The people of Ukulhas have similar physical characteristics associated with the people of the Indian-subcontinent. You can find people with different features such as very fair people and people of much darker complexions as well. In the olden days people were extremely well groomed and kept to simple traditional attire, however today you can see the youth wearing clothing of well-known international brands. The people of this island is extremely kind and friendly and is always ready to welcome you with a warm smile. In the earlier days Ukulhas people were quiet and reserved in their interactions with foreigners until the foreigners gained the confidence of the locals, once the bond of confidence is built the local will welcome the foreigners as one of their own.
In the earlier days the islanders had few wants and needs and they possessed the means to satisfy their basic needs. The people were hardworking, skillful, honest, and cheerful. They were ingenious and skilled in their manufactures and displayed great aptitude in the imitation of any European articles that they might come across, such as knife handles, scales and other such instruments of daily use.
From the very early days, the island had broad streets, shaded with trees, and the streets were well kept. An interesting historical fact associated with the island is that during the era of President Mohamed Amin Didi, the women of the island won the nationwide inter-island cleaning tournament held by the president, and the islanders can proudly state that today they have been honoring this achievement as even today Ukulhas is counted amongst the cleanest and best kept islands of Maldives.
Prior to the introduction of modern construction materials, houses in the island were built of plaited coconut leaves, plastered over with a cement made from corals called “uva” or lime, and the roofs were made with thatched coconut leaves. All these materials were sourced from the island itself and building works were done by the islanders. These houses were usually divided into two rooms, connected by a doorway which can be closed by curtain, where the main room was the room in which general activities unsleeping will be done. The rooms were furnished with benches around the wall and a few stools beside a coir rope filled bed. The most salient piece of furniture in Maldivian houses at that time without doubt is the grand swing or“Undhoali” which was a piece of furniture suspended from the roofbeams by chains or rope, the material of which depended upon the caste to which the proprietor belonged to, while people of higher caste were using brass chains, those from middle caste used iron chains, and those from the lowercase used coiled rope. These swings also had legs which could be retracted own in event the one sleeping on it gets ill, and the swinging to and formation becomes a hindrance to that person. The coverings of these beds were also determined by the caste of that person in the society, while those of the higher caste used mattress covers and pillow cases made with red silk, the middle caste used beds made from studded cotton, and those from the lower caste slept on pallets made from reeds and straw. Each such mattress will be laid upon a straw mat, and the pattern and quality of this straw mat will also depend upon the caste of the owner.
Looking at how the islanders traded, trade heavily relied on voyages to Male’ since Malé was the main commercial hub and the transactions were mostly carried through the principle of barter. The Market or “Baazaaru” in Malé was the only such place in which trade between foreigners and locals were carried in this manner. The shops were the personal property of the Sultan, who used to lease them out to a number of Bombay merchants, at rents varying from 15 rupees to 50 rupees per month. These Bombay merchants mostly sold rice and cotton goods to the natives, taking in exchange turtle shells, coconuts, cowries, and dried fish. Trade trips made from the island to Male’ were less and very significant at that time and played an important role in the life of the island community.
As like all other Maldivians, Ukulhas people were also following the Islamic law that came to the Maldives when the Maldiveswas converted to Islam in the year 1153 AD by a Muslim from Maghrib (Morocco)by the name of Abul Barakat Yoosuf Al Barbary. Following the conversion of theking and his family, the king sent missionaries to convert the local people onthe various islands in the Maldives. Each island had a select few with theknowledge of the Islamic law and these people were greatly honored andrespected by all. As in other islands mosques were also built in Ukulhas for worship, andthe mosques were well-built and kept clean, showcasing the craftsmanship of thepeople of Ukulhas. Separate mosques were built for male and female worshippers.The largest and most spacious mosque called Hukuru Miskiy (Friday mosque) was set and used by the males.
During the earlier days the people were extremely superstitious and had a great fear of Devils. People had the belief that Devils could exercise a great influence on their daily life. They also had the conviction that they could meet a Devil at night and this could ruin their lives as different mishaps will befall them, or they could even get possesses well. Because of these beliefs the islanders took different measures to ward themselves from the Devils which included tying of pendants and following different rites and rituals prior to doing any major activity. Further women were rarely allowed to go out during night time as the devils might possess them.
In those days Ukulhas people had a trend of getting married at an early age. As soon as they reached adulthood, they hurried to get married with someone. According to Islamic law, polygamy was allowed, but the maximum number of wives were limited to four. The marriage ceremony was extremely simple, the man had to get permission from the parents of his intended bride prior to marriage, and also the bride has the right to demand a dowry from the groom. In the ceremony a judge would declared them to be man and wife, in the presence witnesses. Should the couple desire to be separated they would again present themselves before a judge, who after advising them and ensuring that both parties desired the separation, will annul the marriage.
