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120-594: The inhabitants of the island speak a distinctive dialect of the Dhivehi language , locally known as "F uvahmulaki baha.” Fuvahmulah means "Island of the Areca nut palms", Fuvah (or "Fuva") in the local language. Other places in the world like Penang in Malaysia and Guwahati in Assam , India , are also named after this nut. The original name of the island could have been Mulah, but

240-602: A vaavu ( ވ ). This means that Thaana is one of the few alphabets not derived graphically from the original Semitic alphabet – unless the Indic numerals were (see Brahmi numerals ). The Thaana alphabet ( hā, shaviyani, nūnu, rā, bā , ...) does not follow the ancient order of the other Indic scripts (like Tamil) or the order of the Arabic alphabet. Thaana, like Arabic, is written right to left . It indicates vowels with diacritic marks derived from Arabic. Each letter must carry either

360-520: A noonu at the end of a word, it indicates a velar nasal. The Maldivian language has had its own script since very ancient times, most likely over two millennia, when Maldivian Buddhist monks translated and copied the Buddhist scriptures. It used to be written in the earlier form (Evēla) of the Dhives Akuru ("Dhivehi/Maldivian letters") which are written from left to right. Dhives Akuru were used in all of

480-402: A union territory of India . The Maldivian language has four notable dialects. The standard dialect is that of the capital city of Malé . The greatest dialectal variation exists in the southern atolls of Huvadhu , Addu and Fuvahmulah . Each of these atolls has its own distinct dialect often thought to be interconnected with each other while being widely different from the dialect spoken in

600-420: A causeway since the development of Hulhumalé, allowing the airport to be accessed by road from the latter. As Malé, Hulhulé and Hulhumalé are now linked by roads, inter-island travel between the three islands can be done by road. For the other islands, inter-island transport is by ferry. Malé island has a port that allows cargo vessels to dock. Malé City Council is the local government body responsible for

720-553: A division of Fuvahmulah City Police. Most of the officers working in the stations are natives of Fuvahmulah and they are well aware of what's Happening with in the Island. The appearance of the NSS (National Security Service) means that the armed forces of the Maldives established themselves on the island. However, the police was separated from the armed forces ( MNDF ) in 2004. MNDF still operates on

840-530: A glottal stop. Gemination of nasals, however, is indicated by noonu + sukun preceding the nasal to be geminated. Maldivian is also written in " Malé Latin " (most commonly used, such as when romanising place names). IAST transliteration is also sometimes used, and also the Devanāgarī script (almost never used in Maldives, but used in Minicoy ) Towards the mid-1970s, during President Ibrahim Nasir 's tenure,

960-517: 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 मह "maha", meaning big , and "lē" blood ). Traditionally the first inhabitants of the Maldives, which include the Giravaru people, did not have kings. They lived in a simple society and were ruled by local headmen. However, one day,

1080-462: A northern extension of the village, resulting in land from Dhadimagu and Diguvaandu wards being claimed to the village. Though this has resulted in a change of the believed-to-be areas in a disputed state, no formal changes have been made and area claims of different views exist. Hoadhadu is the first district in Fuvahmulah to have accepted Islam. The smaller size of the village with fewer people during

1200-724: A peaceful island with low crime rates. However, the crime rate has gone up, especially with regards to drugs. A regional branch of the Maldives Police Service was established on the island on 7 October 1996. Initially, the Police and the Armed Forces of the Maldives were the same, known as the National Security Service. The main objective of the Fuvahmulaku Police Station is to maintain peace and stability across

1320-569: A prince from the subcontinent called Koimala arrived in the Malé 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 fish blood. Trees were planted on the sandbank and it is said that the first tree that grew on it was the papaya tree. (However, this could refer to any tree that bears edible fruit as

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1440-980: A slight variation in speech.Such as the huvadhu accent which from islands from thinadhoo to gadhoo have differences even though it's the same accent The sound system of Maldivian is similar to that of Dravidian languages. Like other modern Indo-Aryan languages the Maldivian phonemic inventory shows an opposition of long and short vowels, of dental and retroflex consonants, and of single and geminate consonants but no aspirates. Nouns in Maldivian inflect for definiteness , number and case. Definiteness may be one of definite, indefinite or unspecified. Number may be singular or plural. Case may be one of nominative , dative , ablative , genitive , locative , instrumental or emphatic . The nominal system of Maldivian comprises nouns, pronouns, adjectives and numerals as parts of speech. Maldivian uses two numeral systems. Both of them are identical up to 30. After 30, however, one system places

1560-504: A subgroup within the modern Indo-Aryan languages, called Insular Indo-Aryan . However, they are not mutually intelligible. Maldivian and Sinhalese are descended from the Elu Prakrit of ancient and medieval Sri Lanka. These Prakrits were originally derived from Old Indo-Aryan vernaculars related to Vedic Sanskrit . Whereas formerly Maldivian was thought to be a descendant of Sinhalese, in 1969 Sinhalese philologist M. W. S. de Silva for

1680-437: A substantial portion consists of construction workers, doctors, nurses, health professionals, and teachers, who play vital roles in the Maldivian infrastructure, healthcare and education sectors. Additionally, Indian and Bangladeshi nationals contribute significantly as skilled workers, alongside a sizable presence of unskilled laborers, as well as other professionals and members of the business community. The whole island group,

1800-679: A total of 41 stops, of which R10 and R11 stop at 20 each, while R12 stops at 8. All 3 routes go through Majeedhee Magu , in the centre of the city. R11 to R9 are various routes connecting Malé to Hulhumalé and Velana International Airport . These busses are much larger, and in late 2020, began operating double-decker busses to Hulhumalé. The busses move between the islands using the Sinamalé Bridge . R13 Is an internal minibus route located internally within Villimalé , and goes through 13 stops. It uses much smaller electrical-powered busses along with

