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History of Male |
The first settlers in the Maldive islands were Dravidian people and Indo-Aryan (Sinhalese) people from the nearest coasts, which are in the Indian Subcontinent and coastal Ceylon. The people of Giraavaru, an island located in Male' Atoll (now a tourist resort, after its inhabitants were removed) claim to descend from the first settlers.
It is said that Giraavaru fishermen used to go regularly to a certain large sandbank (finolhu)at the southern end of their atoll to clean tuna fish after a good catch. Owing to the large amount of tuna fish offal and blood, the waters around that sandbank looked like a big pool of blood (maa ley gandeh). "Maa" (from the Sanskrit "Maha"), meaning big, and "Le" meaning blood. Traditionally the first inhabitants of the Maldives, which include the Giravaru people, didn't have kings. They lived in a simple society and were ruled by local headmen. But one day a prince from the Subcontinent called Koimala arrived to Male' Atoll sailing from the North on a big ship. The people of Giraavaru spotted his vessel from afar and welcomed him. They allowed Prince Koimala to settle on that large sandbank in the midst of the waters tainted with fishblood. Trees were planted on the sandbank and it is said that the first tree that grew on it was the papaya tree. As time went by the local islanders acceped the rule of this Northern Prince. A palace was built and the island was formally named Maa-le (Male'), while the nearest island was named Hulhu-le.
The names of the main four wards or divisions of Male' Island are said to have been given by the Giraavaru fishermen: Maafannu from "maa"(big) and "fannu"(a place where a village path meets the sea), Henveiru from "en-beyru"(out where fishermen got their bait), Galolhu from "galu-olhu" (stone groove) and, Macchangolhi from mathi-angolhi (windward path-fork)."
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