Isdhoo or Isdū (according to the
Admiralty chart
Admiralty charts are nautical charts issued by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) and subject to Crown Copyright. Over 3,500 Standard Nautical Charts (SNCs) and 14,000 Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) are available with the Admi ...
s) (
Dhivehi
Dhivehi, also spelled Divehi, may refer to:
*Dhivehi people, an ethnic group native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands.
*Dhivehi language, an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Republic of Maldives
...
: އިސްދޫ) is one of the inhabited islands of
Haddhunmathi Atoll
Haddhunmathi or Laamu Atoll (Dhivehi: ހައްދުންމަތި އަތޮޅު) is an administrative division of the Maldives. The administrative capital is Fonadhoo Island. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name.
It is mostly rimmed ...
, administrative code Laamu part of
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
.
History
This island has important ruins from the historical Maldivian
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
era. These ruins include one of the largest
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circum ...
s so far found in the Maldives.
Isdū Lōmāfānu
Lōmāfānu
Lōmāfānu (or loamaafaanu) are Maldivian texts in the form of copper plates on which inscriptions have been added. Many new Maldivian historical texts are found only in lōmāfānu form, with the oldest of the plates dating from the twelfth c ...
are ancient royal edicts written on copper plates. Lōmāfānu edicts were etched on long copper plates held together by a ring of the same metal. The lōmāfānu were written in the curly Evēla form of the
Divehi akuru or old Maldive alphabet and they are very important documents in the
History of the Maldives
The history of the Maldives is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia and Indian Ocean; and the modern nation consisting of 26 natural atolls, comprising 11 ...
.
[H.A. Maniku & G.D. Wijayawardhana. Isdhoo Loamaafaanu. Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka. Colombo 1986]
The oldest lōmāfānu that have hitherto been found and preserved are from Malé, the royal capital, and from the islands of Isdū and Dambidū in
Haddhunmathi Atoll
Haddhunmathi or Laamu Atoll (Dhivehi: ހައްދުންމަތި އަތޮޅު) is an administrative division of the Maldives. The administrative capital is Fonadhoo Island. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name.
It is mostly rimmed ...
, where there were large Buddhist monasteries. These copperplates were issued at the end of the twelfth century AD.
[
These (lōmāfānu), make it clear that the general conversion from Buddhism to Islam was ordered by the king. Thanks to the lōmāfānu it is also known that the monasteries in Haddummati Atoll (Satu Duvu) were of great importance in the ancient Buddhist Kingdom of the Maldives.
According to the Isdū Lōmāfānu, monks from monasteries of the southern atoll of Haddhunmathi were brought to Malé and beheaded.
]
Geography
The island is south of the country's capital, Malé.
Demography
See also
* History of the Maldives
The history of the Maldives is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia and Indian Ocean; and the modern nation consisting of 26 natural atolls, comprising 11 ...
References
*H.C.P. Bell, The Maldive Islands, An account of the physical features, History, Inhabitants, Productions and Trade. Colombo 1882,
*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, ...
, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Barcelona 1999,
Islands of the Maldives
{{Maldives-geo-stub