled by other nations, except on the rare and temporary occasions of forcible foreign
interposition, such as that of the Portuguese in the 16th century.
Their external sovereignty, or "independence in respect to all other political societies," originally
complete, has suffered modification, varying in degree, certainly since the Portuguese conquest (circa
1552), if not from the period of Muhammadan supremacy some centuries earlier.
At the commencement of the 16th century the Maldive Sultans appear to have been mere
Tassals of the " Moor" merchants at Cannanore,* and later of the Portuguese at Goa, indirectly
paying them tribute, and having ceased, in the strict sense, to be independent sovereigns.!
The terms of the treaty of peace obtained by the Islanders at the conclusion of a subsequent
protracted struggle with the Portuguese in the same century are given in detail by Pyrard. The
compact guaranteed a restricted sovereignty to the Sultans, but as virtual tributaries of Portugal.
(V. supra, p. 29).
The benefits resulting from alliance with the chief European power in the East could not but
be recognised. Upon the ascendancy, therefore, of the Dutch in Ceylon, the Sultans wisely courted
their friendship and protection by tacitly transferring the allegiance hitherto accorded to the
Portuguese. ( V. *., p. 30.)
The alliance begun with the Dutch upon the principle of mutual advantage has been cementing
during a series of more than two centuries by the exchange of good offices, so that at this time
it has ripened into something approaching a sincere attachment.
Our influence in the Maldive Islands, as that of the Dutch before us, is founded on the free
will and consent of the Sultans. From their confidence in our attachment and our power they
made themselves the feudatories, first of Holland, and subsequently of Great Britain, by placing
themselves, of their own accord, under the protection of the successive Governments in Ceylon.
It is a matter of surprise that a connection of nearly two hundred and fifty years* standing
should have subsisted without any specific treaty or agreement, — unless, indeed, the annual letters
are held to have the force of a treaty renewed year by year. Possibly it may be owing to this
circumstance that the friendship has continued so long. " Where express stipulations are estab-
lished as the ground of an alliance, the parties are so much upon their guard, and so watchful of
the conduct of each other, that jealousy and distrust too often assume the place of confidence and
good will. By maintaining a connection upon the mutual exchange of good offices without
expressly defining the views and wishes of either party, such a latitude is given as cannot fail of
producing confidence and friendship." J
In the absence of any express treaty, ample evidence of the status of the Sultans may, however,
be deduced from the official correspondence with the Ceylon Governors, taken in connection with the
fact of the annual embassy.
The Portuguese enforced an actual tribute of coir and cowries. The Dutch confined their
demand to the latter commodity under the pretence of trade, but in reality rendered the burden
heavy by constantly insisting on larger supplies, purchasable at fixed rates much below market
value. It was left for the English to be content with the annual " presents," the tender of which
by the Sultan's Ambassador, though reciprocated by return presents of a similar description, if of
THE
MALDIVES.
Appendix A.
Portuguese period.
Dutch period.
English period.
* Barboea (Colleccao de Noticias para a Historia e Geographia das Nacoes Ultramarinas, Tom. II. p. 352).
t The earliest treaty was concluded with the renowned Alboquerque in A. D. 1512 : — Legatus praeterea qnidam
a rege omnium, qui Maldiuenses insulas imperio tenebant, amplissimo, ad ilium venit ; & ab eo nomine regis sui
postnlauit, Ttillam in fidem et clientelam reciperek Ilium namq, velle regis Emmanuelis imperio subdi, & tributum
coustitutum gumma fide persoluere. Ha jus promissi foedus statim £ nit rite percussam, et Saracenus quidam, Mamelles
nomine, qui aliquot illius insulas occuparat, ex illis excedere jussus. Quod sine vlla recusatione confectum repente
fait" — ( Osorius, De Rebut Bmmanvettt Regit Lutitaniae inuictissimi, virtute et autpicio, fo+gettit. Lib. VIII.,
229,1597>
X Sir T. Rumbold, "Considerations upon the present political state of the Company in India," Madras, 1780 y
(Sixth Report, Committee of Secrecy, p. 970).
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, THE 124 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
MALDIVES.
Appendix A.
greater value, is no less tantamount to the payment of tribute than the yearly delivery of an
elephant to the Madras Govenment by the Raja of the petty Pudukottai State.
As regards the wording of the annual letters from the Sultans, a few extracts will suffice to
show that the feudal relation with the dominant European power in Ceylon has continued
undissolved to the present day.
Under the Dutch, as early as 1718, Sultan M. 'Imad-ud-din Muzaffar writes to Governor
Rumpf : — "Beneath the protection of Your Excellency, as under the shade of a spreading tree,
I am continuing in health and prosperity, and shall henceforth always look for Tour Excellency's
powerful favour towards me, being assured of Your Excellency's remembrance of me here; for
in case of attack from (foreign) enemies or other ill-meaning parties, I, an insignificant
person, have no other to rely on for help save Your Excellency." 'Protection from enemies'
is the keynote taken up by his son, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar,* and constantly restruck
throughout the Sultans' letters to the Dutch Governors during this century. On their part the
Dutch, always cautiously avoidiug specific promises of armed assistance and protection, were
profuse in assurances of a negative nature, f
Coming to the English period of rule in Ceylon. In 1805 Sultan M. M'uin-ud-din expressed
himself : — "I humbly beg Your Excellency will be so kind as to treat Me and My people like the
other Governors of Colombo used to do ; and should any hostilities be committed by any nation
against Maldive Island, I request Your Excellency will be so kind as to protect Us." To which
Sir Thomas Maitland replied : — " I shall do everything in My power to promote the good
understanding which subsists between us" — stereotyped phraseology annually repeated to the
present time, which, in the connection, can mean nothing less than an implied acknowledgment
and acceptance of the rdle of protector.
