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The Maldives are mainly known as an equatorial tourist paradise to |
the south of India but some will have heard the debate whether or |
not the archipelago risks drowning due to global warming. Far less is |
known about the people, who have occupied these islands for millennia, been Muslim since the 12th century, and have their own language |
and script. With globalization and the recent growth in tourism, the |
unique Maldivian vernacular culture is now challenged by new ways |
from Arabia and the West. |
This volume will ensure that Maldivian folklore is not lost and indeed |
reaches a global audience. It is a collection of 80 traditional short |
stories and legends selected from the large corpus of stories in the |
local oral tradition, and translated and illustrated by the author who is |
the foremost authority on the language and anthropology of the Maldives. These folk tales offer keen insights both into the history, culture |
and beliefs of the people of the Maldives and into the world they live |
in. Their close relationship with their environment is clear, also their Islamic faith, the tales framed by island and sea while bustling with both |
ordinary people and spirits and monsters, sorcerers and scholars, also |
birds, fish and trees. |
Would-be travellers to the Maldives will find this a unique insight |
into the real country behind the tourist brochures. For scholars, the folk |
tales and analytical material offer a wonderful literary/folklore resource as well as fresh perspectives on the effects of globalization. |
www.niaspress.dk |
Romero-Frias_pbk-cover.indd 1 |
Romero-Frias Folk Tales of the Maldives |
A unique insight into the history, culture and beliefs of the |
Maldivians and into the world they live in |
Folk Tales of |
the Maldives |
Xavier Romero-Frias |
23/07/2012 09:35 |
FOLK TALES OF THE MALDIVES |
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FOLK TALES |
OF THE |
MALDIVES |
Collected and translated by |
Xavier Romero-Frias |
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Folk Tales of the Maldives |
Xavier Romero-Frias |
First published in 2012 by NIAS Press |
NIAS – Nordic Institute of Asian Studies |
Leifsgade 33, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark |
Tel: +45 3532 9501 • Fax: +45 3532 9549 |
E-mail: books@nias.ku.dk • Online: www.niaspress.dk |
© Xavier Romero-Frias 2012 |
All rights reserved. |
Xavier Romero-Frias asserts his moral right to be |
identified as the author of this work. |
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data |
Romero-Frias, Xavier. |
Folk tales of the Maldives. |
1. Maldives--Folklore. |
I. Title |
398.2’095495-dc23 |
ISBN: 978-87-7694-104-8 (hbk) |
ISBN: 978-87-7694-105-5 (pbk) |
Cover illustration and design by Xavier Romero-Frias |
Typesetting by NIAS Press |
Printed in Singapore by Mainland Press |
All illustrations by (and copyright) the author unless otherwise stated. Front |
cover illustration based on the Ayyani Daitā story about an epidemic that |
struck Fua Mulaku in ancient times. Back cover illustration based on a photo |
by Nils Finn Munch-Petersen. Frontispiece illustration: Ancient lacquer work |
design from the Friday Mosque in Male’. |
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05/07/2012 18:29 |
This book is dedicated to Natxo Romero Frias (1958–2010), |
my younger brother and childhood companion. He was a |
man with a generous heart and an extraordinary gift for |
remembering humorous stories that he would store in his |
mind in order to entertain his friends and family. I strove to |
match my brother’s talent of being able to memorize stories, |
a skill that would prove very useful while gathering and |
recording the oral tradition of the Maldive Islands. |
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