Display Items

Coral carving

Coral carving can be seen in several old coral stone mosques in the Maldives. The intricate designs on these works display the deft skill of Maldivian stone carvers of the past. Some of the best coral carvings in the Maldives can be seen in the old mosques of the country such as the Hukuru Miskiy in Male’ built in 1658. These coral stone mosques are architecturally unique in that the walls are built of finely shaped interlocking coral blocks, each block decorated with intricate carvings.

Women’s Rumaafalhi

When a Maldivian woman wears the traditional libaas and feyli, the dress is only complete with the traditional jewellery, especially the fattaru bai that adorns the neck and the rumaafalhi, worn on the hair.

Masdhoani

The traditional Maldivian fishing vessel, built with coconut wood and propelled with a single triangular lateen sail was shaped over centuries. It is a craft that perfectly suits the conditions of the Maldivian seas.

Baththeli

Baththeli is the traditional Maldivian vessel purpose built to carry cargo and passengers on long distance journeys, especially between distant atolls and Male’.

Boduberu

Boduberu is the most popular traditional dance and music of the Maldives. The drum which is also called boduberu is made of hollowed coconut wood, slightly narrower at one end. The drumheads, traditionally made from manta ray skin or goatskin are stretched to produce the required sounds.

Ovvalhu gon’di

Ovalhu gond’di is a traditional board game played by both adults and children. The game is played on a rectangular board that has two rows of six, seven or eight pits and a home pit or store for each player placed at both ends of the board. Eight holes are considered the standard and cowry shells are used as coins or counters. Traditional ovvalhu gond’i boards are made of coconut wood with pits and homes dug out on them.

Traditional basketry

Maldivian basketry is a demonstration of how Maldivians adopted to the island environment. Traditionally household items were made from leaves and wood from indigenous plants and trees found on the islands.

Traditional women’s jewellery

Visitors to the Maldives commented on the exquisite jewellery worn by the elite as early as 400 years ago, demonstrating that fine jewellery has been a part of Maldivian women’s attire for centuries.

Gathaa fai and boa

Gathaa fai and boa is the special set of equipment used to make the kasabu boavalhu, that embellishes the neckline of the traditional Maldivian dress. The equipment consists of two parts, gathaa fai which is the base structure, and the gathaafaige boa which is the round cushion that sits on the stand, used to pin the threads. The stand is made from wood in the shape of a short vase. The five inch long foalibai seen hanging around the cushion, function as the weights that hold the threads and is made from sturdy wood or fishbone, as heavy weights are preferred. Up to 34 of these can be used at one time.

Kasabu boavalhu

Kasabu boavalhu is the elaborate neckline of the Maldivian traditional dress, Dhivehi libaas, more precisely the boavalhu libaas, referring to the neckline that adorns the dress. The boavalhu (neckline) is made from ribbons that are woven using cotton, silk and metallic threads. Vivid colours such as greens, reds and blues are used along with silver and gold.

1 2