Again in 1817 the Sultan writes: — "In conformity to the relations of amity subsisting between
Your Excellency and Me, which will ever continue advancing, I beg Your Excellency, if any one
should declare himself My enemy, to defend Me on such occasions by making war with such
person." J And in 1822: — "I beg Your Excellency will have mercy on Me and protect Me by
making war with My enemies."§
Ahmad Didi, the late Sultan's uncle and Prime Minister, in a letter to Governor Campbell
in 1841, says : — w Your Excellency's Government being a great protection to Our islands, I entreat
for a continuation of Our friendship."
In 1849 Sultan Muhammad 'lmad-ud-din writes : — " We have been faithful to friendship and We
have the honour of Your alliance and protection against Our enemies, to whom, if Your Excellency
knows them to be so, Your Excellency will not extend Your auspices."]
The following year : — " We highly appreciate the influence which We have the honour to
possess in the alliance and protection We have from You against Our enemies."^
The expression is varied slightly in 1855: — "As Kings are gracious aud live in kindly
fellowship with each other, so We hope that You will deal with Us in a friendly manner and treat
Oar enemies as Your own."
Should it, however, be held that a defensive alliance, if existing at all, has been created merely
on the Sultan's own part, and is not warranted by the cautious negative language adopted generally
in the replies of the Ceylon Government, this cannot be urged of the Governor's letters of 1828-29
and 1832. To the appeal for aid against the Lakkadivians in 1828, Sir E. Barnes (prepared to act
on the sound principle which should govern these compacts, viz., 'clearly menaced injustice may
be prevented by an ally' ) answered : — " If any attack is made upon Your Highness by the
Laccadivians, or any other native power, without any connection with, or countenance from, the
East India Company, I shall feel disposed to render Your Highness every assistance which the
justice of Your case, when more fully explained, may appear to deserve."**
In 1829 again : — "The protection and assistance of the British Government of Ceylon will
continue to be readily extended to the vessels and natives of the Maldive Islands, and a reciprocal
amity and good understanding is expected from the Sultan's people to the British interests .ff
* K 9, Saltan's letter* of 17*2 and 1785. f E. g. t Dntch Governor's replies of 1722 aad 1787.
t Sultan's letter, A.H. 1282. (Translation dated September 29th, 1817.) See also letters of 1812, 1821, 1831,
1882, 1835, 1837, 1888, 1889, 1841, and 1844.
$ Sultan's letter, A.H. 1239. | 8ultan*s letter, A.H. 1285.
5 See also letters of 1853, 1854, and from 1858 to the present day.
*• Gorernor's reply, dated December 8th, 1828. ft Reply, dated December 9th, 1829.
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" Your Ambassador," wrote Sir R. Wilmot Horton in 1832, w had the opportunity of seeing
the Admiral Commanding the Fleets of the King, my master, in those seas, who promised to afford
all protection to Your ships, and received an assurance of similar assistance on Your part."*
To sum up. It appears from the above : —
(i.) — That the Mai dive Sultans have voluntarily courted defensive alliance with the dominant
European power in Ceylon by placing themselves of their own accord under its
protection, and by the tender of actual or virtual tribute,
(ii.) — That in the absence of any express treaty or agreement, the rble of suzerain has been
accepted by each power in turn, by inference clearly deduoible from official
correspondence,
(iii.) — That the present political status of the Maldives is that of a semi-sovereign State,
under the exclusive protectorate of the English Government in Ceylon — a
relation very similar to that of the King of the Isle of Man with John of
England, established by Treaty of A. D. 1212.
The following remarks of Sir T. Rumbold, when Governor of Madras in 1780, explaining the
position of the Nawab of the Carnatic with regard to the East India Company, apply mutatis
mutandis with equal force to the connection, of a century later, between the Ceylon Government and
the Maldive Sultan.
u It must be confessed that the want of some precise line for the guidance of this Government
in its intarcourse with the Sultans, such as is clearly laid down in the engagements between the
-Indian Government and the Protected States (e.g., of Rajput, Burdela, Malwa, &c.) may be
productive of some embarrassment. The Sultan has always been considered and treated by the
English as an independent Prince ; but it has not yet been settled by express stipulation, how far
•the Sultan, in virtue of his iudependence, or the Ceylon Government in the character of his friends
aud protectors, should direct aud superintend the external interests of the Maldive Islands. If this
right belongs solely to the Sultan — as in the eye of international law it uudoubtedly does until it
has passed, not by inference, but per expressum — this Government may be without, and even against
their consent drawn into measures affecting their own interests aud possessions. On the other
hand, if the Ceylon Government, in virtue of their character as protectors of the Sultan's dominions*
claim the right of directing the interests of the Mdldive Islands, then they infringe the
acknowledged independency of the Sultan, and become, in fact, the rulers, instead of the defenders
of his country. It seems reasonable, indeed, that the Government who have taken upon
themselves the office of protector should be allowed the lead in all political transactions that- affect
the Mdldives, and this the Sultans have admitted sua sponte by appealing to the Ceylon Govern-
ment whenever likely to be involved in difficulties with foreign powers. But should the Sultan
claim the privilege of acting for himself, the Ceylon Government if determined to follow the
strict law of nations, may find themselves perplexed until it be absolutely settled how far they or
the Sultan are to yield upon any difference of opinion.
