News Desk
MALE’, Maldives — In the Maldives, stories are woven into the rhythm of the waves, passed down under starlit skies or whispered on dhonis slicing through turquoise waters. The oral tradition, rich with tales of sea demons, sorcerers, and star-crossed lovers like Dhonhiyala and Alifulhu, is the heartbeat of Maldivian culture. These narratives, carried by elders and storytellers, have long bound island communities together, explaining the mysteries of the ocean and the resilience of a people tethered to it. Now, this vibrant heritage is poised to travel beyond the atolls, finding a global audience through an invitation to the 25th Sharjah International Narrator Forum, a prestigious platform for storytelling in the Arab world.
On Tuesday, June 10, Maldives’ Ambassador to the UAE, Mohammed Hussain Sharif, stepped into the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, welcomed by its chairman, Dr. Abdulaziz Al Musallam. The visit, marked by warm exchanges and a shared vision for cultural collaboration, culminated in a significant gesture: an official invitation for the Maldives to be the guest of honor at the 2025 Sharjah International Narrator Forum. This moment, as reported by Sharjah24 and the Maldivian High Commission in the UAE, signals a bridge between the Maldives’ insular storytelling tradition and the broader Arab and global cultural landscape.
Dr. Al Musallam, a steward of cultural preservation in the UAE, framed the invitation as a celebration of shared heritage. “The Maldives’ participation will enrich our program with new tributaries of tales and legends related to the sea and islands, which are close to our conscience and our Gulf heritage,” he said during the meeting. The Narrator Forum, held annually since 2001, has grown into a global stage where storytellers from over 38 countries converge to share oral narratives, from Emirati sea tales to Kenyan animal fables. For the Maldives, this is an opportunity to showcase its unique stories, steeped in the marine environment that defines its identity.
The ambassador’s visit began with a tour of the Sharjah Institute’s headquarters, where specialized departments and permanent exhibitions revealed the UAE’s commitment to safeguarding intangible heritage. Dr. Al Musallam introduced projects like the documentation of Gulf folk tales and oral memory, mirrored by the Maldives’ own efforts to preserve its stories in the face of globalization. An introductory video from the 2021 Maldivian Heritage Week played, showcasing the nation’s vibrant traditions—music, dance, and tales of sorcerers like the fanditha veriyaa who battle sea demons. The ambassador, visibly moved, received a collection of the institute’s publications, a gesture symbolizing the exchange of knowledge between two maritime cultures.
For Ambassador Sharif, the invitation is more than a diplomatic courtesy; it’s a chance to elevate Maldivian heritage on a global stage. “The Maldives possesses a rich heritage of tales, legends, and oral narratives inspired by the marine environment and islands,” he said, emphasizing the potential for intercultural dialogue. He praised Dr. Al Musallam’s efforts in “building bridges of cultural communication between peoples,” noting that the forum offers a platform to share stories like Rannamaari, where a Muslim exorcist defeats a sea demon, or the epic romance of Dhonhiyala and Alifulhu, a tale of love thwarted by storms and sorcery. These stories, rooted in the Maldives’ 99% water-bound geography, resonate with the Gulf’s own seafaring heritage, creating a natural synergy.
The Maldives’ oral tradition, historically shared by male storytellers to mixed-age audiences, faces challenges in a modernizing world. Globalization and digital media threaten to erode these narratives, once told under coconut palms or during long fishing trips. Efforts to preserve them, like those of Spanish writer Xavier Romero-Frias, who documented tales in Folk Tales of the Maldives, have been critical. The Sharjah Forum, with its focus on documenting and celebrating oral narratives, aligns with these efforts. Dr. Al Musallam’s institute has proposed initiatives like a lexicon for Arab folk tales and integrating heritage into education, ideas that could inspire similar projects in the Maldives.
The ambassador’s visit underscores a broader Maldivian push for cultural diplomacy. Cultural exchanges, like this one with Sharjah, reflect the nation’s commitment to dialogue and cooperation, a priority under President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration. For a small island nation, where climate change and coastal erosion loom large, sharing its cultural wealth offers a way to assert its identity globally.
The Sharjah International Narrator Forum, set to take place in 2025, will likely feature Maldivian storytellers weaving tales of the sea, perhaps recounting the prophecy of Lhaimagu Faqeeraa or the tragic voyage of Alifulhu. These stories, with their universal themes of love, resilience, and the supernatural, are poised to captivate an Arab and international audience. The forum’s past themes, like “Sea Tales” in 2022 and “Animal Stories” in 2021, suggest a format that will embrace the Maldives’ marine-inspired narratives.
For Maldivians, this moment is a source of pride. The invitation to be guest of honor validates the richness of their oral tradition, often overshadowed by the nation’s postcard-perfect beaches. It’s a chance to share the ingenuity of their ancestors, who crafted stories to explain monsoons, navigate coral reefs, and honor the coconut tree as a symbol of life. As the Maldives prepares for Sharjah, storytellers may draw from the raiveru verse form, blending poetry and prose to enchant listeners, much as they have for centuries on Burunee’s shores.
The collaboration also opens doors for future partnerships. Discussions during the ambassador’s visit touched on joint research and cultural exchanges, building on the Sharjah Institute’s existing ties with institutions like the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. For the Maldives, this could mean new avenues to document its folklore, perhaps through translations or digital archives, ensuring that tales like Foolhudhigu Handi endure for future generations.
As Ambassador Sharif left the institute, clutching publications that echo the Maldives’ own commitment to heritage, he carried a vision of cultural unity. The waves that lap Maldivian shores may differ from those of the Arabian Gulf, but their stories share a common tide—one of human experience, resilience, and the timeless art of storytelling. In Sharjah, the Maldives will not just tell its tales; it will weave them into the global tapestry, ensuring that Dhonhiyala and Alifulhu resonate far beyond the atolls.
