The Perseus of Maldives

The legend of Al-Barbari and the slaying of the sea-monster

Until the first half of the 12th century, Buddhism was the principal religion in the Maldivian islands. It changed, according to legend, with the arrival in Malé of one Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari from North Africa. The nature or purpose of his visit is unknown, but it can be assumed that al-Barbari was one of the merchants who visited the Maldives for trade. He is remembered in Maldivian folklore as a medieval Perseus, who saved a young woman marked for sacrifice from a sea-demon or sea-jinn called Rannamaari.

According to some unholy pact between the people of Maldives and Rannamaari, a virgin girl was sacrificed to the demon at regular intervals to appease its bloodlust, else its wrath would turn upon the people. The king of Maldives had the task of choosing the virgin girl.

On the appointed night, dressed like a bride, she was shut alone inside a temple near the sea and, the next morning, people visited the temple to collect her mortal remains. The demon appeased, the people of Maldives could carry on with their lives undisturbed, until it was again time for the sacrifice. Some traditions suggest Rannamaari’s visits were fortnightly; according to some, the sacrifice was made on the first day of every month; yet other accounts suggest the demon only emerged from the waters on the night of the full moon.

It so happened that the family whose hospitality al-Barbari had enjoyed during his stay in Malé had a young girl, and she was chosen by the king for sacrifice.

Al-Barbari decided to pay back his hosts for their kindness by taking the place of the girl on the night of the sacrifice. Nobody else knew about this arrangement. When it was night, al-Barbari, dressed as a bride, was led to the temple. Shut inside the temple by the priests, he waited for the demon, reciting Quranic verses.

The legend breaks here into two different traditions.

According to the first tradition, when Rannamaari emerged from the sea, it cried out in pain upon hearing the Quran being recited, and returned to the sea. The next morning, when people came to collect the remains of the girl, they found, to their surprise, the visitor from North Africa there instead, alive and unharmed.

Al-Barbari was taken to the king, where he made the proposal that if he could exorcise the monster forever, the king and his subjects would convert to Islam. The king agreed to the terms, and on the next appointed day for the sacrifice, al-Barbari returned to the temple and resumed recitation from the Quran. Before long, Rannamaari emerged from the waters but, this time, upon finding al-Barbari there, it attacked him. Al-Barbari gave fight, finally capturing and killing the monster, and drowning it in the sea.

From that day, the people of Maldives were released from its depredations, and as promised, the king converted to Islam along with his people.

But Maldivian history from the Dhanbidhu Lomafanu copperplates dating from 1193 AD tell a different story. They tell of the king’s edict, whose cause remains unclear, ordering all Maldivians to convert to Islam. The order was resisted by the people, and in an attempt to quell the rebellion, Buddhist monks were beheaded, idols broken, and temples and monasteries razed to build mosques. It was many years before the strife ended, and the Maldivians converted to Islam.

This brings us to the variant version of the Rannamaari legend. According to this tradition, as al-Barbari waited inside the temple on the first night dressed as a bride, the monster came into view. As it drew near, al-Barbari attacked it and, taking it by surprise, overpowered it. He then learnt to his amazement that the monster was none other than the king of Maldives who, with the collusion of temple priests and courtiers, used this method to satisfy his violent lust and keep his subjects in fear.
In the medieval period, the Maldives’ exports of coconut fibre and cowrie shells gave it an important status, and it is conjectured that upon learning this secret, al-Barbari manipulated the situation to his advantage by exacting a promise from the king that he and his people would convert to Islam.

The account given in the Dhanbidhu Lomafanu lends credence to this version of the legend, relating how a tyrant met his match in a cunning trader and how their complicity unleashed violence on a population.

Musharraf Ali Farooqi is an author, novelist and translator. He can be reached at www.mafarooqi.com and on Twitter at @microMAF.

This monthly column explores the curious world of the myths and folk tales of South Asia.
Source: http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/B1X8SFxmWZrM3UDCSz6jDP/The-Perseus-of-Maldives.html

Mystical Maldives

Get prepared to be charmed and dazzled by the brilliance of the Maldives says Akhila Thyli Hemanth

Leaving for the Maldives was an adventure in itself.

We missed the bus that we had to take from Bangalore to Trivandrum. From Trivandrum, we had to catch the flight to the Maldives. To make it more difficult, no other bus was available, and at one point we were sure we were not going to make it to the flight. Visions of the turquoise sea meeting the azure blue sky kept us from cancelling the vacation and we rented a car and made a hair-raisingly speedy overnight journey to Trivandrum and rushed to our flight. It was a good thing that we had four days in the Maldives to recuperate from the nightmarish drive.

On landing, the heat of a sultry Maldivian summer washed over us. Landing at the Maldives is quite a unique experience that has the feel of a romantic Bollywood movie. The runway is on an island, with the beautiful coloured sea and the ubiquitous coconut trees framing the terminal.

After a quick run through customs and immigration we were on a dhoni (a small boat) eager to get to our destination—the island resort, Giravaru.