" It is easy to imagine that in certain eventualities no small advantage would be derived from
an exclusive influence in the Sultan's dominions sufficient to establish a decided superiority and to
exclude all competitors. A sense of interest suggests both the importance of so useful an attach"
ment, and also how embarrassing might be our situation if that attachment should ever be dissolved
or transferred to another European nation. Fortunately, the benefits resulting from this t^onnection
are reciprocal ; and the Sultans, having received at least as much advantage from our alliance and
support as we have derived from their friendship, are equally bound upon principles of gratitude
and interest to remain steadfast in their attachment to the English."!
Another question arising from the present undefined relationship with the Maldive Sultan
(which, though of minor importance, has already cropped up more than once, and is likely to recur
at any moment) is to what extent, if at all, should the Ceylon Government hold themselves respon-
sible for disbursements made directly or indirectly by other Governments on account of the Sultan's
subjects.
It seems to have been accepted of late years that this Government is bound, according to
received and long-standing custom, to pay all charges for the relief of Maldive sailors in actual
distress, in return for the assistance and hospitality expected of the Sultan towards persons
shipwrecked on his coasts.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Appbndix A.
* Governor's reply, dated December 14th, 1832.
f Sir T. Rumbold, loc. eU. (quoted in Parliamentary Papers, 1861, East India, 'Nawanbs of the Carnatic').
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126 SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
, THE Opinions will hardly be divided as regards the justice and sound policy of the liberal line of
' action which the Government have apparently determined to adopt for the future ; but it is a
Appendix A. misapprehension to suppose that it is altogether warranted by former precedent, or necessarily
required of this Government from the nature of the connection which has always existed with the
Sultans.
The Sultans most certainly understand, and have always understood, that the protection and
favour of the Government in Ceylon is dependent on the succour they afford to shipwrecked Euro-
pean subjects. Always forward to admit that the obligation is entirely on their side, they have
eagerly embraced every opportunity of proving the sincerity of their attachment and gratitude. It
is true that reciprocal aid to British and Maldive subjects has been stipulated for since the
commencement of English rule in Ceylon, but it is equally true that the Sultans, up to thirty years
ago, at least, offered, and were expected to recoup this Government for any sums spent on behalf
of Maldivians detained in Ceylon ports by stress of weather or other cause.
In 1798 an account amounting to Rs. 500 was tendered to the Sultan for repairs to his vessel
and allowance to the crew. The Sultan's letter of 1804 contains a distinct request that the
Governor would allow subsistence to the Maldive vessels on his account.* But not to go back
further than 1850, the late Sultan specially desired the Governor to notify to his Ambassador the
sum spent the previous year for the maintenance of the Ambassador and crew, and for repairs to his
vessel, that it might be refunded. " It is desirable that We should be acquainted with what
amount was advanced, and We beg Tour Excellency will let Us know the same/'f The sum was
£40. It is the more strange, therefore, that within a few years Government authorized (1856)>
without query or comment, a special grant, in Colombo alone, of £20 to Maldivians alleged
to be sick and destitute, and that similar allowances were conceded in succeeding years,
viz., £50 in 1857, a smaller sum in 1858, £50 in 1859, £10 in 1862, and £30 in 1866. These
grants were in some instances fondly made — not to luckless Maldivians cast adrift in Ceylon by
shipwreck or other accident beyond their control, but to Islanders who had deliberately left their
country more suo without a copper chally, and provisions barely sufficient for the voyage, trusting
to the charity of the Government or of their co-religionists in Ceylon for maintenance until the
change of the monsoon allowed of their departure — to men who actually refused work on the
preposterous plea that they were the Sultan's subjects 1
A recent claim by the Indian Government (1879) for Rs. 3,679 in reimbursement of expenses
incurred for the maintenance and despatch to their country of a crew of Maldivians picked up from
a sinking vessel in the Bay of Bengal brought the question prominently forward. By the Secretary
of State's Despatch, No. 59, dated 26th March, 1872, the Indian Government is liable to bear the
expenses incurred in relieving distressed seamen who are subjects of that Government, •'. *., natives
of British India. As the seamen in question were held to be neither subjects of the Indian Govern*
ment, nor were serving in a British ship at the time of their rescue, the Indian authorities considered
it advisable to prefer a claim against the Government of Ceylon, under the evident impression,
that the incidence of the charge, resting immediately upon this Government, would probably
be transferred ultimately to the Maldive Sultan. The claim was paid and accepted — though not
without some hesitation — as a legitimate liability of the Colony ; but it was hinted that, had the
relations of this Government with the Sultan been of less vague a character, some pressure might
have been brought to bear in respect of the refund of the money.
* Sultan's letter, dated November 2nd, 1804. f Sultan's letter, A. H. 1266.
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APPENDIX B.
TREATMENT OF WRECKS.
