Fuvahmulah Dhonsiththiboo: Maldives

According to Maldivian history, Dhonsiththiboo – born in Fuvahmulah – grew to become the first female vaaruveriyaa (atoll chief) in the country. She is believed to have served as atoll chief during the reign of notorious Maldivian queen – Al-Sultana Rehendhi Khadheeja Kanbaidhikilege (Sireeraadha Abaarana Mahaarehendi). Though the exact date on which Dhonsiththiboo was appointed atoll chief remains unknown, it is believed to be between the years 1347 to 1363 – during the two times Queen Rehendhi Khadheeja ruled over the country.

Dhonsiththiboo was married to Kelai Thakuru – who was born in Ha. Kela, but lived in Fuvahmulah. The couple were wealthy boat owners and remained childless throughout their marriage. There are different versions of how Dhonsiththiboo came to be the country’s first female atoll chief, but all these versions originate from the tale of Dhonsiththiboo’s younger sister Aminaaboo.

It is said that Aminaaboo had to be taken to the capital, Male’, for a crime she was suspected to have committed. One version of the story says that she gave birth outside the bounds of marriage and was therefore taken to Male’ for flogging – the common punishment for the crime at that time. The other version of the story is more sinister with Aminaaboo taken to Male’ as the main suspect in the murder of her husband. The man is said to have disappeared, with his dead body later found near Gal-adigedhoru (now Narugisge), somewhere amid the foliage between the popular gathering spot Bandahaa Fannu and Anhenunge Fannu.

Some who tell the latter version of the story say that Aminaaboo and her husband were poor, and that the motive behind the murder had been the hatred that festered in her heart for her husband and the envy she had for her sister and her husband’s wealthy lifestyle. Regardless, Dhonsiththiboo accompanied her sister Aminaaboo in her six-month journey to Male’, in a ship owned by Dhonsiththiboo.

It is said that she took ‘fenfoah’ (undried areca nuts) with her on the journey from which she made rope (a version of the story says she made a mat) – a gift to appease the queen.

It is said that she went straight to the palace after the six-month journey and approached an official at the palace for an appointment with the Queen, saying that she had special gifts for her.

Some people say that she refused the invitation to sit on the chair in the palace saying that she did not sit in places that belonged to others, proceeding to unfurl the mat she had woven with her own hands and sitting on it. The mat is said to have been exceptionally beautiful.

Another version of the story is that she gifted the Queen ropes she had made from the areca nuts she brought with her on the trip.

It is said that Queen Rehendhi Khadheeja was impressed with the way Dhonsiththiboo answered her questions as well as her intelligence, creativity and hard work. The Queen asked her if she had any place to stay in Male’ to which Dhonsiththiboo replied no. The Queen invited her to stay in the Palace as an honored guest, at which point Dhonsiththiboo said that she had not come to Male’ alone. The Queen then invited both Dhonsiththiboo and Aminaaboo to stay in the Palace. It was at this point that Dhonsiththiboo got to the purpose of her visit. She told the Queen that her sister Aminaaboo had been falsely accused of a crime she did not commit and ordered to come to Male’.

Queen Rehendhi Khadheeja looked into the matter and pardoned Aminaaboo. She then made Dhonsiththiboo ‘vaaruveriyaa’ of Gnaviyani Atoll – the first female atoll chief in the country.

Dhonsiththiboo set sail home with the official letter confirming her appointment as atoll chief. As she approached land from the northern side of Fuvahmulah (to the area known as Thundi), she spotted a huge spearfish jump through the waves. She sat staring at it for a moment and then asked the crew of the ship what it was. The crew replied that it was a spearfish. She then asked the crew what the tastiest part of a spearfish was, to which the crew replied that it was ‘boanshifiya’ – the meat located in the area between its two fins. She looked at her appointment letter and saw that the ‘boanshifiya’ of spearfish was not included among her incentives as atoll chief.

She immediately asked the crew to turn the ship around and head back to Male’. She went to the Palace and told the Queen this, and the Queen immediately ordered the ‘boanshifiya’ of every spearfish caught in Fuvahmulah be sent to the Atoll House.

This became a tradition with the ‘boanshifya’ from all spearfish caught in Fuvahmulah sent to houses of the person in charge of managing the affairs of the atoll until quite recently.

