History of the Maldives
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Maldives Archive By: Mustho: The Maldivian People.. Who are them?
Maldives Archive By: Mustho: The Maldivian People.. Who are them?: Maldivians The people of the Maldives are predominantly of Aryan stock. According to Albert Gray: “As to its origin, t...
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
History of Sports in the Madives
International
sports began about a century ago in the Maldives. According to historical
sources cricket was the first international sport played in the Maldives
followed closely by football. Organized sport began in the 1940s with the first
national football tournament held in 1948. Shortly an administrative office to
coordinate the sports events in Male’ (the capital island) was created in 1950.
During this period additional sports like tennis, volleyball, basketball,
athletics and table tennis were gradually introduced.
Bashi
is an ancient game played only in the Maldives and is the most popular sports
played by women . It was traditionally played with a hand-woven bashi (made
from coconut palm leaves) by two teams of about 11 women.
During
the time of the country’s first President, Mohamed Amin Didi, a
modernised version of the sport by using a tennis ball instead of the
hand-woven ball was introduced . Later the coconut tree wooden bat was replaced
with a tennis racket and now the sport is a favorite throughout the country.
From
the very early days, sport governance and administration was centrally
controlled. In 1977, the first office specifically created for this purpose was
formed.
In
1983 a consultative body was formed to advise the government and in 1988 the
Ministry of Home Affairs and Sports was established with a new focus on making
sport an integral part of national development. The sport portfolio has been
assigned to different Government ministries since then, but the focus has been
on providing administrative and governance support to sports development.
The
first national sport association was registered in 1981. Since then national
associations have played a significant role in the development of sport in the
Maldives. The National Olympic Committee formed in 1979 is a key partner in the
development of sports in the Maldives. The Olympic Committee has helped in
raising Maldives sports profile internationally by facilitating Maldives to
participate in international sporting events and competitions. The Maldives was
first represented internationally by a table tennis team, which visited China
in 1973.
The
first major international competition that Maldives participated was the Indian
Ocean Games of 1979 held in Reunion in which the country received its first
international award; a silver medal in badminton. Football is the most popular
and widely played sport in the Maldives, and the sport which has brought the
most accolades to the country. The Maldivian football team has won silver
medals in the SAF Games held in 1991, and in the South Asian Championship held
in 1997. In 2008, Maldives beat India to win a gold medal in the same
competition.
From
year 2000 sport related training and education has been under the
responsibility of the Youth and Sports Development Centre (YSDC). The
idea of establishing a more comprehensive institute to cater for the need of
developing sports in the country was announced by the President’s Office in
2011. In 27th February 2012 Maldives National Institute of sports
officially came to existence.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
The Maldivian Civilisation
A Civilisation is a society
which has a high level of culture. The culture can be seen in the peoples’
social and political organization. A civilisation would also be marked by
scientific, artistic and material progress.
A
society develops through many stages.Civilisation is the highest level of the
development of a society. For any culture to become a civilisation, certain
characteristics or features must be present. These features are:
1.
invention of writing
2.
metal working
3.
standard units of weights and measures
4.
mathematics
5.
architecture
6.
long-distance trade
7.
specialised workmen in industry and trade
8.
surplus production of food and other materials
9.
wheeled carts
We say that the
Maldivians have a distinct civilisation because all the above conditions are
met. For example:
Invention of Writing – The early Maldivians developed their
own alphabet called Eveyla Akuru.This was the first alphabet of the Maldivians
and was used before 1238M.Between 1238 and 1780, an alphabet called Dhives
Akuru was also used.The alphabet that we use today began to be used in the
early 18th
century.
Metal work – Maldivians were skilful in the craft
of metalwork (kanburuverikan).Theyused iron, copper, brass and other alloys to
make boatbuilding tools and household items.These skilful craftsmen also made
the first minted coins which were used in Maldives.
Standard units of measurement - In the past Maldivians used standard
units of measurement for weight (e.g. raathaa), volume, (e.g. laahi, naalhi)
and length (e.g. gazu, muh, kaivah, angoo).
Mathematics – The Maldivian counting system is
based on 12 numerals, e.g. Anaa (6 laaris), Hatharuvana (24 or 25 laaris)
etc.It is a base-12 system.Some consider base-12 system to be better than
base-10 (decimal) system.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Early Inhabitants of the Maldives
The earliest
history of the Maldives yet remains unknown as no evidence has yet been found
that tells us anything about the earliest people or their way of life.This had
been due to the geographical isolation of Maldives from the rest of the world
probably for centuries.
Historians
believe that people began to settle in the Maldives with the beginning of
seafaring activities in the Indian Ocean. It is thought that they might
have settled in Maldives to get some sea products such as cowries, turtle shell
and ambergris which were valuable items of ancient trade.This is very likely as Maldives lies in the direct route of
travelers who went East.This could have happened about 2500 years ago.
Travellers could have also stopped by for a supply of fresh
water, wood, coir, and other supplies. In the past, the waters around Maldives
were well known for shipwrecks, so there might have also been instances of
shipwrecked people settling down in Maldives.
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