Grave doubts were formerly — and, perhaps, by superficial inquirers are still, — entertained
regarding the humane conduct displayed by the Maldive Islanders towards persons shipwrecked on
their Atols. These doubts have had their origin in the vague rumours ever and anon wafted
across from this Ultima Thule, caught up, and naturally exaggerated by a confiding public, ever
ready to be deceived, whilst indisposed to sift out the truth.
Lieutenauts Christopher and Young were perhaps the first to combat the popular notion,
and to show that the too prevalent suspicion was generally unfounded. It is curious, however,
that they should have contented themselves with deciding that the credibility of the evidence
regarding the treatment of a wreck which had occurred more than forty years previously was in
favour of the Islanders, instead of citing more recent cases, of which they must have been fully
cognizant, e.g., the " Hay ston" (1819), "Adonis" (1835), and a Vicissitude" (1836), in confirmation
of the opinion they had formed.
"During the early part of our residence we did indeed hear of certain transactions which,
if true, would have stamped with deceit and treachery the character of these Islanders ; but
subsequent observations induced us to attach little credit to the reports in question. We allude to
certain reports of the crews of wrecked vessels alleged to have suffered inhumane treatment at the
hands of the natives ; but the statements of those individuals who were said to have witnessed the
facts, when questioned by us, marked as they were with consistency and with every appearance of
truth, greatly strengthened our suspicions of the incorrectness of the accounts which had reached
us It is not at all improbable that traders visiting Mal£, hearing some accounts of
shipwrecks, or seeing in the possession of the natives articles which, not being usually imported,
could only have been acquired from vessels driven amongst the Islands ; observing also the back*
wardness of the natives to answer inquiries respecting those matters, and attributing this to a
desire to conceal the facts, though they are equally incommunicative on every subject relating to
the affairs of the Islands, — it is, we think, not unlikely that under such circumstances the traders
would, out of such questionable materials, conjure up tales of murder and bloodshed which had no
foundation in fact.
" We ourselves were at first inclined to credit some of the reports of this nature which we
heard, and Lieutenant Young considered it his duty to address the Superintendent of the Indian
Navy to make known to him what we had heard respecting one particular case, in which a vessel
driven on shore on Male* was stated to have been plundered by the natives, who, it was alleged,
murdered the crew, and found much treasure on board. We were led to doubt the truth of the
statement from a conversation we had with a native of Chittagong who had been 35 years an
exile in the Suadiva Attol, whither he had been banished for having purchased stolen goods. On
the accession of the present Sultan [M. 'Imad-ud-din], he, with many others, was released from
the operation of his sentence and permitted to return. When the abovementioned wreck occurred
he was resident trader at Mal6, and some of the particulars relating to it he had from the native
portion of the crew As our informant, who stood a close cross-examination, was consistent
in his account, and had apparently no motive for deceiving us or concealing the truth, his statement
appears more entitled to credit than the other version of the story, resting, as it does, merely on
vague reports."*
The experience of a further half century, though in the main of a negative character, has done
much to strengthen public confidence in the character of the Maldivians. That it is not fully
assured can only be due to ignorance of the circumstances attending the many wrecks among the
Atols.
Appended is a rough list of wrecks which have occured on the Maldives between 1797 and
1880.
In three cases only— the "Tranquebar" (1797), the " St. Clair" (1851), and the S.S. "Sea
Gull" (1879) — have charges of misconduct been made against the Maldivians.
As regards the " Tranquebar," from the account given in the correspondence with the Madras
Government by Mr. Fisher, one of the owners of the vessel, there are, unfortunately, good grounds
for believing that in this instance the Islanders cannot be acquitted of nefarious action.
• Transactions, Bombay Geographical Society, 1636-8 (Reprint 1844), pp. 64-5.
, THE
MALDIVES.
Appendix B.
Treatment of wreck*.
Testimony of
Lients. Christopher
and Young.
Wrecks,
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THK
MALDIVES.
Appjndix B.
14 Tranqnebar,"
1797.
M St Clair.'
The " Tranquebar," freighted with piece goods for Colombo by her owners, Captain Overend
and Mr. Fisher, was driven by stress of weather to the Maldives in January, 1797. On the 29th
they fell in with one of the lesser islands. " At 10 o'clock a boat from the shore came alongside
the vessel, and the crew were desired to shew good and safe anchorage, which they promised
to do ; but, after a great deal of evasion, having got the vessel into a critical situation, they
suddenly left her and returned to the shore." Capt. Overend had to come to anchor in 60 fathoms,
and proceeded on shore to procure assistance from the Chief of the Island, " who readily promised
his aid, but delayed the fulfilment so long that the vessel stranded, and three or four boats were
instantly perceived going off to her." The Master and part of the crew then swam on board to
prevent pillage, and to save the cargo, " which could easily have been effected, as the vessel lay in
five feet water." "The Master had scarcely got up the side when he was knocked
overboard by the Islanders, who declared that he should not meddle with anything, and that they
would save the cargo, and would make a report to their King, and if it pleased him to restore the
property they should have it," The Islanders proceeded to remove the cargo as well as the lead of
the vessel, and helped themselves to several pieces from the bales. 'I he crew were sent to another
Island " that they might not see how much of the cargo was saved," and subsequently to Sultan's
Island {Male). Frequent demands made to "the Second of the Island" for the restitution of
property were met by the evasive reply that very little was saved ; but upon a threat of complaint
to the Madras Government the Chief became more friendly, and promised to have all the cargo that
was saved brought to Male. " Fifteen days elapsed, but no cargo appeared," aud the Master, being
struck down with violent fever, was then taken off by an English ship. Captain Overend died at
the Maldives.*
Sir F. North forwarded a translation of the whole correspondence to the reigning Sultan
(M. M'uin-ud-din), remarking: — " Had Your Highness at that time commenced Your auspicious
reign, au act of such outrageous and unwarrantable violence would not have happened ; and I am
confident that Your justice will induce You to make ample reparation for an eveut so contrary to
the hospitality which a friendly nation has a right to find in if our dominions, and so incompatible
with those sentiments of friendship and goodwill which Your Highuess possesses towards the ships
and subjects of Great Britain."!
