Maldivian People - Myths and Legends

Myths and Legends

There is no historical evidence about the origin of Maldivians; there is also no indication that there was any negrito or other primitive aboriginal population, such as the Andamanese. No archaeology has been conducted to investigate the prehistory of the islands. There is, however, a Dravidian substratum, in addition to other later cultural influences in the islands. Bengali, Oriya and Sinhalese people have had trading connections to Dhivehi people in the past.

Conjectures have been made by scholars who argue that the ancestors of Maldivian people arrived to the Maldives from North West and West India, from Kalibangan between 2500 and 1700 BC and that they formed a distinct ethnic group around the 6th century BC.