The Rannamari was a Sea monster from Maldivian folklore that was believed to have

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d and murdered thousands of young women.

Brief outline

According to

Ibn Batuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim wor ...

's version of the story, the king,the king , haunted the people of the Maldives and had to be appeased monthly with the sacrifice of a

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

girl. On the last day of every month, a lot was drawn by the authority of the king, among the women of the island. She was to be sent off to spend the night in a temple. Overnight, the king was to come. The following morning, the girls were found dead, and the islanders proceed with the burial rituals.

Common versions

Rannamaari has two main versions, the traditional version and the one told by Ibn Batuta. According to the Moroccan traveler Ibn Batuta, who visited the Maldives during his journeys through Asia, {{quote , text = Rannamaari, the notorious sea demon haunted the people of the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

since time began. Every month, a virgin had to be sacrificed for the demon, or the people were to face his wrath. A girl was chosen from the inhabitants by the king or his advisers and she would be kept alone on the first night of the month in an isolated temple at the eastern seafront in

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 ...

. At dawn, the girl's family would return to the temple to find the dead body of the girl. Maldivians were very worried about it till a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

traveler suggested that he be sent to the temple in the place of a girl to read verses of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

there. After the traveler recited

in the temple, the demon disappeared and was never heard of again. Everyone was grateful that the demon disappeared and believed that Allah is the greatest of all and changed to shazan know as ((saneem babulho thin naashi)) However, it is now believed by most of the population as fact that the story of the sea demon had been fabricated by the then incumbent king, his advisors or religious leaders (this is academically wrong and bias to say that kings and his advisors fabricated this story. Why they say the story is not fabricated by the king or his advisors because the earliest coper plates during his sister's son reign did not mention the rannamaari story. So, the Rannamaari story is very late fabrication. Most probably two or three centuries after the first Muslim king).{{Clarify, date=October 2022, reason={{Citation needed, date=October 2022 But the motivation behind the fabrication is still unclear. Some people believe that the king or one of his advisers

d the girls for

sexual pleasure Sexual stimulation is any stimulus (including bodily contact) that leads to, enhances and maintains sexual arousal, and may lead to orgasm. Although sexual arousal may arise without physical stimulation, achieving orgasm usually requires physica ...

and killed them afterwards. This can be true as only

girls were selected by the king or his advisers for the sacrifice.

References

{{reflist Myths of the Maldives Jinn Conversion to Islam Islam in the Maldives Sea monsters

Brief outline

Common versions

See also

References