1920-549: A vowel or a sukun , which indicates "no vowel". The only exception to this rule is noonu which, when written without a diacritic, indicates prenasalisation of a following stop . The vowels are written with diacritical signs called fili . There are five fili for short vowels (a, i, u, e, o), with the first three being identical to the Arabic vowel signs ( fatha, kasra and damma ). Long vowels (aa, ee, oo, ey, oa) are denoted by doubled fili , except oa, which

2040-527: Is Dhadimagu while the most populous ward of the island is Dhoondigan . This is the largest division of the island, located on the north-west of the island. A centre of learning as well as an important location for the island's economy. Throughout history, scholars and famous personalities came into being from this district housing many of the historical sites and landmarks of the island. The number of 'Hafiz's from this district outnumber that of any other district in Fuvahmulah. Located just after Dhadimagu, this

2160-541: Is a consistent script system that is well adapted to writing almost all languages of South Asia. However, this scheme lacks a few sounds used in Maldivian. ISO 15919 has been used by Xavier Romero-Frias to romanize Maldivian in his book The Maldive Islanders - A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom . The government reinstated the Thaana script shortly after President Maumoon took power in 1978. There

2280-400: Is a mark to indicate an abrupt stop (vowel deletion) on the sound of the letter on which it is placed. However, if it is on a shaviyani or alif and comes within the word, the following consonant is geminated; if it comes on a shaviyani or alif at the end of a word, it signifies the glottal stop; if it comes on a thaa , the sound is replaced by a y off-glide; if it comes on

2400-413: Is a modification of the short obofili . The letter alifu represents the glottal stop . It has three different purposes: It can act as a carrier for a vowel, that is, a word-initial vowel or the second part of a diphthong ; when it carries a sukun , it indicates gemination of the following consonant; and if alifu + sukun occurs at the end of a word, it indicates that the word ends in

2520-468: Is a spot on the southern end known as Kudhuheraival (forest of a small islet), which indicates there was a small separate islet over there in ancient times. The channel connecting the lagoon with the ocean was closed by massive coral boulders in the past. Thus the inside of the island is lower than its edges. In time the inner lagoon lost its saltiness and all that remains today are two small lakes, wetlands and marshy taro fields. In this respect, Fuvahmulah

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2640-405: Is about 4.5 by 1.2 km (2.80 by 0.75 mi) with a submerged reef (Rashikedefaro) extending for about 3 km (1.9 mi) in a southeasterly direction. The island is the third largest in the Maldives . In the past, Fuvahmulah was a small coral atoll whose southern end was open at a spot called Diyarehifaando and the inside of the island was a saltwater lagoon forming a natural harbor. There

2760-462: Is also home to farmland where locals grow crops such as cucumber , tomato , carrot , cabbage , pepper , capsicum , eggplant and ladies' fingers . There is a broad sandy beach at the northernmost point of Fuvahmulah in the district of Dhadimago. It is locally known as "Thūndu" (In official Dhivehi "Thundi"). Its sands are formed by white small round pebbles, which are unusually smooth and shiny. This kind of pebbles are found in Fuvahmulah only in

2880-540: Is an inscription on a coral stone, which is estimated to be from around the 6th-8th centuries. Maldivian is an Indo-Aryan language of the Sinhalese-Maldivian subfamily. It developed in relative isolation from other languages until the 12th century. Since the 16th century, Maldivian has been written in a unique script called Thaana which is written from right to left , like Arabic (with which it shares several common diacritics for vowel sounds). The foundation of

3000-421: Is at Fuvammulah Cricket stadium. Apart from Dhiraagu, Focus Infocom Private Limited and Ooredhoo also provides internet services on the island. Formerly there were many bicycles on Fuvahmulah, an ideal mode of transportation on the flat, large island. Presently there are a large number of motorcycles. The construction of Fuvahmulah Harbour has led to a boost in the number of vehicles – notably motor cycles – on

3120-457: Is being filled in. Many government buildings and agencies are located on the waterfront. Velana International Airport is on adjacent Hulhulé Island which includes a seaplane base for internal transportation. Several land reclamation projects have expanded the harbour. Tourism is the largest industry in the Maldives, accounting for 28% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. The GDP per capita expanded by 265% in

3240-466: Is characterised by a derivational relationship between active, causative and involitive/intransitive verb forms. The word order in Maldivian is not as rigid as in English, though changes in the order of words in a sentence may convey subtle differences in meaning. To ask for some fish in a market, one uses the following words: mashah (to me) mas (fish) vikkaa (sell), which may be put in any of

3360-441: Is constantly high year-round due in part to the Maldives having the lowest median elevation anywhere in the world. The city is divided into six divisions, four of which are on Malé Island: Henveiru, Galolhu, Maafannu and MacchanGoalhi. The nearby island of Villimalé , formerly a tourist resort and prior to that a prison, is the fifth division. The sixth division is Hulhumalé , an artificial island settled since 2004. In addition,

3480-411: Is favoured as the second script. Maldivian is now written using a different script, called Taana or Thaana, written from right to left. This script is relatively recent. The literacy rate of the Maldives is very high (98%) compared to other South Asian countries. Since the 1960s English has become the medium of education in most schools although they still have Maldivian language classes, but Maldivian

3600-734: Is formed in 1980 to contribute towards the development of infrastructure and transport service in the Maldives. The port is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe . Each of the islands of Malé is served by a dense network of paved roads, which are named magu (road or street), hingun and goalhi (small road or alley). Road traffic

