📰 Malé

Malé[2] is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives corpus.1 With a population of 211,908 in 2022[1] within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of 8.30 km2, Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world.[3][4]2 The city is geographically located in the southern edge of North Malé Atoll (Kaafu Atoll).[5]3 Administratively, the city consists of a central island, an airport island, and five other islands presided over by the Malé City Council.4

Traditionally it was the King's Island, from where the ancient royal dynasties ruled and where the palace was located.5 The city was then called Mahal.[6]6 Formerly it was a walled city surrounded by fortifications and gates (doroshi).7 The Royal Palace (Gan'duvaru) was destroyed along with the picturesque forts (koshi) and bastions (buruzu) when the city was remodelled under President Ibrahim Nasir's rule in the aftermath of the abolition of the monarchy in 1968.8 However, some buildings remained, namely, the Malé Friday Mosque.9 In the last few decades, the island has been considerably expanded in size through land reclamation.10 Over the years, Malé has been the center of political protests and milestone events.11

Islam has played a central role in the city's history since 1153 CE, when the Maldives converted from Buddhism to Islam under the influence of North African traders and missionaries.12 This religious shift deeply influenced Malé's cultural and architectural identity, visible today in the form of mosques such as the 17th-century Hukuru Miskiy (Friday Mosque), built from coral stone and considered one of the oldest mosques in the country.[7]13 Over the centuries, Malé has remained not only the capital but also the symbolic and historical core of the Maldives.14

Overview

Although Malé is geographically located in Kaafu Atoll, administratively it is not considered part of it.15

Islands of Malé City

• Malé (Central Island)16
• Hulhulé (Airport Island)17
• Hulhumalé18
• Villimalé19
• Gulhifalhu20
• Thilafushi21
• Giraavarufalhu22

The central part of the city is formed by the island of Malé.23 Six more islands form part of the city which includes Hulhulé, Hulhumalé, Villimalé, Gulhifalhu, Thilafushi and Giraavarufalhu.24

A commercial harbour is located on the central island and serves as the heart of all commercial activities in the country.25 Velana International Airport is located on the Island of Hulhulé.[8]26

The central island is heavily urbanised, with the built-up area taking up essentially its entire landmass.[8]27 Slightly less than one-third of the nation's population lives in the capital city, and the population has increased from 20,000 people in 1987 to 100,000 people in 2006.28 Many Maldivians and foreign workers living in other parts of the country find themselves in occasional short-term residence on the island since it is the centre of administration and bureaucracy.29 Most of the population of Malé live in small houses or apartment complexes, often shared with external family or roommates.30 This led to the development of Hulhumalé and the extension to Phase 2.31

The Indian expatriate community in the Maldives stands as the second-largest, comprising around 27,000 individuals.32 Among them, a substantial portion consists of construction workers, doctors, nurses, health professionals, and teachers, who play vital roles in the Maldivian infrastructure, healthcare, and education sectors.33 Additionally, Indian and Bangladeshi nationals contribute significantly as skilled workers, alongside a sizable presence of unskilled laborers, as well as other professionals and members of the business community.[9]34

History

Main article: History of the Maldives

The whole island group, the Maldives, is named after its capital.35 The word "Maldives" means "the islands (dives) of Malé".[10]36

The first settlers in the Maldivian islands were Dravidian people[11] who arrived from the neighboring shores of the modern Indian subcontinent and coastal Ceylon.37 Comparative studies of Maldivian linguistic, oral, and other cultural traditions, in addition to folklore, point to a strong Dravidian influence on Maldivian society, centered in Malé, from ancient times.38 The Giraavaru people of Giraavaru claim descent from the first Tamil settlers of the Maldives.[12]39

It is said that early Tamil settlers called the islands Maalaitivu, which means Garland Islands or Chain Islands.40 Early records also indicate that the island was called "Athamana Huraa" before being named Malé.41 According to regional lore, 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.42 Owing to a 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 मह "maha", meaning big, and "lē" blood).43 Traditionally the first inhabitants of the Maldives, which include the Giravaru people, did not have kings.44 They lived in a simple society and were ruled by local headmen.45

However, one day, a prince from the subcontinent called Koimala arrived at the Malé Atoll sailing from the North on a big ship.46 The people of Giraavaru spotted his vessel from afar and welcomed him.47 They allowed Prince Koimala to settle on that large sandbank amid the waters tainted with fish blood.48 Trees were planted on the sandbank and it is said that the first tree that grew on it was the papaya tree.49 (However, this could refer to any tree that bears edible fruit as the archaic Dhivehi word, and Mahal word in modern times, for fruit (falhoa), was the same as that for the papaya.[13])50 As time went by, the local islanders accepted the rule of this Northern Prince.51 A palace was built and the island was formally named Maa-le (Malé), while the nearest island was named Hulhu-le.52

The names of the main four wards or divisions of Malé Island are said to have been given by the original 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).53

In early foreign sources, Malé was called Ambria or Mahl.54 For the Maldivians, it was Fura Malé, i.e. "Malé the Pre-Eminent".[14]55

When Ibn Battuta traveled to Malé in 1343 (in المَحَل thus the entire Maldivian islands were ذِيبَةُ المَحَل Dhībat-ul-Maḥal[15]), he provided a rather extensive description of the city as well as the Islands of the Maldives overall.56 He mentioned that the Queen, Rehendhi Khadeeja, had a residence in Malé, which from its description may be assimilated to the same palace of the later sultan rulers, in the centre of the island.[16]57 Within the palace compounds, several pits contained stores of cowrie shells, ready to be traded.58 Ibn Battuta also mentioned several mosques, built in wood.[14]59

Malé was fortified in the 17th century by the sultan Muhammad Imaduddin, who built walls on the north, east, and west sides of the island.60 An inner harbour was used by fishing vessels and small dhonis, while larger vessels had to anchor in the outer harbour, between the islands of Vilingili and Hulhule.61 The island covered less than one square mile in size and was surrounded by a shallow lagoon.[14]62

Malé had 2,148 inhabitants in 1888, but population growth soon led to the search for new spaces for housing.63 The old forts and decrepit walls were dismantled in 1925–1927 under the reign of Muhammad Shamsuddeen III, to be rebuilt on a smaller scale.64 Roads were also widened and straightened.65 Former large cemeteries had also been cleared out, to achieve more housing space.66

The Royal Palace (Gan'duvaru) was destroyed along with the picturesque forts (koshi) and bastions (buruzu) when the city was remodelled under President Ibrahim Nasir's rule in the aftermath of the abolition of the monarchy in 1968.67 Only the National Museum building, the residence of the last sultan, as well as the Malé Friday Mosque, remain.68 Malé's residents soon grew to 11,453 by 1967 and 29,522 by 1977.69 To cater to the growing population, by 1986 the shallow lagoon around Malé was reclaimed.[14]70