Giraavaru people
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Dravidians |
The Giraavaru people are indigenous people of the Giravaaru islands that is part of
Etymology
The name Giraavaru is thought to be derived from the words gira meaning "eroding" and varu meaning "people" or "islanders".[5]
Origins
The Giraavaru origins are descendants of people from Malabar Coast of India and northwestern shores of Sri Lanka, who probably settled on the island around the Sangam period (300BC–300AD)[6][7] They are mentioned in the legend about the establishment of the capital and kingly rule in Malé, where the Giraavaru people granted permission to a visiting king Koimala Kalo prior to the foundation of his kingdom on Malé.[citation needed] They heavily mixed with Indo-Aryan speakers to create Modern Dhivehi people. [3]
They were strictly
It is said that the Giraavaru people were always headed by a woman and that throughout Maldivian history, a woman (foolhuma-dhaitha), represented the Sultan's civil authority in Giravaru Island.[citation needed] The Sultans of the Maldives used to recognize the autonomy of the Giraavaru people and did not apply quite the same laws on them as they did on the rest of their realm. The Giravaru people never seemed to recognize the sovereignty of the Sultans fully.[citation needed] Ordinary Maldivians were required to address the Malé nobility in a different level of speech. However, the Giravaru people did not observe this custom and addressed the Malé nobility as they would usually address themselves.[citation needed] It was believed that the Giravaru people were mortally scared of toads. Things changed in 1932 when a written constitution was adopted. The customary rights of the indigenous[citation needed] Giraavaru people were not recognized in that document. Any rights they seemed to have enjoyed under the absolute rule of the Sultans were extinguished by default.[3]
End of the culture
In 1968, due to heavy erosion of the island and as a result, reduction of the community to a few members, they were forced to abandon their island under an Islamic regulation that did not recognize communities with fewer than 40 adult males, which was the minimum required for the regular performance of Friday prayers. The Giraavaru people were ferried across the atoll lagoon to Hulhulé Island and resettled there. When the airport there was extended they were shifted across to Malé and housed in a few blocks in newly reclaimed areas in the Maafanu district.[1]
The distinct Giraavaru culture swiftly disappeared when the Giraavaru young people were assimilated into the wider Malé society through intermarriage. "Pure" Giraavaru are now thought to be
See also
- Tivaru
- Maldivians
- Lakshadweep
- Dravidian peoples
- Chola dynasty
- Thiyyar history
Notes
- ^ ISBN 9781614512349.
- ^ Clarence Mahoney , People of the Maldive Islands (Himayatnagar , Hyderabad : Orient Blackswan, 2013), p.55
- ^ a b c d Maloney, Clarence. "Maldives People". Retrieved 2008-06-22.
- ^ hdl:1887/32215.
- ISBN 9781876410001.
- ISBN 9781841622668.
- ^ Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom
References
- H. C. P. Bell, The Maldive Islands; Monograph on the History, Archaeology and Epigraphy. Reprint Colombo 1940. Council for Linguistic and Historical Research. Male’ 1989
- ISBN 84-7254-801-5
External links
- Ahmed Mauloof, The Giraavaru people