3720-559: Is heavy, especially on Malé Island. Malé and Hulhulé Island are linked by the Sinamalé Bridge , which was opened to traffic in October 2018, while Hulhulé and Hulhumalé are linked via a causeway, thus allowing the road networks of the three islands to be connected. Public transport in Malé primarily consists of 3 minibus lines that run through the city, and connecting the Greater Malé region to

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3840-528: Is like the island of Nukutavake in the Central Pacific. The northern lake of the island is known as " Dhadimagi Kilhi " (lit. "Lake of Dhadimagu" or "Dhadimagu Lake" since the lake is located in Dhadimagu ward of the island) and the southern is " Bandaara Kilhi " (lit. "State Lake" since the lake has been under state custody throughout history). Lacking a lagoon and being subject to ocean swells, Fuvahmulah

3960-510: Is located near the Havitta. An ancient local poem in the local dialect reads: " Havitta uhe haudahau, Redin taneke hedi ihau ".( Thor Heyerdahl visited this island and wrote a book which is named 'Fua Mulaku' in its German edition.) There is also the Vasho-Veyo , an ancient circular bath with stone steps. This stone pool reveals great craftsmanship in the cutting of Porites coral stone (hirigal) by

4080-480: Is one of the largest districts in Fuvahmulah. Apart from Dhadimagu, the district also share borders with Hoadhadu and Maadhadu. Many residents of Dhiguvaandu rely on white-collar jobs for their income. Retail business is a main source of income as well. The most prominent feature of this district is the "Chas bin" (an area of wetland) associated with the Dhadimagi-Kilhi. Large amounts of taro fields can be found in

4200-400: Is still the language used for the overall administration. Maldivian uses mainly the Thaana script for writing. It is an alphabet , with obligatory vowels derived from the vowel diacritics of the Arabic abjad . It is a largely phonemic script: With a few minor exceptions, spelling can be predicted from pronunciation, and pronunciation from spelling. The origins of Thaana are unique among

4320-577: Is the Medhu Ziyaaraiy , across the street from the Malé Friday Mosque : the tomb of Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari, considered to have converted the Maldives to Islam in 1153. Malé has a tropical monsoon climate ( Am ) under the Köppen climate classification . The city features a mix of both wet and dry seasons , with the wet season lasting from April through January and the drier season covering

4440-506: Is well-formed, the Bissaaveli is enclosed from all sides, creating a natural shallow swimming pool where locals like to swim. Another natural phenomenon called Kalho-Akiri (meaning "Black Pebbles") occurs on the south-east shore of the island. This area only has black pebbles, quite unusual to the normal white coral sand beaches of the Maldives. Every year, towards the end of the southwest monsoon season, flying fish (Hulhammaha) come to

4560-505: Is written in Thaana script. Dhivehi is a descendant of Elu Prakrit and is closely related to Sinhalese , but not mutually intelligible with it. Many languages have influenced the development of Dhivehi through the ages. They include Arabic , Hindi , Persian , Tamil , French , Portuguese , and English . The English words atoll (a ring of coral islands or reefs) and dhoni (a vessel for inter-atoll navigation) are anglicised forms of

4680-559: The Maldives and visitors to the island usually collect them as a memory of the island. It is common for an annual phenomenon called Bissaaveli to form at the Thūndu. The Bissaaveli forms when part of the sand of the beach moves away from the shore towards the edge of the reef, thus creating a lagoon, enclosed by sand and the shore of the island. This natural event attracts hundreds – possibly thousands – of locals who love to go to watch it. When it

4800-578: The United Suvadive Republic (1959–1963). However, nothing too eventful happened throughout those years on the island, except for an incident that occurred where a boat (named the Elizabeth Boyer) carrying soldiers from the Maldivian government in Malé tried to disembark at Rasgefanno, on the eastern shore of Fuvahmulah. Islanders gathered at the beach and threw stones at the soldiers in protest. The soldiers from Malé retaliated by opening fire on

4920-476: The airport Island Hulhulé is part of the city. Plans have been made to develop the Gulhifalhu reef, implementation began in 2008. The island of Malé is the eighth most densely populated island in the world , and it is the 160th most populous island in the world. Since there is no surrounding countryside, all infrastructure has to be located in the city itself. Water is provided from desalinated ground water;

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5040-425: The union territory of Lakshadweep , India. The Maldivian language has multiple dialects due to the wide distribution of the islands, causing differences in pronunciation and vocabulary to develop during the centuries. The most divergent dialects of the language are to be found in the southern atolls, namely Huvadhu , Fuvahmulah and Addu . The other variants show less difference to the official dialect, including

5160-456: The 10th century CE. However, there is nothing in the history of these islands or Sinhalese chronicles, even in legendary form, that alludes to a migration of Sinhalese people which would result in such a connection. Maldives is completely absent from the pre-12th century records of Sri Lanka. A rare Maliku Thaana primer written in the Maliku dialect, published by Lakshadweep 's administration during

5280-466: The 1980s and a further 115% in the 1990s. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. Malé, the capital, has many tourist attractions and nearby resorts. Maldivian , the airline of the Maldives, has its head office in Malé, as does the airline Villa Air . The central harbour and port of the Maldives is located in Malé, the centre for all commercial activities. The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC)

5400-480: The 8 wards of the island are officially considered to be administrative divisions which act as the replacement for islands in other atolls. In the past, a chief ('Katheeb') was appointed in charge of the day-to-day affairs of each ward of the island as was done for the remote islands of the other atolls. With the introduction of local government policy in the Maldives , the Decentralization Act of 2010 passed by