It has already been stated (V. *., p. 35) that the Sultan's reply was considered satisfactory;
but as the complaint was not instituted for more than three years, aud in the interval a new Sultan
bad succeeded to the throne, it could not have been difficult to fabricate some plausible explanation.
The only reparation Mr. Fisher obtained was by the sale of a very small portion of the wrecked
goods which had found their way to Ceylon.
For the conduct of the Islanders, outrageous as it was, it is still possible to find some extenuation
so far as regards the claim asserted to the vessel after she became a wreck. By Maldive law or
long-standing custom, all wrecks are strictly held to be the property of the Sultan — a custom
mentioned by Pyrard J, and formerly ruling in other sea-board States of India, . e.g., Kalastri
Sawaotwari, &c. By different Treaties with the East India Company, these Indian Princes
consented to waive their right to wrecks ; but it should be remembered that no such agreement has
ever been contracted with the Maldive Sultans. Indeed, it is rather a matter for wonder that, thus
untrammelled, the Sultans have never preferred claim to salvage for the recovery of the cargoes
from the wrecks which have occurred in their dominions.
From the mention of " the Second of the Island," it is not unlikely that the Sultan (Hasan
Nur-ud-din) was at the time absent on the pilgrimage to Mekka which terminated his life, and
that the knowledge of this fact induced his subjects to be less scrupulous than usual about
appropriating property chance had offered.
The •' St. Clair" is the second doubtful case. The Indian Government received on the 16th
April, 1851, a letter from the Maldive Sultan to this effect: — " On the 10th February, 1851,
Captain Tierney and twenty-seven men of the " St. Clair," which was destroyed by fire in longitude
74° and latitude 7° 48', came to My Island of Mahal in four boats. When I saw the condition to
which they had been reduced I had them landed and showed them great kindness — that is, I gave
them a house to live in and supplied them with provisions. They lived with Us for a few days,
and I intended to send them in My boats which annually go to Your ports. Meanwhile, they made
arrangements with a Gooncha (vessel) by name • Pudarut', belonging to Ibrahimjee, and asked Me
for permission to embark. As the vessel was to sail before any other, I gave them permission, and
* Attested statement made at Colombo by J. H. Thoring, Commander of the " Tranquebar."
f Governor's letter, dated December 8th, 1800. \ Pyrard, pp. 163, 211.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
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the Captain and thirteen of his men embarked on board the ' Pudarut.' The remaining fourteen men
embarked on board the Gooncha ' Lukmepursad,' Nakhooda Kara, and took with them such of
the articles as were saved from the wreck. They have all left this place. The Captain was
satisfied with Me, and I with him. If it pleases God they will arrive safe at Your port."*
A reference through the Chamber of Commerce at Bombay to the Captain of the " St. Clair"
regarding the nature of the treatment received by himself and the crew during their stay at the
Maldives drew from the Captain the following complaint : —
"I beg leave to inform you that I did not receive at the Maldives the kindness the Sultan
mentions in his letter. I was not supplied with any provisions except the following, viz., one bag
of rice, a few cocoanuts, 20 lbs. sugar, and 4 ounces tea We got a house to live in. It
is my firm belief they would have treated us harshly if it were not for the dread of the British
Government in India. The Sultan did not offer to provide the crew and me a passage to India,
nor did I express my satisfaction at the treatment we received I complied with all
their rules and regulations, and was in every way submissive to the authorities as became an
Englishman and a gentleman. I had a good crew, and the best of order and regularity was
preserved among them. I acquainted the Ibondagaree [Had6giri], Collector of Customs, who is
the principal man under the Sultan, by letter that the men would require a little fresh provisions,
they having been so long living on salt, but my letter was taken no notice of. I wrote then to the
Sultan, but it met with the same treatment. I had to provide provisions in the best manner I
could, by exchanging one of the boats to a Chittagong trader for some rice, tea, and sugar.
" I made the authorities to understand that in our Sailing (Horsburgh's) Directory, Captain
Moresby spoke of their hospitality to strangers, and the British Government were of that opinion.
I must say that the Islanders of the other Atolls — viz., Tilla Dou Medowmatta [Tiladummati],
Milla Dou Madow [Miladummacjuju], Phaideepholo [Fadiffolu] — that I passed through were more
civil, they were very courteous, and 1 found them honest.
