Editing Malé (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of the Maldives}}
The whole island group, the Maldives, is named after its capital. The word "Maldives" means "the islands (dives) of Malé".<ref>Caldwell, Comparative Dravidian Grammar, pp. 27–28</ref>

The first settlers in the Maldivian islands were [[Dravidian people]]<ref>Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom</ref> who arrived from the neighboring shores of the [[ancient Tamil country|modern Indian subcontinent and coastal Ceylon]]. Comparative studies of Maldivian linguistic, oral, and other cultural traditions, in addition to [[folklore]], point to a strong Dravidian influence on Maldivian society, centered in Malé, from ancient times. The [[Giraavaru people]] of [[Giraavaru (Kaafu Atoll)|Giraavaru]] claim descent from the first Tamil settlers of the Maldives.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Maloney, Clarence|year=1995|title=Where Did the Maldives People Come From?|journal=IIAS Newsletter|publisher=International Institute for Asian Studies|issue=5|url=http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/iiasn5/insouasi/maloney.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020129221500/http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/iiasn5/insouasi/maloney.html|archive-date=29 January 2002|url-status=dead|access-date=22 June 2008}}</ref>

It is said that early Tamil settlers called the islands ''Maalaitivu'', which means Garland Islands or Chain Islands. Early records also indicate that the island was called "''Athamana Huraa''" before being named Malé. According to regional lore, Giraavaru fishermen used to go regularly to a certain large sandbank (''finolhu'') at the southern end of their atoll to clean tuna fish after a good catch. Owing to a large amount of tuna fish offal and blood, the waters around that sandbank looked like a big pool of blood ("maa ley gandeh": "maa" from the [[Sanskrit]] मह "maha", meaning ''big'', and "lē" ''blood''). Traditionally the first inhabitants of the Maldives, which include the Giravaru people, did not have kings. They lived in a simple society and were ruled by local headmen.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

However, one day, a prince from the subcontinent called Koimala arrived at the Malé Atoll sailing from the North on a big ship. The people of Giraavaru spotted his vessel from afar and welcomed him. They allowed Prince Koimala to settle on that large sandbank amid the waters tainted with fish blood. Trees were planted on the sandbank and it is said that the first tree that grew on it was the [[papaya]] tree. (However, this could refer to any tree that bears edible fruit as the archaic Dhivehi word, and [[Mahal language|Mahal]] word in modern times, for fruit (''falhoa''), was the same as that for the papaya.<ref>''A Concise Etymological Vocabulary of Dhivehi Language''. Hasan A. Maniku. Speedmark. Colombo. 2000</ref>) As time went by, the local islanders accepted the rule of this Northern Prince. A palace was built and the island was formally named Maa-le (Malé), while the nearest island was named Hulhu-le.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

The names of the main four wards or divisions of Malé Island are said to have been given by the original Giraavaru fishermen: Maafannu from ''maa'' (big) and ''fannu'' (a place where a village path meets the sea), Henveiru from ''en-beyru'' (out where fishermen got their bait), Galolhu from ''galu-olhu'' (stone groove) and, Macchangolhi from ''mathi-angolhi'' (windward path-fork).{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In early foreign sources, Malé was called Ambria or Mahl.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} For the Maldivians, it was Fura Malé, i.e. "Malé the Pre-Eminent".<ref name="furamale">{{Cite web |last=Mohamed |first=Naseema |date=7 February 2008 |title=Fura Malé |url=http://www.qaumiyyath.gov.mv/docs/whitepapers/history/Fura%20Male.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026174425/http://www.qaumiyyath.gov.mv/docs/whitepapers/history/Fura%20Male.pdf |archive-date=26 October 2022 |access-date=21 May 2024 |website=National Centre for Linguistics and Historical Research}}</ref>

When [[Ibn Battuta]] traveled to Malé in 1343 (in {{langx|ar|المَحَل|al-Maḥal}} thus the entire Maldivian islands were ذِيبَةُ المَحَل ''Dhībat-ul-Maḥal''<ref>{{Cite book|pages=197–8|title=The Rehla Of Ibn Battuta (India, Maldive Islands, and Ceylon)|editor=Mahdi Husain|year=1953|location=Baroda|publisher=Oriental Institute}}</ref>), he provided a rather extensive description of the city as well as the Islands of the Maldives overall. He mentioned that the Queen, [[Khadijah of the Maldives|Rehendhi Khadeeja]], had a residence in Malé, which from its description may be assimilated to the same palace of the later sultan rulers, in the centre of the island.<ref>ibid., pp. 204-5.</ref> Within the palace compounds, several pits contained stores of [[cowrie]] shells, ready to be traded. [[Ibn Battuta]] also mentioned several mosques, built in wood.<ref name=furamale/>

Malé was fortified in the 17th century by the sultan [[Muhammad Imaduddin I|Muhammad Imaduddin]], who built walls on the north, east, and west sides of the island.
An inner harbour was used by fishing vessels and small [[Dhoni (fishing vessel)|dhonis]], while larger vessels had to anchor in the outer harbour, between the islands of Vilingili and Hulhule. The island covered less than one square mile in size and was surrounded by a shallow lagoon.<ref name=furamale/>

Malé had 2,148 inhabitants in 1888, but population growth soon led to the search for new spaces for housing. The old forts and decrepit walls were dismantled in 1925–1927 under the reign of [[Muhammad Shamsuddeen III]], to be rebuilt on a smaller scale. Roads were also widened and straightened. Former large cemeteries had also been cleared out, to achieve more housing space.

The Royal Palace (''Gan'duvaru'') was destroyed along with the picturesque forts (''koshi'') and bastions (''buruzu'') when the city was remodelled under President [[Ibrahim Nasir]]'s rule in the aftermath of the abolition of the monarchy in 1968. Only the National Museum building, the residence of the last sultan, as well as the [[Malé Friday Mosque]], remain.
Malé's residents soon grew to 11,453 by 1967 and 29,522 by 1977. To cater to the growing population, by 1986 the shallow lagoon around Malé was reclaimed.<ref name=furamale/>

The most revered place in Malé is the [[Medhu Ziyaaraiy]], across the street from the [[Malé Friday Mosque]]: the tomb of Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari, considered to have converted the Maldives to Islam in 1153.

<gallery class="center">
File:Malè, Medhu Ziyaaraiy, 1958.jpg|Malé, [[Muliaage|Medhu Ziyaaraiy]], 1958
File:Malè, Bodu Buruzu, 1960.jpg|Malé, Bodu Buruzu, 1960
File:Friday mosque minaret Male1981.jpg|[[Malé Friday Mosque]]
File:Male Northern beachfront07.jpg|Malé beachfront, 1984
File:Male Northern beachfront08.jpg|Malé beachfront, 1984
File:Male-total.jpg|Malé, 2004
</gallery>