5520-408: The Maldives, Fuvahmulah has many features which make the island unique. As H.C.P Bell says in his monograph, throughout history Maldivians themselves have fairly judged Fuvahmulah to be the most beautiful island in the Maldives. This judgement remains up to this day within the hearts of many Maldivians who express this both in words and deeds on different occasions ranging from TV and radio programmes to

5640-530: The Maldives, is named after its capital. The word "Maldives" means "the islands (dives) of Malé". The first settlers in the Maldivian islands were Dravidian people who arrived from the neighboring shores of the modern Indian subcontinent and coastal Ceylon . Comparative studies of Maldivian linguistic, oral, and other cultural traditions, in addition to folklore , point to a strong Dravidian influence on Maldivian society, centered in Malé, from ancient times. The Giraavaru people of Giraavaru claim descent from

5760-478: The Maldives. The two freshwater lakes in the island plus the many number of swamps and marshland areas in the island give habitat to different plant and animal species not to be found anywhere else in the Maldives. Among such species, the common moorhen (locally known as Valikukulhu) is a bird natively confined to Fuvahmulah only in the Maldivian archipelago. Also, the dense forest of Syzygium cumini (Jambul), locally known as "Dhanvah Baal" (literally "Jambul grove") to

5880-579: The Maldivian government introduced telex machines in the local administration. This was viewed as great progress, but the local Thaana script was deemed to be an obstacle because messages on the telex machines could only be written in the Latin script . Following this, in 1976 the government approved a new official Latin transliteration, Dhivehi Latin , which was quickly implemented by the administration. Booklets were printed and dispatched to all Atoll and Island Offices, as well as schools and merchant liners. This

6000-513: The Maldivian words atoḷu and dōni . Before European colonization of the Southern Hemisphere, it was the southernmost Indo-European language. The origin of the word "Divehi" is from older divu-vesi , meaning "island dwelling". Divu (from Sanskrit द्वीप dvīpa , 'island') later became ދޫ dū , which is currently present in many names of Maldivian islands, such as Hanimādū , Mīdū , and Dāndū . Vesi came from

6120-440: The North of Dhadimagi Kilhi is the largest vegetation of Jambul to be found anywhere in the Maldives since this plant variety is nearly extinct elsewhere in the country. Fuvahmulah is also the largest producer of mangoes in the Maldives. Mango trees are found in abundance and every year hundreds of thousands of mangoes are produced from the island. Fuvahmulah also produces pineapples and oranges which cannot be found anywhere else in

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6240-457: The People's majlis specifically states that in the case of Fuvahmulah an island council has to be elected for each ward of the island. So like the islands of other atolls across the country, the wards of the island act as separate constituencies. From February 2011 onwards the councils have started functioning. Each ward of Fuvahmulah has its own distinctive features. The largest division of the island

6360-450: The Sanskrit suffix -वासिन् -vāsin and later became ވެހި vehi . ބަސް bas (from Sanskrit भाषा bhāṣā ) means "language", so ދިވެހިބަސް dhivehi bas means "islanders' language". Wilhelm Geiger , a German linguist who undertook the first research on Maldivian linguistics in the early 20th century, also called the language Divehi . An h was added to

6480-457: The Sosun Route (R12). Velana International Airport is located on nearby Hulhulé and is the city's airport as well as the principal airport in Maldives. With the opening of the Sinamalé Bridge , the airport is now accessible from Malé by road. Prior to the opening of the bridge, transport between the airport and Malé was by a frequent ferry service. Hulhulé and Hulhumalé have been connected via

6600-434: The addition of ve , which is never used to end a sentence in spoken Maldivian. In using ve a strict word order also has to be maintained, but in spoken Maldivian word order is not considered to be very rigid. One of the very important things one has to take into account in written Maldivian which is not so important in spoken Maldivian is the ‘ sukun ’ on the letters alif and shaviyani . Sukun in general

6720-407: The archaic Dhivehi word, and Mahal word in modern times, for fruit ( falhoa ) was the same as that for the papaya. ) As time went by, the local islanders accepted the rule of this Northern Prince. A palace was built and the island was formally named Maa-le (Malé), while the nearest island was named Hulhu-le. The names of the main four wards or divisions of Malé Island are said to have been given by

6840-432: The atoll. They carry out investigations into crimes and public complaints fairly and deliver justice to the locals of the atoll. The station also helps other government authorities in fighting and preventing crime. The station is commanded by an Inspector of t police, with a work force around 65 in combating the crime. Administratively Fuvahmulah was recognized as city by the government in 2016, Fuvahmulah Police Station became

6960-474: The center of political protests and milestone events. Although Malé is geographically located in Kaafu Atoll , administratively it is not considered part of it. The central part of the city is formed by the island of Malé. Five more islands form part of the city which includes Hulhulé , Hulhumalé , Villimalé , Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi . A commercial harbour is located on the central island and serves as

7080-488: The city was remodelled under President Ibrahim Nasir 's rule in the aftermath of the abolition of the monarchy in 1968. Only the National Museum building, residence of the last sultan, as well as the Malé Friday Mosque , remain. Malé's residents soon grew to 11,453 by 1967 and 29,522 by 1977. In order to cater for the growing population, by 1986 the shallow lagoon around Malé was reclaimed. The most revered place in Malé

7200-460: The country find themselves in occasional short term residence on the island since it is the centre of administration and bureaucracy. Most of the population of Malé live in small houses or apartment complexes, often shared with external family or roommates. This led to the development of Hulhumalé and the extension to Phase 2. The Indian expatriate community in the Maldives stands as the second-largest, comprising around 27,000 individuals. Among them,

