Breeze_Issue_001_ChildrenOfTheSea

HISTORY PAGES
Pyrard and his crew meeting the island chief
boats within the channels and narrow lagoons that surrounded
the atolls and islands. To him these appeared dangerous and
perilous.
Pyrard also found these expert navigators, who he describes
as half-fishes with no fear of the sea, to be graceful, wellshaped
and proportioned. He depicts images of olive skinned
women with long black hair and armed men walking about with
knives in their girdles, all adorned with heavy silver bracelets
and layers of gold necklaces, clothed in cotton, silk and taffeta.
He describes their hair ceremonies, bathing rituals and other
grooming rites, all deeply rooted in superstitions.
The natives are described as scrupulous and superstitious
in all their actions. If they have
slept, he writes, they would not
meet anyone unless they’ve
washed their face and eyes,
rubbed them with oil and put
on a “blackness” upon their
eyelids and brows. When
they left for a voyage it was
important for them to not touch
anyone since if something
disastrous happened they
would attribute the calamity to
the person who touched them.
When the sun set on Thursdays,
they would not allow anything
to be removed from their
houses until three or four
o’clock in the afternoon the
next day. The passage goes on
to explain that every island has
a place called “Siare” where they make daily offerings of little
boats and ships full of perfumes and flowers to the “King of
the Winds” and similar rituals were conducted for the “King of
the Sea”.
These superstitious customs, which appear to have
immensely captured Pyrard’s imagination also seem to have
been intricately woven into the traditions of Islam. Pyrard
noted how the locals all prayed five times a day, men at
mosques and women in their homes, and every year they
fasted during the month of Ramadan, a feat that started with
“Pyrard also found
these expert navigators,
who he describes as
half-fishes with no fear
of the sea, to be graceful,
well-shaped and
proportioned.”
banquets, dances and merriments at the appearance of the
new moon and ended with the same splendour with the
festivities of the Eid. According to Pyrard, these inhabitants
celebrated feasts throughout the year. Fridays were feast
days, a feat announced by a group of men with their bells and
trumpets, and every new moon was rejoiced with banquets and
merrymaking.
The king at the time was Sultan Ibrahim dolos assa raltera
Atholon which meant Sultan Ibrahim, King of thirteen provinces
and twelve thousand Iles. According to Pyrard, the king was
feared and revered by all. But he was also curious in nature
and had a desire to learn. Wanting to learn about the customs
of the French was the reason
why the king provided Pyrard
with lodgings near his palace.
Pyrard describes a palace
built of stone enclosed in
a garden where there were
fountains and cisterns of
water. It had many mansions
and two great halls, and was
adorned by rich curtains,
tapestries of silk enriched
with gold, and finely woven
mats that were made in the
islands. Being placed near
the palace, Pyrard was able to
make many close observations
regarding the daily lives
of the king and his queens.
He writes about the different
ranks of people and their
customs and provides insights into the government and its
legal system.
Pyrard’s adventures in the Maldives ended when he took
the opportunity to escape from Male’ during a Bengali raid.
This book, which covers tales from the entire five years of
his stay in Maldives, contains some surprises even for the
Maldivian reader. It puts an aura of magic and mystery over the
Maldivian past and provides insights into an almost vanished
culture that’s left behind only a smidgen of its essence.
www.cococollection.com
15