4t The Sultan detained the pattimars 3 days after they were ready for sailing, by not giving
the sailing orders or allowing a pilot, and for what reason I could never learn. "J
Upon the correspondence being referred to the Ceylon Government, a strong letter was addressed
to the Sultan by Sir Charles McCarthy, detailing the subjects of complaint, and concluding as
follows : — "All nations in community act with great consideration and kindness to shipwrecked
mariners. I therefore trust You will also order Your people that this kindness may never fail on
such occasions, by which friendship will be maintained between Your Highness and the British
nation to the great advantage of all concerned."^
The Sultan replied the ensuing year : — " The letter which was sent Us by Your Excellency
has been received and perused by Us ; and as We learn from the contents thereof that certain
shipwrecked mariners, unknown to Us, had preferred a complaint, We beg to acquaint Your
Excellency that some seamen from a wrecked ship came to Us, and We furnished them with lodgings
and supplies of such articles of food as We have here."
" It has been usual with Us to find passage for persons in that situation to take them to some
British territory where they could conveniently be sent to, provided the weather is favourable ;
but on the particular occasion alluded to it was not practicable for Us to do so, as the weather
was contrary, and Our Dhonies (which are small, and tackled with slender ropes) could not venture
to sea If under such circumstances they will have no patience, it is not right Permission
was granted by Us when applied for by the traders, &c, to proceed on their journey.*^
The explanation was forwarded to the Indian Government, and the matter ended.
No one acquainted with the ordinary supplies obtainable at the Maldives would feel surprized
at strangers imagining themselves somewhat stinted with the provisions dealt out to them; but, on
the contrary, would learn with considerable astonishment that they had been indulged with such
rare and expensive luxuries as tea and sugar. Perhaps the true explanation of the curtailed supply
of provisions may be found in the Captain's own admission that he possessed the means of pur-
chasing them.
Regarding the detention of the " pattimars," delay in issuing sailing orders is an established,
though doubtless unpleasant, custom, still in force at M&16, owing to tedious preliminary formalities
to which Europeans and natives alike have to submit.
the
maldives.
Appendix B.
* Substance of Sultan's letter to the Governor of Bombay, received April, 1851.
t Letter to Chamber of Commerce, Bombay. % Governor's letter, dated 30th July, 1661.
§ Sultan's reply, A. H. 1268*
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,THE
MALDIVES.
Appendix B.
SS. "Sea-Gull,"
1879.
' Europa,"
1812.
1817.
" Hayston,"
1819.
" Adonis,"
" Vicissitude,"
1835, 1836.
■ Mac Imroy,"
1839, 1842.
1842.
4 Trazer e Allegria,"
1844.
"Paramatta,"
1855.
After all, the asserted " misconduct" was rather an omission on the sole part of the authorities
at Male\ for the Captain had no fault to find with the Islanders generally.
3. It is not necessary to do more than just refer to the recent charge of alleged assault and
petty larceny by the inhabitants of Gafaru Island (North Male* Atol) in connection with oper-
ations for the recovery of the cargo from the wreck of the S.S. " Sea-Gull" (1879), as the complaint,
though referred to the Sultan at the time, was considered too trivial to be pressed.*
The first two cases have been dwelt on in some detail designedly, in order not to hide in any
degree the full extent of the alleged misdoings of the Maldivians.
Turning now to the evidence in favour of the Islanders, it is satisfactory to find that there is
'enough and to spare' to convince every impartial inquirer that their professed humanity is " not
a myth, but a sober and pleasing reality."
Several cases of substantial aid rendered to vessels wrecked on the Atols in the 17th and 18th
centuries have been briefly noted in glancing at Maldive history ( V. 8. pp. 31, 35, 37. )f It will
suffice to confine investigation to the present century.
Referring to the wreck of the " Europa" ( V. s. pp. 35, 36, 47, 48) Sir R. Brownrigg wrote
in January, 1815 : — " The wreck of a vessel off the coast of this Island in the month of October last,
belonging to some subjects of Your Highness, gave me an opportunity of again testifying my sense
of the kindness afforded by Your Highness to the crew of the British ship * Europa,' wrecked on
the Maldive Islands in the year 1812.J" Again in 1817 the Sultan was presented with nine-
teen bales of cinnamon, the cargo of a Galle dhony which had been wrecked on the Islands, in
acknowledgment of his u humanity and care w .§ In 1819 the Governor writes, with reference to the
wreck of the " Hayston": — " I have had with great satisfaction the letter which Your Highness's
messenger, who lately arrived at Galle, brought to the Collector of that District, containing the
particulars of the loss of an English ship off the Maldive Islands, and of the humane treatment the
officer, passengers, and crew who were so fortunate as to survive the wreck, received from Your
Highness during the period of their detention within Your dominions. The vessel in which they
were despatched to Ceylon arrived in safety I am most happy to learn that the conduct of the
unfortunate sufferers gave Your Highness so much satisfaction while they remained under Your
protection, and thereby rendered themselves worthy of the kiud and benevolent care Your Highness
was pleased to take of them."[
For " the humane and liberal conduct" of the Maldivians towards the Commander, officers and
crew of the "Adonis" (1835) and "Vicissitude" (1836), the Sultan jeceived the thanks of the
Government of India. Presents were accepted as a mark of friendship, but all payment was declined,
though liberally offered.