7320-402: The country. The wetland areas of Fuvahmulah are mostly made up of dense vegetation ranging from ferns to reeds to taro fields. There is an abundance of water spinach locally known as Mahilanbo "މަހިލަނބޮ and plant varieties such as Syzygium cumini (jambul), pond-apple , mango , pineapple , screwpine , tropical almond , cheese fruit , ambarella , banana and many more. Fuvahmulah

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7440-538: The dependency on fishing. One of the traditional harbours of Fuvahmulah, "Anbule Athiri" is located within Hoadhadu which explains the district's continued dependency on fishing. With changes over time, this is the smallest district in Fuvahmulah. Located in the center of the island, this district houses the strategically most important buildings on the island. This district shares borders with Dhiguvaandu , Hoadhadu , Maalegan and Miskiymagu . This village stretches along

7560-557: The development of the language. Especially in the field of morphology, the amount of archaic features steadily increase from the north to the south. Within the three southernmost atolls (of the Maldives), the dialect of the Addu islands which form the southern tip of the whole archipelago is characterized by the highest degree of archaicity". However, the Huvadhu Atoll dialect is characterized by

7680-523: The dialects spoken in a few islands in Kolhumadulu Atoll and the now obsolete dialect once spoken in Giraavaru , which are hardly recognised and known. The letter Ṇaviyani (ޱ), which represented the retroflex n sound common to many Indic languages ( Gujarati , Hindi , etc.), was abolished from official documents in by Muhammad Amin in 1950. Ṇaviyani's former position in the Thaana alphabet, between

7800-732: The distinction between what is spoken and what is written. Every language that has a written form has this distinction to a greater or lesser degree, but many Asian languages, including Maldivian exhibit major differences between the two varieties of language. Malé dialect and Maliku dialect are the only dialects commonly used in writing. Spoken Maldivian, for instance, has twenty-seven consonants. In contrast, written or literary Maldivian includes some Arabic sounds as well. Though these sounds are also used in speaking, their phonetics are not strictly observed. This results in pronunciation as close as possible to spoken Maldivian. Regarding syntax, it may be said that every sentence in written Maldivian ends with

7920-637: The entire Maldivian islands were ذِيبَةُ المَحَل Dhībat-ul-Maḥal ), he provided a rather extensive description of the city as well as the Islands of the Maldives overall. He mentioned that the Queen, Rehendhi Khadeeja , had a residence in Malé, which from its description may be assimilated to the same palace of the later sultan rulers, in the centre of the island. Within the palace compounds, several pits contained stores of cowrie shells, ready to be traded. Ibn Battuta also mentioned several mosques, built in wood. Malé

8040-447: The fire, within 2 hours after the fire started. An investigation was carried out by the Police, but a report was not published. Police said the most likely cause of the fire was an electrical short. On 23 February 2007, a fire started at the boat yard near the harbor. The fire completely burnt 6 fiberglass dhows. Four of these dhows were 100 feet and the remaining two were 40 feet long. This fire also started around 3:40 am local time. Fire

8160-431: The first Tamil settlers of the Maldives. It is said that early Tamil settlers called the islands Maalaitivu , which means Garland Islands or Chain Islands. Early records also indicate that the island was called " Athamana Huraa " prior to being named Malé. According to regional lore, Giraavaru fishermen used to go regularly to a certain large sandbank ( finolhu ) at the southern end of their atoll to clean tuna fish after

8280-406: The first time proposed that Maldivian and Sinhalese had branched off from a common mother language. The following are some phonological features shared by Sinhala, or unique to Maldivian: The earliest official writings were on the lōmāfānu (copper-plate grants ) of the 12th and 13th centuries. Earlier inscriptions on coral stone have also been found. The oldest inscription found to date

8400-422: The following orders without a change in meaning: mashah to.me Mal%C3%A9 Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives . With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of 8.30 square kilometres (3.20 sq mi), Malé is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world . The city is geographically located in

8520-682: The governance of the city of Malé. The council was created in 2011, with the enactment of the Decentralization Bill. The city is divided into 18 political wards each with one councillor. In the Local Council Elections in 2021, the mayor was elected for the first time ever, with Mohamed Muizzu being elected to the position. The Progressive Party of the Maldives picked up 11 seats while the Maldivian Democratic Party picked up 6 seats. But due to Muizzu being elected as

8640-619: The government, it did not have its own building, so the center operated in a private house. A separate building for the Health Center was constructed and the services began in the new building on 24 March 1988. As the population of the island increased significantly, and due to the isolation of the island, government upgraded the Health Center to a Hospital on 11 June 2001. Fuvahmulah is served by 11 schools. Consisting of 6 pre-schools, 1 primary schools, 3 secondary school (O-level) and 1 secondary school (A-level). Gn. Atoll Education Centre (GN.AEC),

8760-464: The heart of all commercial activities in the country. Velana International Airport is located on the Island of Hulhulé. The central island is heavily urbanised, with the built-up area taking up essentially its entire landmass. Slightly less than one third of the nation's population lives in the capital city, and the population has increased from 20,000 people in 1987 to 100,000 people in 2006. Many Maldivians and foreign workers living in other parts of

8880-441: The highest degree of archaicity. From Huvadhu Atoll the archaic features decrease toward the south and north. Fritz also adds that "the different classes of verb conjugation and nominal inflection are best preserved there, morphological simplifications and, as a consequence increasing from atoll to atoll towards north (in the Maldives)". Maldivian presents another aspect with which English speakers are not too familiar: diglossia ,

9000-487: The historical linguistic analysis of both Maldivian and Sinhalese was laid by Wilhelm Geiger (1856–1943). In Geiger's comparative study of Maldivian and Sinhalese, he assumes that Maldivian is a dialectal offspring of Sinhalese and therefore is a "daughter language" of Sinhalese. However, the material he collected was not sufficient to judge the "degree of relationship" of Maldivian and Sinhalese. Geiger concludes that Maldivian must have split from Sinhalese not earlier than

