Though the population at the time of their resettlement from Giraavaru was officially not enough for the Friday prayer, the former island chief Adam Mohamed says that for as long as he could remember Friday prayers were held on Giraavaru. I think people starved to death in the depression, and the real reason for the disappearance of the old customs was this decline in population. When we look at history, the Giraavaru people need to be treated as special. Apparently this would provoke the Giraavaruans to insist that, 'This island is ours, and you stay here if we allow you. Special aspects of Giraavaru culture include tambourine playing and trance during dancing.
Trance is achieved by bleeding on both sides of the head after stabbing with a chopping knife.
The young men of Giraavaru look forward to the trance state. During the playing of the tambourine for the trance ceremony the knife that is kept by the leaders is used to make stab cuts on either side of the head. I also attained trance. No pain at all. It was an important custom among us in those days,' said the Giraavaru chief.