As to be found in the households of all other Eastern countries, all household duties were mainly left to women, whose main job was to up bring the children, prepare the meals for their husbands and family and keep the household clean. The men also contributed in the house hold chores doing works such as repairing the house, bringing food and other commodities, cleaning fish and other such works. In addition to this the men spent time fishing, toddy climbing, making lime (uva), furniture making and other such activities. Also most of the times the women will not have their meals with their husbands but they will keep waiting until their husbands finish their meal.
The History of Ukulhas is linked to the story of Mohamed and Hassan Takurufaan of Uteemu island. Around 1640s an Ukulhas gentleman named Mulhoshi Kalo married a lady of Uteemu family, a direct descendant of Hassan Takurufaan of Uteemu, one of the heroes who drove the Portuguese out of Maldives in 1573.
The story of this Hassan Takurufaan is well-known. It was first narrated by François Pyrard de Laval who was held captive in Maldives, having been shipwrecked on Baa Atoll in 1602. Pyrard was a Frenchman who is remembered for a personal written account of his adventures in the Maldive Islands from 1602 to 1609. His work is titled the Voyage of François Pyrard of Laval to the East Indies, the Maldives, the Moluccas, and Brazil. Pyrard talks about the two brothers who drove away the Portuguese:
The personal name of the elder was Mahomet; he was called Bode ta Courou, signifying “great lord”; he married the wife of the king who was slain at Malè by the Portuguese. The younger was called Assan Quilague and married the daughter of the same king, so that the two brothers had for their wives a mother and daughter… As it happened, the elder brother only had a son, while the younger had a daughter, who was of noble birth on her mother’s side, -- for in that land nobility passes by the mother as well as by the father…1
Now this prince of Mohamed Takurufaan, mentioned by the Frenchman Pyard, reigned as Ibrahim III Kalaafaan. In 1609 he was killed by pirates and Malè was sacked. He was buried in Hanyameedhoo island and his shrine became a sacred site. One of the caretakers of this shrine was called Mohamed the son of Ramudana Kalo of Ukulhas. A grant dated 1609 states:
Having thus determined, it was agreed that construction shall be carried out by those bequeathed to this Lord, to wit: Vaati Alla of Maakandoodoo, Hassan the son of Manadoo Ali, the Dervish of Landoo and his son, Himandoo Ali the toddy maker, Hika of Mahibadoo, Ali of Kirandee, Ramudana of Ukulhas, Kaddoo Moosa and his two sons, Hussain from Diyamigili…
…and Mohamed Kalo the son of Ramudana Kalo; these ten people are entrusted to conduct the tasks mentioned in this Grant according to the aforementioned way; Whereas these ten people having been satisfied and having accepted the arrangement to eat [spend] from the proceeds of the toddy of the toddy makers mentioned in the Grant and other things mentioned in this Grant; they shall conduct the tasks assigned upon this Lord’s tomb as mentioned in this Grant according to the aforementioned way…2;
Thus, it is known that in 1609 Ukulhas was connected to Uteemu royal family3.
As mentioned before, Pyrard also talks about a princess of Hassan Takurufaan, her name was Donkamana4. She had a sister called Tukkamana5. There is a land grant dated 1661 that determined what were Tukkamana’s endowments and who were responsible for its upkeep. Her cousin Ibrahim Iskandar, the reigning king in 1661 identified them:
We bestow a Grant to the same effect as the previous grant; in so doing, having found evidence and having proven upon it; it was found that when this Tukkamana passed away, her surviving husband Velavalhunai Takuru, the Foreigner, and the son born to this Takuru from the womb of Tukkamana named Tukkalaa; this father and son, for the salvation of this Lady, granted the Endowment thus: the proceeds of the plot of land in Miladunmadulu Manadoo, having seventy two bama on every side, that this Lady bought from the children of Judge Noordeen of Hanimadoo, having paid for it from her own possessions; and the proceeds of Maalifushi Island in Kolhuendin-madulu; and the land having thirty bama on every side named Gey-gandu located in Mandoo in Ariadu Atoll, that this Lady’s cousin Kalaafaan bestowed to her; and all coconut trees planted on this plot by Hussain of Goidoo; and the island named Embulhelafushi of Ariadu Atoll that this royal couple bought, from their own possessions, from Maadu of Nilandoo; and all coconut trees, other trees, bananas and root cultivations upon this plot; and the islet-orchard named Hiyafushi in the same atoll where coconut trees on behalf of this Lady were planted…6
In 1661, all these possessions belonged to descendants of Donkamana and Tukkamana; as for the names of these descendants, we are uncertain. It is said that one of these descendants was a great-granddaughter of Donkamana7 and was Portuguese from her great-grandfather’s side8. It is said that she married Mulhoshi Kalo of Ukulhas and had two daughters: Amina Dio and Aisha Dio9. Their father, Mulhoshi Kalo of Ukulhas could be Mohamed the son of Ramdana Kalo mentioned before.
