Malé

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Malé
Island summary
Belongs to	Kaafu Atoll
Location	4°10′N, 73°30′E
Population	81,647 (2004)
Length	1.7 km / 1.05 miles
Width	1.0 km / 0.62 miles

Malé (Dhivehi: މާލެ), (pronounced: "Maa-lay") population 81,647 (2004), is the capital of the Republic of Maldives located at the southern edge of North Male' Atoll Kaafu Atoll. Traditionally it was the King's Island from where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties ruled and where the palace was located. Formerly it was a walled city surrounded by fortifications and gates (doroshi). The Royal Palace (Gan'duvaru) was destroyed along with the picturesque forts (kotte) and bastions (buruzu), when the city was remodelled under Ibrahim Nasir's rule.

Although Malé is geographically located in Male' Atoll, Kaafu Atoll, administratively it is not considered part of it. A commercial harbour is located in the Island. It is the heart of all commercial activities in the country. Many government buildings and agencies are located on the waterfront. Malé International Airport is on adjacent Hulhule Island which includes a seaplane base for internal transportation. Several land reclamation projects have expanded the harbour. Malé is located at 4°10' North, 73°30' East (4.1667, 73.5). ^[1]

The island is heavily urbanized, with the city taking up essentially its entire landmass. It is the world's most densely populated city (see list of selected cities by population density). Slightly less than one third of the nation's population lives in the capital city. Many, if not most, Maldivians and foreign workers in Maldives find themselves in occasional short term residence on the island since it is the only entry point to the nation and the centre of all administration and bureaucracy.

The town is divided into four divisions; Henveiru, Galolhu, Maafannu and Macchangolhi. The nearby island of Vilingili, formerly a tourist resort is the fifth division (Male'viligili) considered by the government.

Malé was struck by the tsunami that swept across the western coast of Sumatra on December 26, 2004. It was affected by the Indian Ocean earthquake which followed with the waves flooding two-thirds of the city. The earthquake and subsequent tsunamis reportedly killed over 220,000 people around the rim of the Indian Ocean.

A road in Malé

[edit] The name

The name Malé is taken from the word "Mahaalay" which has come from the Sanskrit language. The name is derived from maha, meaning "big" or "great" and aalay meaning house. Generally the word Mahaalay is used for the palace of a king or capital (king's island) in Sanskrit, e.g. Mahaalay of King Asok.^[2] However, the folktale below suggests a different origin of the name.

The whole island group, the Maldives, is named after its capital. The word "Maldives" means "The islands (dives) of Male'".^[3]

[edit] Folktale: The Origin of Malé

This portion of the article describes a local folktale legend about the origin of Male. It may not be accurate to the actual founding and building of the city.

The first settlers in the Maldive islands were Dravidian people from the nearest coasts, which are in the Indian Subcontinent and coastal Ceylon. The people of Giraavaru, an island located in Male' Atoll (now a tourist resort, after its inhabitants were removed) claim to descend from the first settlers.

It is said that Giraavaru fishermen used to go regularly to a certain large sandbank (finolhu)at the southern end of their atoll to clean tuna fish after a good catch. Owing to the large amount of tuna fish offal and blood, the waters around that sandbank looked like a big pool of blood (maa ley gandeh). "Maa" (from the Sanskrit "Maha"), meaning big, and "Lē" meaning blood. Traditionally the first inhabitants of the Maldives, which include the Giravaru people, didn't have kings. They lived in a simple society and were ruled by local headmen. But one day a prince from the Subcontinent called Koimala arrived to Male' Atoll sailing from the North on a big ship. The people of Giraavaru spotted his vessel from afar and welcomed him. They allowed Prince Koimala to settle on that large sandbank in the midst of the waters tainted with fishblood. Trees were planted on the sandbank and it is said that the first tree that grew on it was the papaya tree. As time went by the local islanders acceped the rule of this Northern Prince. A palace was built and the island was formally named Maa-le (Male'), while the nearest island was named Hulhu-le.

The names of the main four wards or divisions of Male' Island are said to have been given by the Giraavaru fishermen: Maafannu from "maa"(big) and "fannu"(a place where a village path meets the sea), Henveiru from "en-beyru"(out where fishermen got their bait), Galolhu from "galu-olhu" (stone groove) and, Macchangolhi from mathi-angolhi (windward path-fork)."

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

^ http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/cntry_files.html
^ Vaman Shivram Apte; Sanskrit English Dictionary
^ Caldwell, Comparative Dravidian Grammar, p. 27-28

[edit] References

H.C.P. Bell, The Maldive Islands, An account of the physical features, History, Inhabitants, Productions and Trade. Colombo 1883, ISBN 81 206 1222 1

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