Returning to Ceylon. The Right Honourable J. A. Stewart Mackenzie writee, in 1839: — " I
cannot lose this opportunity of expressing to Your Highness my thanks for the kind treatment You
have afforded to the Captain and the crew of the British ship * Mac Imroy,' lately wrecked on
one of the isles of Your dominions, and for the aid You have bestowed for their safe conveyance to
Ceylon by lending one of Your Highness's vessels for that purposed
Three years later (1842) a native vessel belonging to a "Pakeer Tamby" struck on one of the
Maldive reefs and " was completely wrecked." The Sultan "caused every needful assistance to be
rendered to the crew," and finally sent them back to Colombo in a hired vessel, " paying their pas-
sage money." This good service was duly acknowledged by Governor Campbell.**
The Sultan's kindly treatment, in 1844, of the passengers and crew of the Portuguese transport,
" Prazer e Allegria," has already been referred to ( V. s. 37 J
In 1855 the Sultan sent over to Ceylon the shipwrecked crew of the u Paramatta," which was
"wrecked and foundered opposite the shores of Attumatty Island" [FHaddumati Atol.] "They
* F.*.,p. 88. f See, too, Stephen's Faria-y-Sousa, Vol. III., Pt IV., chap. XL, p. 397, of the
shipwreck of D. George de Almeyda on the Maldives in A.D. 1631:—" The King of the Islands wrote to D. George
condoling his misfortune and sending him a parcel of rice."
% In the Asiatic Annual Register, 1801, is reported the wreck on the Maldives of a thirty-five ton vessel, with
between 20 and 30 Europeans on board, when bound to Colombo: — "Capt Meik expresses himself in the highe^
terms of the attention shown to him, his officers and crew by the inhabitants during their stay."
§ Governor's letter, dated November 8th, 1817.
Q -Sultan's letter (translation dated August 26th, 1819); — " So g< od a man as this Captain did never come to Our
country." Governor's reply, dated September 6th, 1819. 1 Governor's letter dated December 19th, 1839.
•♦ Sultan's letter, datad Muharram, A.H. 1259. Governor's reply, dated December 7th, 1842.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
131
were in all eleven persons," writes the Sultan, " of whom five have since died. They were accom-
modated with lodging and victuals, and the Captaiu and Pilot treated with special honors by Us.
We offered to embark them in Our own vessel ; but the Captain declined it, and desired that We
should order a vessel belonging to some of Our subjects, and We complied with his desire. We
afterwards provided them with their travelling expenses, and have also sent Our own pilot to
accompany them as Our Agent with instructions to see those people safely conveyed to where Your
Excellency is. May God grant his favour."* In acknowledging the Sultan's letter and returning
u cordial thanks" for the assistance he had rendered, Sir C.J. McCarthy added : — "It has afforded
me much pleasure to learn from the master of the vessel that he had met with such kind and hospi-
table treatment in Your Highness's dominions, and I shall be happy to reciprocate Your good
offices whenever it lies in my power. "f
The following year the " Spirit" was wrecked on Suvadiva Atol. The Captain and crew were
treated with similar kindness by the Sultan : — " We felt it Our duty to render them every assistance
by procuring for them lodgings and maintenance, and to show every mark of respect due to such
persons. We subsequently despatched the Captain and three of his men, Nagoda Ali and the rest
by another vessel of Our own." % " In returning My sincere thanks for these good offices on the part
of Your Highness," writes Sir Henry Ward, " I feel it right to acknowledge with equal thankfulness
the kindly and liberal spirit in which the duties of good neighbourhood have always been
discharged by You."J
The year 1873 Witnessed four wrecks on the Maldives, of which two were French vessels —
the "Francois" and the " L'Ecureuil." The crews were hospitably entertained and provided with
free passages to Ceylon. As the Sultan had twice acted so well towards French subjects, it was
almost decided to communicate an account of his good deeds to the French Government. Sir
William Gregory did not fail to express to the Sultan his deep sense of these satisfactory marks
of good feeling and friendship. §
There is no need to adduce additional evidence in support of what — to those who cared to
acquaint themselves with the facts — must almost from the outset have been a foregone conclusion.
The Maldivians may lay claim to the proud distinction of being probably the only race
similarly situated on the face of the globe who have not required to be taught by special contract,
or legal enactment, the duty they owe their fellow men who have fallen into "troubles by shipwreck"
on their " tempest-haunted" Atols.
Homines ad deos nulla re proprius accedunt quam saluiem Jiominibus dando.
Nothing is more certain, however, than that, had the Maldives come within th e influence of
the English East India Company, the Sultans would have been bound down long ago to a Treaty
clearly defining the action expected from them in cases of wrecks. Hardly a compact entered
into with any Oriental Potentate, whose dominions bordered the sea, but contained an express
clause stipulating for aid to wrecks — coupled, in most cases, with a provision for the relinquishment
of any claim thereto.
These covenants were of two main descriptions : —
1. Agreements binding one party only, providing for assistance to wrecks and their
abandonment to the claimants.
(a) Unconditionally, e. g., Turkey (1661-2), Kalastri (1760), Persia (1763), Muskat
(1798), Joasmi (1806), Aramra and BeH (1807),- Dingi (1807), Pusitra (1807),
Junagarh (1808), Purbandar (1808), Koihapur (1812), Kachch (1816),Muskat (with
America, 1846).