Mulhoshi Kalo of Ukulhas migrated from Ukulhas to Malè after having married this possible royal great-granddaughter. Mulhoshi Kalo of Ukulhas was so powerful that until the 1900s the road in which his house in Malè was located was called Mulhoshi Kalo road10.
Now, it so happened that by 1678, many Maldivians feared that the reigning king, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Uteemu – the king who authorized the grant mentioned before – was going to die heirless. His queen died childless on 15 September 1678. After her death, the King did not remarry, preferring instead to choose as his sleeping partners eight favourites from among his slave women11. Even before the death of the queen, the great lords of the country scrambled to find eligible royal suitors who can beget a contender to the ailing king. The suitor will have to have Uteemu royal blood in the female line, since in the 1600s royal entailment passed down through matrilineal primogeniture.
At length, the old king’s favourite concubine became pregnant and gave birth to a son on 23 August 1680. King Iskandar died in 1687 when his son was only seven years of age. The Boy King did not live long. He and his mother died in a gunpowder accident in 169112.
Because these two Ukulhas ladies were direct descendants of royal Uteemu blood – and most importantly direct descendants Ali VI – they had many suitors. The elder Ukulhas lady, Amina Dio, married a great lord from the south, called Ibrahim Doshimeyna13 of Dhiyamigili. In 1659 they had a son14 whom they named Mohamed. In 1704 he became King Imamudeen the second, the first king of Dhiyamigili Dynasty.
Now the mother of these two sisters – apart from marrying Ukulhas Mulhoshi Kalo – also married a great lord from the north and had a son called Hussain Handeygiri of Nolhivaranfaru and he had a daughter called Atiree Kamana15. The title Atiree Kamana means the Lady of the Beach, we do not know why she was called this, maybe her palace was near the beach.
The Lady of the Beach grew up and married several times. Her second husband was her first cousin, Hassan Mafaiy Thakurufaan of Isdhoo in Laamu Atoll. This Hassan’s mother was Lady Aisha Dio of Ukulhas16, the younger daughter of Mulhoshi Kalo, lord of Ukulhas. Around 1678 the Lady of the Beach gave birth to a son whom they called Ibrahim. In 1701 he became King Muzhirudeen, the last king of Isdhoo Dynasty.
With the death of the Boy King in 1691, there was no direct heir to the throne, and chaos ensued. Between 1691 and 1704 no less than seven kings reigned in the Maldives. The last two of these seven kings, both descendants of the Ukulhas ladies, fought each other for eight years.
Between 1704 and 1712 King Muzhirudeen, grandson of Lady Aishaf Dio of Ukulhas; and King Imadudeen, son of Lady Amina Dio of Ukulhas fought each other for the Maldives throne in a series of land and sea battles. As descendants of the Ukulhas sisters, each one claimed he had a higher right to the throne than
the other. The war ended in 1712 when Muzhirudeen failed to capture Malè and returned to India where he died.
The 1712 battle between the forces of the two kings were the most dramatic. Early twentieth centuryBritish historian of Maldives H.C.P Bell writes:
[Muzhirudeen’s forces] descended on Malè, for the third time, with a fresh Expedition, in 1712. A futile bombardment of the Fort from Fonadu Island was followed the next night by a determined land assault. The assailants, fully armed and carrying scaling-ladders, gained a footing on the Western side of Malè. All the defenders, save seven, fled before the enemy’s fire, “heavy as rain”.
Á Buruzu Bastion, held by Hassan Hakura as Sarudaru was abandoned by its garrison, and at once occupied by the invaders, prior to marching on the Palace. But a few Vezirs and men made a determined stand at the Mafannu Gate, driving back the foe. Ultimately, reinforced, the Maldivian soldiery stormed the Bastion and pursued the enemy to their boats. After this last desperate attempt, so nearly successful, to recapture Malè, the Expedition abandoned the siege within a few days and sailed back to India17.