It is said that Dhonsiththiboo was carried out of the ship upon her return home on a lectica (a structure containing a bed). She gave a keen eye to her surroundings as she was carried home and climbed down and declared the best, most fertile pieces of land as state property. Those who carried her around the island grew tired and took breaks by setting the lectica carrying her down on the ground. Anywhere she set her feet down on during these breaks were declared state property. Some people say that this too had been written in her appointment letter. ‘Bandaara Dhandu’, ‘Dhonbiamaagethan’, ‘Dhuvahfaandu’, and ‘Dhoondigamu Galgandu’ were all said to have been made state property that day. This is also how ‘Bandaara Kulhi’ got its name.

Atoll chiefs exuded great power and influence at that time. People known as ‘karaaneen’ worked for them. There was no one to say no to anything they did. Ripe fruits growing on a tree, a plump chicken owned by someone else – they were all considered fair game for the atoll chief. It was also part of their work to make girls who didn’t belong to the higher class identifiable by the ‘didi’ added to their name, but still wore the traditional dress ‘libaas’, work in the kitchen of the Atoll House.

Al-Ameer Ibrahim Faamudheyrikilegefaanu – son of the famous Shaheedhukuri Bandaarain (Al-Sultan Mohamed Ghiyasuddin Iskandhar) - was chief of four atolls in the southern part of Maldives during his stay in Fuvahmulah.

Those who are known to have served as a ‘vaaruveriya’ in Fuvahmulah are:

1. Dhonsiththiboo

2. Elhethoshigey Maalimee Kaleygefaanu

3. Al-Ameer Ibrahim Faamuladheyrikilegefaanu

4. Malaagaa Hussain Tha’khaan

5. Vaarulu Dhon-ali Manika

6. Hirihamaathi Kaleygefaanu (Dhonmanika, son of Vaarulu Dhonali Manika)

7. Karayye Ibrahim Didi (Ibrahim Didi - son of Mohamed Didi and grandson of Faamuladheyrikilegefaanu)

8. Kunaa Kaleygefaanu

9. Funaadu Ahmed Didi (Ahmed Didi, son of Hunuboliye Didi)

10. Karayye Mohamed Didi

11. Hirihamaathi Kaleygefaanuge Ali Didi (Vaaru Ali Didi)

After Hirihamaathi Kaleygefaanuge Ali Didi (Vaaru Ali Didi), the title given to atoll chief changed from ‘vaaruviyaa’ to ‘goiveriyaa’. Those who served as a ‘goiveriyaa’ in Fuvahmulah are:

1. Hussain Didi (Ranauraage)

2. Dhapparu Thuththu Didi

3. Ali Thakurufaanu (Maadhadi Beage)

4. Ali Moosa Didi (Finivaage)

5. Ali Didi (Dhonmanikaage)

6. Hassan Didi (Dhonmanikaage)

The title of atoll chief was then changed from ‘goiveriyaa’ to ‘rahveriyaa’. Those who served as a ‘rahveriyaa’ in Fuvahmulah are:

1. Ali Moosa Didi (Finivaage)

2. Mohamed Ibrahim Luthufy (as a stand-in for rahveriyaa)

The title given to the person in charge of the island then changed from ‘rahveriyaa’ to ‘atholhuveriyaa’. Mohamed Ibrahim Luthufy was the island’s first ‘atholhuveriyaa’.

The graves of Dhonsiththiboo and her husband Kelai Thakurufaanu remain identifiable to this day. They were buried in the graveyard of Fuvahmulah mosque ‘Kedeyre miskiy’. The location of their graves is further proof of the influence they exuded during their time. Their graves are located closest to the mosque, to the right of the pathway leading to the mosque. Something Kelai Thakurufaanu said while amid children at play is still repeated by the elders of the island – “Kalhu andhiri re’ehgai kalhu kafunehgai lai valhuliyas, kudakudhin valhulaa safehgai ma valhunulaathi (even if I am buried on a dark black night dressed in black, do not bury me in line with dead children).

Sources:

“Dhivehi Thaareehah Au Alikameh”

Writings of Ibrahim Saeed Moosa (Asrafeege, Gn.Fuvahmulah)

Mohamed Waheed Ahmed (Javaahiru, Gn.Fuvahmulah)

Muneer Hassan (Newlight, Gn.Fuvahmulah)

Abdulla Farooq Hassan (G.Kokkiri, Male’ / Rihivilaage, Gn.Fuvahmulah)

Savaadh (Malvathigedharu, Gn. Fuvahmulah)