(b) Conditional, on payment of reasonable expenses, e.g., Eartinad (176 1), Bushire (1763) ,
Peshwa (1775), Broach (1786).
2. Reciprocal agreements, requiring aid and the restoration of wrecks.
(a) Unconditionally, e.g., Sawantwari (1730), Jafarabad (1761), Muskat (with England,
1839; with France, 1846).
(b) Conditional,
(i) On payment of reasonable expenses, e.g., S&wantwari (1765, 1766), Peshwa
(1776), Portugal (salvage, &c, 1842).
(ii) On equal division of cargo, e.g., Peshwa (1839).
THE
MALDIVES.
Appendix B.
'Spirit", 1856.
1873.
* Sultan's letter, dated A.H. 1871. t Governor's reply, dated March 29th, 1S55.
X Sultan's letter, dated October, AH. 1273. Governor's reply, dated November 27th, 1856.
§ Governor's letters, dated August 5th and December 9th, 1873.
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132
SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
/THE
MALDIVES.
Appendix B.
That these Treaties have had a wholesome effect will hardly be disputed; and. fairly as th«
tacit understanding with the Sultans has proved to have worked, it may reasonably be doubted
whether the time has not arrived for a closer and more defined compact drawn on the lines of some
of the above agreements.
Nothing could be clearer or better meet the case than the reciprocal provisions of Article XIV.,
paragraph 3, of the " Treaty of Commerce and Navigation" between Great Britain and Portugal
dated 3rd July, 1842 :—
"If any ships of war, or merchant vessels, should be wrecked on the coasts of either of the
high contracting parties, such ships or vessels, or any parts thereof, and all furniture and
appurtenances belonging thereunto, and all goods and merchandise which shall be saved therefrom, or
the produce thereof, if sold, shall be faithfully restored to the proprietors upon being duly claimed
by them, or by their Agents duly authorized ; or if there are no such proprietors or Agents on the
spot, by the respective Consuls of the nations to which the properties of the said ships, vessels, or
goods may belong, and in whose districts such wrecks may have taken place, provided such claim
be preferred within a year and a day from the time of such wreck; and such Consul, proprietor, or
Agent shall pay only the expenses incurred in the preservation of the property, together with the
rate of salvage which would have been payable in the like case of a wreck of a national vessel ;
and the goods and merchandise saved from the wreck shall not be subject to duties unless cleared
for local consumption."
Considering that the Maldives lie in the direct track of vessels bound to the East — the number
of which has enormously increased of late years, and is certain to grow with the spread of civilisa-
tion and trade in the many new fields now opening out to European enterprise— and the weighty
interests involved in the assurance of safety to life and property in the event of disaster on these
treacherous Atois, it becames the bounden duty of this Government to use all means in its power
in order to induce a more general feeling of security.
Since 1867 alone (when the Board of Trade first commenced a systematic registry of these
casualties) 13 wrecks have occurred on the Maldive group, or an average of one every year.
It is still thought by the Maldivians that after the occurrence of a wreck the Captain has lost
all right to his goods and cargo. "When the 'Liffey* was wrecked on Nilandu Atoll in
August last year [1877], the people would in no way assist the master to recover any of the cargo.
They could not do so without express leave of the Sultan, though they provided boats, pilots, and
provisions for the conveyance of the crew to Male."* " This," as Mr. Gray truly remarks, u is hardly
a satisfactory state of things," and, it must be confessed, is in great part due to the indifference with
which everything connected with the Maldives has hitherto been regarded.
Of the Lakkadive Islanders, Mr. Allen Hume writes, in 1876 : — "They have been accused of
plundering wrecks, but I believe the worst that can be said of them is, when they have found
abandoned wrecks on the reefs, and useful articles lying about handy, they have very sensibly helped
themselves. Considering that no salvage had ever been offered to them, or any inducement held
out to them to act otherwise, I think that no great blame attaches to them. They have never bee n
inhospitable or unfriendly to shipwrecked mariners, and now that salvage has been duly offered to
them, and the law on this subject explained to them, I do not believe that anything more than petty
pilfering, such as goes on to this day on our own English coasts, will be heard of."f
It is useless to wait until the Sultan — meekest of Rulers — puts forward claim for salvage.
A demand so presumptuous to Maldive minds will never be made from their powerful and dreaded
protectors. It would be both more generous, and in public interests the wiser course, for the offer
to emanate from the Ceylon Government.
The Board of Trade has long had in contemplation the erection of a light-house on Minakai,
but year by year 'dies and makes no sign* of its commencement.^
There are other and more dangerous passages than the " Eight-Degree-Channel" — such as the
Karadiva Channel — regularly traversed at certain seasons, which must sooner or later engage
attention.
Whilst Kaukesanturai and the Paumben Channel remains without even a fourth-class light, it
is hardly to be expected that this Colony will consider the wants of her Dependency. But some-
thing might possibly be done towards minimising — by day at least — the difficulties of navigation
through the intricacies of the Maldive Atols by urging upon the Sultan the desirability of causing
obelisks, or towers, to be erected as land marks at the entrance of the more frequented passages.
* J. R. A. S., Vol. X., n.s., 1878, p. 808. f Stray Feathers, 1876, Vol. IV., p. 441.
I This work has since been commenced by the Imperial Government.
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SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
133
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