Comparative studies of Maldivian oral, linguistic and cultural traditions and customs confirm that the first settlers were Dravidian people[20] from Kerala in the Sangam period (300 BCE – 300 CE), most probably fishermen from the southwest coasts of what is now the south of the Indian Subcontinent and the western shores of Sri Lanka.
One such community is the Giraavaru people descended from ancient Tamils. They are mentioned in ancient legends and local folklore about the establishment of the capital and kingly rule in Malé. They are considered to be the earliest community of settlers on the islands. A strong underlying layer of Tamil population and culture is present in Maldivian society, with a clear Tamil-Malayalam substratum in the language, which also appears in place names, kin terms, poetry, dance, and religious beliefs. Keralan sea faring led to Tamil settling of the Laccadives, and the Maldives were evidently viewed as an extension of the archipelago. Some argue that Gujaratis also were an early layer of migration. Seafaring from Gujarat began during the Indus valley civilization. The Jatakas and Puranas show abundant evidence of this maritime trade. Another early settlers might have been from Southeast Asia.[21] The arrival of Sinhalese, who were descended from the exiled Kalinga Prince Vijaya (Vijaya was a Banga or Bengal Prince whose maternal ancestor was Kalinga) and his party of several hundred, in the Maldives occurred between 543 to 483 BCE. They were made to leave their native regions of Orissa and the Sinhapura kingdom in north west India. According to the Mahavansa, one of the ships that sailed with Prince Vijaya who went to Sri Lanka around 500 BC, went adrift and arrived at an island called Mahiladvipika, which is the Maldives. It is also said that at that time the people from Mahiladvipika used to travel to Sri Lanka. Their settlement in Sri Lanka and some of the Maldives marks a significant change in demographics and the development of the Indo-Aryan language Dhivehi a branch off language of Sinhala).[citation needed] There are some signs of Arab and east Asian inhabitants mostly in southernmost atolls.[citation needed]
Buddhism came to the Maldives at the time of Emperor Ashoka's expansion and became the dominant religion of the people of the Maldives until the 12th century AD. The ancient Maldivian Kings promoted Buddhism and the first Maldive writings and artistic achievements in the form of highly developed sculpture and architecture are from that period. Isdhoo Lōmāfānu is the oldest copper-plate book to have been discovered in the Maldives to date. The book was written in AD 1194 (590 AH) in Evēla form of the Divehi akuru with the exception of the first plate, during the reign of Siri Fennaadheettha Mahaa Radun {Dhinei Kalaminja}. Tusites Maakri, the god of war in Maldivian mythology was said to overtake any leader that may have done wrongful deeds while wearing the crown.
that's a beautiful place
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