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2007-09-21 00:00:00
Our islands (the islands of Maldives) were born in the tumult of great geological change. Millions of years ago a great range of volcanoes rose from the floor of the Indian Ocean and burst through its surface. Gradually, when the years pass-by, the tumult lessened and the volcanoes sank back into the depths leaving only small coral reefs in the vast expanse of sea. Thus, forming a glittering necklace of gems stretching across the equator, covering the coral reefs with whitish sand and lush green of coconut palms and hardy shrubs, which were completely deserted. Yet as sailors, ever adventurous, sailed further and further in search of conquest and wealth, they drifted upon them. In some far-off times now remembered only in distant folklore, a strange race of seagoing giants were among the first people to make their homes on these remote and distant islands.
Thousands of years ago, the "Phoenicians" sailed through the islands and in the centuries that followed came Egyptian, Chinese, Greek, Roman and Sri Lankan manners. One legend from those misty, long-ago times before the arrival of Islam was that a single dynasty ruled this nation of scattered islands.
The story goes...
"Once upon a time, a Prince of Royal birth named Koimala Kaloa, who had married the Ceylon King's daughter, made a voyage with her in two vessels from Serendib Island. As soon as they reach Maldives they rested a while at "Rasgetheemu Island" in North Maalosmadulu Atoll. "The Maldive Islanders learning that the two chief visitors were of Ceylon Royal descent, invited them to remain; and ultimately proclaimed Koimala their King at Rasgetheemu, the original "King's Island". Subsequently Koimala and his spouse migrated to Male' and settled there with the consent of the aborigines of Giraavaru Island, then the most important community of Male Atoll".
A mixture of fact and fable, such tales as these lend to the mystery of Maldives before the arrival of Islam in the twelfth century. "The story continues with the king's order for two of his ships to return home and bring back other people of the "Lion Race", where upon his son reigned as a Buddhist for twelve years, and was then converted to Islam, ruling for thirteen years more before he finally departed for Mecca. As the legend goes, the king was succeeded by his daughter, who reigned as nominal sultana until her son married a lady of the country. From then the subsequent Rulers of the Maldives were descended".
Although official Maldivian history only begins in the twelfth century, literary it works and archaeological remains provide clues to earlier pre-Islamic eras. Maldives was a stopping-off point for many great seafaring civilizations which roamed the high seas long before European maritime history began . Since it was the Egyptians who taught the Romans how to cross the Indian Ocean, it may not be too fanciful to imagine the proud Egyptian papyrus ships with their colorful square sails navigating through the Equatorial Channel along the highway of the sun. Perhaps the Maldivian men modeled the elegant curved bows of their boats from the Egyptians, and the women the beautifully embroidered collar pieces of their dresses.
History of Maldives
Geography
Formation of the islands of the Maldives