9120-451: The increase in population of some wards has put pressure on the neighboring areas, resulting in the extension of some wards with time, and some claims out of the traditional boundaries. An example of such a case is that of the Hoadhadu ward. The northerly extension of the settlements of Hoadhadu ward by time led to the land from eastern strip of Dhiguvaandu and Dhadimagu wards being claimed by

9240-400: The investigation. All the dhows were insured. In an interview with media, the atoll chief said the loss is estimated to be around MRF 20 Million, although insurance companies never publicly disclosed the figures. This fire is said to be the worst fire in the history of the island. The island is 494.2 km (307 mi; 267 nmi) south of the country's capital, Malé . The Fuvahmulah city

9360-468: The island fringe facing the Northeast. With some of the most significant features of the island this district shares borders with Maadhadu, Miskimmagu, Funaadu and Dhoondigan. The former Dashukubaa village was merged with Miskiymagu. This village has merged with neighboring Funaadu on its southern end and Maadhadu on its northern end. The village also shares borders with Maalegan ward towards the north-east of

9480-492: The island harbour, and a number of historical landmarks. The high rate of fertility has resulted in overpopulation. With more than 13000 inhabitants, the availability of land for market gardening is steadily diminishing. The most updated population figure for the island is available on the Ministry of Atolls Development website. This gives a sex ratio of 0.88. Dhiraagu is the only landline telephone communication service provider on

9600-524: The island was depopulated and resettled thrice in the last thousand years owing to lethal epidemics. The last time the survivors of the epidemic vacated to neighboring Addu, Huvadhu and Haddhunmathi Atolls and remained there for a few years. In the post-war era, tensions rose significantly between the Southern Atolls and the Central Government in Malé. Fuvahmulah was part of the breakaway state of

9720-430: The island was historically very difficult to get to due to its geographic peculiarities. Despite this, island still holds a few historical landmarks. These include a much-damaged Buddhist stupa known locally as Fua Mulaku Havitta . The original shape of the mound was lost as it was altered after its excavation. The ruin is about 40 feet in height and it looks like a small hill. A smaller mound, about 15 feet in height,

9840-420: The island, as well as in the entire country. However, Ooredoo along with Dhiraagu provides mobile communication services on the island. The Dhiraagu communications antenna, located in the premises of Dhiraagu Fuvahmulah Operations Center, stands 400 feet (120 meters) tall. It connects Gaafu Alif Atoll , Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll and Fuvahmulah to the rest of the nation. Meanwhile, the ooredhoo communications antenna

9960-516: The island, but separate from the police. They are mostly active in the area of Fire and Rescue, along with military duties. Being home to the most number of Hafizs in the Maldives throughout known history, Fuvahmulah has produced many great scholars. Many figures from Fuvahmulah have been leaders in politics, religion and in business since early times. One such figure was the Independence Hero of Maldives, former President Ibrahim Nasir . Nasir

10080-510: The island. This has increased road accidents, many of them fatal. The poorly constructed roads have indirectly contributed to road accidents. Finivaa Magu, the main road running from north to south of the island, along with the other roads are not paved. The only partly paved road is the Mohamed Jamaaludeen Naibu Thutthu Magu or else known as 'Ring Road' This road is still under construction. When completed this road will be

10200-455: The islands between the conversion to Islam and until the 18th century. These ancient Maldivian letters were also used in official correspondence with Addu Atoll until the early 20th century. Perhaps they were used in some isolated islands and rural communities until the 1960s, but the last remaining native user died in the 1990s. Today Maldivians rarely learn the Dhives Akuru alphabet, for Arabic

10320-509: The letters Gaafu and Seenu, is today occupied by the palatal nasal Ñaviyani (ޏ). It is still seen in reprints of traditional old books like the Boḍu Tarutību and official documents like the Rādavaḷi . It is also used by people of southern atolls when writing songs or poetry in their language variant. According to Sonja Fritz, "the dialects of Maldivian represent different diachronial stages in

10440-570: The locals. Among the monuments of the Islamic period, the most important is the Gen Miskit , a neat compound including a coral stone mosque, an ancient graveyard and a well. It is located in the northern end of the island. Gen Miskit is the oldest mosque in the Maldives built (~c. 1300). The structure is made of coral stone and was built straight after the conversion to Islam. The mosque still holds congregational prayer to this day. It has been said that

10560-406: The longest road on the island, running from the harbor and connecting all 8 districts. An airstrip is functional on the southeastern side of the island since 11 November 2011. Currently, there two scheduled flights every day to Malé from Fuvahmulah and from Malé to Fuvahmulah Airport . The first Health Centre officially started its services on 12 May 1973. Even though the center was fully owned by

10680-519: The main island. All the routes are operated by Raajje Transport Link (RTL) . These busses go through the wider roads through the city. Children under 18, people with special needs and people above 65 years of age ride for free. The Orchid Route (R10), the Ameenee Route (R11) and the Sosun Route (R12). The routes are named after the main roads that the minibus drives through in Malé, being Orchid Magu , Ameenee Magu and Sosun Magu . The Malé system has

10800-620: The mandate of city council was further revised with additional powers granted through an amendment to Decentralization Act. The city council bench was further increased from 3 members to a total 7 of members, including the mayor. The current mayor of Fuvahmulah City is Ismail Rafeeq . Fuvahmulah was traditionally divided into nine wards. From North to South these wards were: (1) Dhadimagu , (2) Dhiguvaandu (both stretching from East to West shore), (3) Hoadhadu , (5) Dhashukubaa (both segmental) and separated by, (4) Maadhadu , (A diagonal strip of parallel width). The other four divisions, occupying

