:''See also

Giraavaru people The Giraavaru people are indigenous people of the Giravaaru islands that is part of Maldives. They are considered to be of Dravidian origin, and the earliest island community of the Maldives, predating Buddhism and the arrival of a Northern ki ...

'' Giraavaru is an island of Malé Atoll (the administrative

Kaafu Atoll Kaafu Atoll is the code name given to an administrative division in the Republic of Maldives which consists of the geographical atolls of Kaashidhoo Island, Gaafaru, North Malé Atoll and South Malé Atoll. As the two Malé Atolls are the main is ...

) nowadays hosting a tourist resort. It is located on the southwestern fringe of the

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

of North

Malé Atoll Kaafu Atoll is an administrative atoll in the Republic of Maldives. It consists of two separate atolls: North Malé Atoll and South Malé Atoll. Together with smaller geographic atolls of Kaashidhoo Island and Gaafaru, the group forms the admini ...

. It was inhabited in the past by the community known as

(or

Tivaru Tivaru (ތީވަރު ) or Dweepukar are said to be the first settlers of the Minicoy island of Lakshadweep off the Indian mainland. History The origin of the Tivaru is unknown. Clarence Malony suggests that they could be Dravidians from southern ...

people).

Historical and anthropological facts

The Giraavaru islanders had certain customs of their own, the women, for example, used to wear distinctive white cloth patchwork bands on the neckpiece of their libaas dress (''boavalhu'') instead of the usual Maldivian golden or silvery thread designs. In 1968 the island was depopulated due to heavy erosion and reduction of the community to a few members. The Giravaru people were resettled in nearby Hulhule Island, at the eastern edge of the Male' Atoll lagoon. At the time of depopulation there were only a few

coconut tree The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

s growing on Giraavaru and the water in the wells had become saline. When the airport at Hulhule was expanded they were relocated in the western end of Maafanu district in Malé. The Giravaru culture assimilated into the wider Malé society through inter-marriage after only about two generations. It is unlikely that the Giraavaru islanders were the only early settlers in the Maldives, as it is often claimed on the basis of myths and legends. From the anthropological point of view there were, and still are, other distinctive groups of people in the Maldives, like in Huvadhu Atoll for example, having their particular customs, manners and even speaking markedly different language forms. However, the Giraavaru islanders have attracted much more attention owing to their proximity to the capital.

Malé Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...

islanders and the royal court were fascinated by the distinctiveness of the Giraavaru islanders for centuries and thus they became locally an iconic people group.

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 * Clarence Maloney, ''People of the Maldive Islands''. Orient Longman Ltd. New Delhi, 1980, pp. 274–278. *

Xavier Romero-Frias Xavier or Xabier may refer to: Place * Xavier, Spain People * Xavier (surname) * Xavier (given name) * Francis Xavier (1506–1552), Catholic saint ** St. Francis Xavier (disambiguation) * St. Xavier (disambiguation) * Xavier (footballer, born ...

, ''The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom''. Barcelona 1999, History of the Maldives {{Maldives-geo-stub