ABOUT MALDIVES

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Kuda Eid or Fithru Eid (Lesser Festival)
When the new moon is sighted, which is usually announced by a canon in Malé and via television, Kuda Eid or Fithru Eid, is celebrated, marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting season.

The day starts with a prayer and is followed by a special lunch to which all the relatives and friends are invited. Offerings in the form of money or food are given in charity to the needy, and people buy new clothes to wear for the Eid celebrations.

The main streets of Male’ are filled in the afternoon with people who come out to witness the colorful bands and route marches. The celebrations in the rural islands are quite different with traditional sports like mandi, boduberu (traditional drum music) etc. are played by the people.

Everybody is greeted with “Eid Mubarik” (Eid Greetings!) and cards are given to relatives and friends.

Bodu Eid or Azhaa Eid (Greater Festival)
Azhaa Eid is celebrated after the completion of the annual Haj pilgrimage during which many people go on pilgrimage to the Holy City of Makkah in Saudi Arabia, a must for every Muslim once in his/her lifetime if he/she can afford it financially and physically etc. Masses of people go to the airport to see their relatives off or to welcome them back from the journey. This festival is actually a festival of sacrifice, whereby animals are sacrificed to remember the historical incident when the patriarch prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was ordered by God Almighty to sacrifice his son prophet Ismail.

Special prayers, feasts and Eid games are held during Bodu Eid and on some islands people are splashed with water, and during this holiday many people visit other islands to enjoy the festivities.

Birth
Traditionally a baby is named on the seventh day after its birth and a name is given. Family and close friends are invited to a party or feast and food is given to the poor. On many islands babies’ hair are removed/shaven for this occasion.

Circumcision
According to Islamic practice, boys are circumcised between the ages of 4 and 8. In the islands it is usually done by the hakeem, the local medicine man. In Malé it is done by specially trained persons or doctors. It’s impossible to miss a house where boys have been circumcised, as it is spectacularly decorated and is a centre of entertainment where dances, boduberu (traditional drum music) and live bands perform.

A lot of friends and relatives visit these houses to participate in the celebrations. The boy or boys lie in the middle of the room on a bed with a tent-like cloth suspended by string from the ceiling over the middle part of their bodies. They are surrounded by relatives 24 hours a day, who massage their feet and make sure they are comfortable and that all their requests are attended to.
Every visitor brings presents, and an enormous amount of delicious foods are offered and the celebration usually goes on until the early hours of the morning.

After a week or so when the boy or boys have recovered, the festivities will come to a close. Usually these “circumcision parties” take place during the school holidays and often parents of many boys combine together to minimize costs.

ABOUT MALDIVES

Facts - The Maldives - History - Geography - People - Island life - Language - Weather - National Symbols
Festivals and ceremonies - Handicrafts - Dhonis - Fishing - Atoll Introduction

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