Depending on the distance from the terminal, dhonis, speed boats or sea planes transport you to one of the many resorts around. Not just from the airport to the resort, if you have to reach anywhere in the Maldives you have to take the sea route.

The Maldives, a remarkable geological creation in the middle of the Indian Ocean, is an island nation rich with natural and ancient coral life. Made up of atolls, this country is considered the smallest with a large Muslim population. With sunny weather throughout the year, the Maldives is proving to be a popular destination for snorkelers, divers, sun worshippers and a romantic getaway for honeymooners. A traveller is spoilt for choices as there are new resorts coming up every few months with themes ranging from back-to-nature, eco-friendly resorts to the most luxurious boutiques, complete with ‘houses’ on stilts in the water with glass floors so you can have your own private ‘natural’ aquarium. Typically, each island has only one resort, but not all the islands on the Maldives have resorts. We were told that there were 88 resorts there and about 1,200 islands!

Heading south on a fairly fast boat, we reached our resort in twenty-five minutes. We passed by Male, the capital city, and entered the South Male Atoll. The entrance to the atoll was surreal, with the water calm and placid—completely the opposite of the choppy waters we were skimming across a few moments ago.

Disembarking on the only jetty in the island, there we were, on the white beach that I had only seen in photographs and movie pictures.

Walking through a cool archway of colourful bougainvilleas in soothing pink, white and orange, we reached our room. The backdoor of the room opened onto the beach. We seemed to have walked into a picture postcard.

We washed up and headed towards the bar. We could not have asked for a better setting than the outer deck with an open sky. Settling into the easy chairs, we were taken aback by the intensity of the view. A clear night sky crowded with stars twinkling and chattering merrily in tune with the gentle splash of the ocean, and a distant horizon engulfed by a soothing darkness.

The morning dawned bright and early. After a quick breakfast, we browsed through the list of activities the resort offered to its guests. Diving, island hopping, snorkelling, banana boat rides and catamarans.

Giving in to our itch for some adventure, we signed up for snorkeling—something we had not done before. We made our way to the diving shack, where David, our instructor, was waiting for us.

David first explained what the snorkelling equipment was, how to clean them up and put them on. After putting on our wet suits, we headed towards the ocean for some practice before heading out to the house reef. It was fun bumbling and splashing about in the ocean. House reefs of most of the islands are just a few metres away from the beach.

After David felt we had sufficient practice, we made our way down to the house reef, gingerly stepping on the slippery rocks into bath temperature waters of the lagoon. We had to swim a small distance to reach reef-life. What we saw there was a whole new world of breathtaking beauty. To see the sheer diversity of the marine wildlife was an indescribable joy.

Snorkelling along the edge of the reef, (in a slight current) we saw most of the characters from ‘Finding Nemo’, including clown fish (Marlin and Nemo), powder blue tang (Dory) and Moorish idol (Gill), turtles, rays, a partially hidden moray eel (where we could see only its menacing head), corals, lobsters and shrimp (all of which we could identify quite easily). David filled us in on the other creatures we saw, such as sea cucumbers, parrotfish, angelfish, shoals of lovely oriental sweet lips, moon fusiliers and basslets. The lavish colours swathe you completely and you’re surrounded by coloured fish of every shape and size. There is something magical in seeing dense shoals like these in the wild. It is said that Maldives has probably the world’s best and diverse coral reefs.

Later, we went snorkelling as often as we could have, for the rest of our stay. The reef teeming with endearing brilliantly coloured fish, corals and other marine life ensured that we had an unforgettable and amazing experience of a lifetime.

One of the things I liked about this island was that there was no pressure to visit all the local ‘sightseeing’ spots, but there was plenty to do. Once you came to terms with the fact that there is nothing to force you to occupy your time, you stop feeling restless. The most demanding decisions we made were about which book to read and where should we sunbathe!

We also went on an island trip. It was a very small island and you could cover it in about twenty minutes. The beach was littered with seashells and crawling with crabs. We swam in its waters and spent a lazy day here, hobnobbing with turtles, sharks and rays.

When we headed back towards our resort we were ravenous and went to the resorts’ dining area. The package we had opted for included all three meals. Each of the guests were allotted a table, and were not allowed to switch tables, which we thought was rather strange. The food was nothing to write home about and more or less the same fare was being served everyday.

Apart from this small disappointment, our whole trip was immensely enjoyable. It was soon time for us to leave. We had gotten too used to the relaxed rhythm of a Maldivian resort and heading back home to a busy city life was not tempting at all.

As we took off in our flight, we turned back to look at the inviting cobalt blue waters, the corals, which could be seen even from such a distance, and the islands fringed with sandy beaches, all shimmering like drops of lapis lazuli, and we made a promise to ourselves that we would come back and visit paradise once more.

If you are looking for a unique break that will pamper you and offer you a holiday of a lifetime, then head towards the Maldives for a fabulous holiday. Do, however, remember to travel responsibly and help preserve this paradise.

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