King Imadudeen, son of Lady Amina Dio of Ukulhas captured the Maldive kingship and headed the Diyamigili Dynasty; and through four kings ruled the islands for the next 70 years. He did not forget that his success depended on the offspring of the Ukulhas ladies. In 1724 King Imadudeen’s son King Ibrahim married Aisha the daughter of Fatima Mava Kilege, the daughter of the Lady of the Beach18.
The Arabic inscription in the gravestone of this Fatima Mava Kilege, who died in 1755, epitomizes that she came of worthy stock, collateral with the reigning dynasty of Sultans, like her mother and great-grandmother. The grave, located in Malè Friday Mosque until the 1980s, read:
Slave of Her Merciful Lord, Fatima Mava Kilege … sister of Sultan Ibrahim Muzhirudeen, and grandmother of the children of Sultan Ibrahim the son of Sultan Imadudeen of Diyamigili, transferred to her Lord; and that on Saturday twenty-first of Dhul Qaida 1168 of Hijra [30 August 1755]19.
Thus, in the history of Maldives, the Ukulhas Sisters, through their offspring, rose to the highest distinction of royal rule; outrivaling other pretenders to the throne, establishing not one but two dynasties that ruled the Maldive Realm.
1 Pyrard, François, The Voyage of François Pyrard of Laval to the East Indies, the Maldives, the Moluccas, and Brazil. Translated into English from the Third French edition of 1619, and Edited, with Notes, by Albert Gray, formerly of the Ceylon Civil Service, assisted by Harry Charles Purvis Bell, of the Ceylon Civil Service. Volume I. 1887. (p.251).
2 Ahmed Nazim Sattar, King Kalaafaan Manuscripts, National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research 2009; p.53.
3 Mohamed Ibrahim Lutfy, Dhivehi Raajjeyge Geography ge Vanavaru, 1995; “Mi atholhu Ukulhahugai Uteemu Hassan Rannabandeyri Kilegefaanuge darikolhu vaa kamah ve eve” (p.155). Trans. It is said that there are descendants of Uteemu Hassan Rannabandeyri Kilegefaanuge in Ukulhas of this atoll.
4 Naseema Mohamed, Dhivehi Raajjeyge Rahunnaai Raneen 2014, p.116.
5 Dhivehi Raajjeyge Rahunnaai Raneen, says this Tukkamana reigned between 1609 to 1613; p.130. The fact there is evidence of a “Tukkamana” (trans. Younger Kamana) necessarily indicates that there was also a “Donkamana” who was older than Tukkamana.
6 Nazim Sattar, King Kalaafaan Manuscripts; Tukkamana Grant p.53.
7 It is a strange coincidence that in Pyrard’s narrative (1) a daughter of Hassan Takurufaan marries a foreigner, (2) is given the title of Velana, (3) and the husband gets killed; while in the 1661 Tukkamana Grant (1) a daughter of Hassan Takurufaan named Tukkamana marries a foreigner, (2) is given the title of Velana (3) and the husband survives her.
8 Pyrard; “during the lifetime of these two kings a great ship was wrecked on their island, in which were a great number of men, as well as Indians and Portuguese, and among others a young boy, seven years of age, of Portuguese and Indian birth…after the death of the younger brother [Hassan Takurufaan] the other [Mohamed Takurufaan] made him marry his brother’s daughter, the noblest and richest match in the kingdom…” (p.253)
9 Bell, H.C.P, The Máldive Islands. Monograph on the History, Archæology, and Epigraphy with W. L. De Silva, Colombo 1940. p.34 footnote. See also, Abdulla Hilmy; https://meedhoo.com/?p=1899. Hilmy names the younger daughter as Fatima Dio.
10 Bell, p.88.
11 Tāj al-Dīn, Ḥasan, Tārīkh Islām Dībā Maḥal, New Dhivehi Translation of Islamic History of the Maldive Islands, 2020. (p.57).
12 Tārīkh, (p.69)
13 Bell, “Muhamad Kalaminja son of Al-Vazir Ibrahim Dorimena Kilage and Amina Dio” (p.34, footnote)
14 Tārīkh says Imadudeen died in 1721 at the age of 62 (p., therefore he must have been born in 1659). (p.111).
15 Bell, ”S. Ibrahim Muzhir-ud-din and Holi Husain Velana were both sons of Atiri Kamana (?Kadida Dio) by different fathers, Hasan Mafat Takurufanu and Fasmandu Hakura Takurufanu respectively” (p.34, footnote).
16 Abdulla Hilmy; https://meedhoo.com/?p=1899
17 Bell, p.35.
18 Tārīkh, p.114
19 Male Hukuru Miskiy, National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research 1984; p.369