10920-402: The midst of a joyful atmosphere. Large crowds will gather on the beaches for what the locals called "Hulhammaha Hifun". Fuvahmulah City Council and its office was established following a presidential decree by former president Abdulla Yameen on 4 June 2017. During its initial formation the city council was composed of three constituency members. During the presidency of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ,

11040-455: The months of February and March. Unlike a number of cities with this climate, Malé experiences relatively consistent temperatures throughout the course of the year, with an average high of 30 °C or 86 °F and an average low of 26.5 °C or 79.7 °F, which is equivalent to many equatorial cities' average year-round daily mean. The city averages slightly more than 1,900 millimetres or 75 inches of precipitation annually. The temperature

11160-537: The name of the language— "Dhivehi"— in 1976, when the semi-official transliteration called Malé Latin was developed. Today the spelling with Dh has common and semi-official usage in the Maldives. Maldivian is an Indo-Aryan language closely related to the Sinhalese language of Sri Lanka . Maldivian represents the southernmost Indo-Aryan language, as well as the southernmost Indo-European language prior to European colonization. Maldivian and Sinhalese together constitute

11280-408: The northern atolls. The southern dialects are so distinct that those only speaking northern dialects cannot understand them. The ethnic endonym for the language, Divehi , is occasionally found in English as Dhivehi (spelled according to the locally used Malé Latin for the romanisation of the Maldivian language), which is the official spelling as well as the common usage in the Maldives. Dhivehi

11400-408: The northwestern shore of Fuvahmulah. Confused by the number of voracious tuna shoals in the water and by aggressive frigate birds hunting them from the air, the flying fish would end up flying close to the beach. They mostly end up in the area between Thoondu and Dhadimago fanno where this phenomenon is most common. Men, women and children like to go down to the reef to catch the flying fishes by hand in

11520-491: The only higher secondary school serving the island,(teaching from grade 7 to 12) is the largest education center on the island. Inaugurated on 20 April 1982, it currently serves more than 343 students. Fuvahmulaku School (FS) which was owned and operated by the citizens of Dūndigan, is one of the three secondary schools on the island. Located in Dūndigan, it serves the south west part of the island. Government assumed full control over

11640-630: The original 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). In early foreign sources, Malé was called Ambria or Mahl. For the Maldivians, it was Fura Malé, i.e. "Malé the Pre-Eminent". When Ibn Battuta traveled to Malé in 1343 (in Arabic : المَحَل , romanized :  al-Maḥal thus

11760-457: The polls taken by newspapers and websites online. Being a one-island atoll itself and the third largest island in the Maldives (if not for land reclamation), Fuvahmulah includes a diverse range of habitats ranging from tropical woodlands and wetlands to freshwater lakes, well-vegetated marshland areas, white sandy beaches of different variations and pebble texture plus gravel beaches and fertile lands of humus greater in area than any other island in

11880-404: The school on 1 March 1992. Mohammed Jamaadudeen school (MJS) (formerly called "Madharusathu-Sheik Mohammed Jamaaluddeen" (MJM)), opened on 3 November 1992. It serves the north-west part of the island. The school was built by the people of Dhadimagu and Dhiguvaadu. This is also a secondary school. There is another secondary school on the island, it is Hafiz Ahmed School (usually referred as HAS) which

12000-425: The search for new spaces for housing. The old forts and decrepit walls were dismantled in 1925–1927 under the reign of Muhammad Shamsuddeen III , to be rebuilt on a smaller scale. Roads were also widened and straightened. Former large cemeteries had also been cleared out, to achieve more housing space. The Royal Palace ( Gan'duvaru ) was destroyed along with the picturesque forts ( koshi ) and bastions ( buruzu ) when

12120-575: The southern edge of North Malé Atoll ( Kaafu Atoll ). Administratively, the city consists of a central island, an airport island, and four other islands presided over by the Malé City Council. Traditionally it was the King's Island, from where the ancient royal dynasties ruled and where the palace was located. The city was then called Mahal . Formerly it was a walled city surrounded by fortifications and gates ( doroshi ). The Royal Palace ( Gan'duvaru )

12240-499: The southern part of the island, consisted of two eastern and western strips, bisected into four wards, (6) Maalegan and (8) Dhoondigan lying to the East, (7) Miskiymagu and (9) Funaadu to the West. In time, some changes were made. In the 1950s, the number of wards were reduced to eight, with the village of Dhashukubaa being merged with Miskiymagu . Since then, no changes were made though

12360-529: The time of Rajiv Gandhi 's rule, was reprinted by Spanish researcher Xavier Romero Frías in 2003. There is a holiday, the Dhivehi Language Day , which is celebrated in the Maldives on 14 April, the birthday of the writer Husain Salahuddin . Maldivian is spoken in the Maldives and a variation of it in Minicoy . Maldivian is the official language of the Maldives and a semi-official language in

12480-449: The time of conversion may be the main reason for the village being the first district to be converted. What is clear from historical sources is that smaller districts of Fuvahmulah converted first and the larger districts last. Hoadhadu is a remarkable ward in Fuvahmulah. Historically, many residents of Hoadhadu depended on fishing as the primary source of income, although today retail business along with white collar jobs have diminished

12600-616: The unarmed islanders, resulting in the death of one islander and seriously injuring two other islanders who were subsequently ferried by dōni, to Gan , in Addu Atoll. The British, who were stationed in Gan sent them by air to Ceylon (now Srilanka) for treatment. On 4 February 2007 a fire burned down the Community Center building. The fire started around 3:00 am local time. The Regional Fire Services, Maldives Police Services , and locals contained

