Hinduism in the Maldives

Hinduism in the Maldives describes the practice of the Hindu religion in the Maldives archipelago. Evidence suggests that Hinduism had a presence in pre-Islamic Maldives.^[1] Archaeological remains survive from the 8th or 9th century CE portraying Hindu deities such as Shiva, Lakshmi and the sage Agastya.^[2]

Maldivian folklore contains legends about the sage Vashishta, known locally as Oditan Kalēge, a mighty sorcerer. Oditan Kalēge's wife is the beautiful Dōgi Aihā who possesses a fiery temperament and is as powerful a sorceress as her husband. Her name is derived from the Sanskrit word Yogini.^[2]

It is not known why the last Buddhist king embraced Islam. The importance of the Arabs as traders in the Indian Ocean by the 12th century may partly explain why this king acted. He adopted the Muslim title and name (in Arabic) of Sultan (discarding the old Divehi title of Maha radun or Ras Kilege) Muhammad al Adil, initiating a series of six Islamic dynasties consisting of 84 sultans and sultanas that lasted until 1932, when the sultanate became elective.

According to Merinid traveller Ibn Batuta, the person responsible for this conversion was Muslim visitor Abu al Barakat from Morocco. However, a more reliable Maldivian tradition says that he was a Persian saint from Tabriz called Yusuf Shamsuddin. He is also referred to as Tabrizugefaanu. His venerated tomb stands on the grounds of the Friday Mosque, or Hukuru miski, in Malé. Built in 1656, this is the oldest mosque in the Maldives.^[3]

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