12720-480: The unit numeral stem before the decade, for example, eh-thirees '31' ( lit. "one and thirty") while the other combines the stem of the decade with the unit numeral, for example, thirees-ekeh '31' ("thirty + one"). The latter system also has numerals multiplied by ten for decades 70, 80 and 90. The decade fas dholhas '60' ("five twelves"), comes from a much older duodecimal , or dozen-based, system which has nearly disappeared. The Maldivian verbal system

12840-442: The village. This is the southernmost and one of the largest wards in Fuvahmulah. This district houses a center of learning. This is the most populous district and by area the second largest division of the island. This village lies in the southeastern corner of the island. It has merged with Maalegan on its northern end and Funaadu to the West. Being a center of learning as well as an important location for all islanders as it houses

12960-500: The village. A similar case occurred in the Funaadu-Dhoondigan boundaries to the south of the island. However, no formal changes have been made in any of the cases and area claims of different views exist in modern times. The officially used maps and government sources as well do not portray any significant changes to the traditional boundaries. Taking into consideration the geography of Fuvahmulah along with its size and population,

13080-464: The water works pumps brackish water from 50–60 m (160–200 ft) deep wells in the city and desalinates that using reverse osmosis . Electric power is generated in the city using diesel generators. Sewage is pumped unprocessed into the sea. Solid waste is transported to nearby islands, where it is used to fill in lagoons. The airport was built in this way, and currently the Thilafushi lagoon

13200-423: The wetland area. Vast plantings of areca nut can be found in the district. Mango and breadfruit can be found in reasonable quantities. Almost every house in the district has a mango tree . Hoadhadu used to be the smallest district in Fuvahmulah, nearly the same size as Maadhadu. During the late 20th century, the increase in population of the district led to pressure on land in the neighbouring areas. This led to

13320-435: The world's alphabets: The first nine letters (h–v) are derived from the Arabic numerals, whereas the next nine (m–d) were the local Indic numerals. (See Hindu–Arabic numerals .) The remaining letters for loanwords (t–z) and Arabic transliteration are derived from phonetically similar native consonants by means of diacritics, with the exception of y ( ޔ ), which is derived from combining an alifu ( އ ) and

13440-459: Was born in Fuvahmulah and the early childhood days of Nasir were spent in Fuvahmulah until his family moved to Malé . Dhivehi language Dhivehi or Divehi ( / d ɪ ˈ v eɪ h i / di- VAY -hee ; Dhivehi: ދިވެހި , IPA: [d̪iʋehi] ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the South Asian island country of Maldives and on Minicoy Island , Lakshadweep ,

13560-519: Was called Fuvahmulah (the Mulah with the areca nut palms) to distinguish it from Boli Mulah – another island in ancient Maldives. The admiralty charts and some geographers named the island Fua Mulaku . In old French maps the island appeared under the name Poue Molluque. The name Fuvahmulah derives from fuvah , meaning "areca nut" (< *pūgavṛkṣa- ). Little is known about the history of Fuvahmulah, owing to its relative seclusion, partially because

13680-408: Was destroyed along with the picturesque forts ( koshi ) and bastions ( buruzu ) when the city was remodelled under President Ibrahim Nasir 's rule in the aftermath of the abolition of the monarchy in 1968. However, some buildings remained, namely, the Malé Friday Mosque . In the last few decades, the island has been considerably expanded in size through land reclamation . Over the years, Malé has been

13800-489: Was first spotted, instantly after the fire started by a local fisherman. The Fire Service was called immediately. But since fiberglass resin is highly flammable, and there was no sprinkler system, the fire spread to the 6 dhows and the fiberglass resin barrels in the yard. It took the fire personnel, Maldives National Defense Force and local 2 hours to contain the fire. A forensics team of the Maldive Police Service did

13920-468: Was fortified in the 17th century by the sultan Muhammad Imaduddin , who built walls on the north, east and west side of the island. An inner harbour was used by fishing vessels and small dhonis , while larger vessels had to anchor in the outer harbour, between the islands of Vilingili and Hulhule. The island covered less than one square mile in size, and was surrounded by a shallow lagoon. Malé had 2,148 inhabitants in 1888, but population growth soon led to

14040-450: Was often inaccessible to seafarers in the past. In the early 2000s a harbor was built at the southeast tip of the island, which minimized the problem to a certain extent. The construction of a domestic airport on the island in 2011 has gradually opened the island to the rest of the country. Being the nearest atoll to the Equator and the first atoll in the Southern Hemisphere among the atolls of

14160-457: Was opened on 22 April 2004. It currently serves more than 500 students. There is also a primary only school teaching up to grade 6 called Brightways International School (BHIS) which was opened in June 2021. Brightways international education is a private art school teaching up to grade 6 from 1, with another branch teaching from Baby nursery to UKG Historically the island was and still is, considered as

14280-423: Was seen by many as the effective demise of the Thaana script. Clarence Maloney, an American anthropologist who was in the Maldives at the time of the change, lamented the inconsistencies of the "Dhivehi Latin" which ignored all previous linguistic research on the Maldivian language done by H.C.P. Bell and Wilhelm Geiger. He wondered why the modern Standard Indic transliteration had not been considered. Standard Indic

14400-508: Was widespread relief in certain places, especially rural areas, where the introduction of Latin had been regarded with suspicion. However, the Latin transcription of 1976 continues to be widely used. The 412-page hard-back English–Maldivian dictionary, A Maldivian Dictionary , written by Christopher Hanby Baillie Reynolds , was published on 22 July 2003 by Routledge and contains about 5000 individual entries. Different islands due to distance have

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