Rannamaari

The Rannamaari was a sea monster from Maldivian folklore that was believed to have raped and murdered thousands of young women. It is said to be taller than palm trees, with a pitch-black colour and arms that reach its toes. According to popular versions of the story, when a Somali merchant called Al-Barbari performed a ritual after convincing the authorities at the time to let him be "abducted" in order to prevent more women from being abducted. He reciting the Quran in the presence of the Rannamaari. With this ritual, the Rannamaari "shrunk" in size and, Al-Barbari trapped it within the confinements of a bottle and threw it in the sea where it still rests to this day.

Brief outline

According to Ibn Batuta's version of the story,[1] the king at the time had haunted the people of the Maldives and was to be appeased monthly with the sacrifice of a virgin girl.[2] On the last day of every month, a lot was drawn under the authority of the king among the women of the island. The chosen woman was then sent off to spend the evening in a temple where at night the king was to come.[2] The following morning, the woman was found dead and the islanders proceeded with the burial rituals.[2]

Common versions

The story of Rannamaari has two main versions, the traditional version and the one told by Ibn Batuta.

Rannamaari, the notorious sea demon that haunted the people of the Maldives since time began. Every month, a virgin had to be sacrificed for the demon or the people of Maldives were to face his wrath.[2] A girl was chosen from the inhabitants by the king or his advisers and she would be kept alone on the first night of the month in an isolated Buddhist temple at the eastern seafront in Malé.[2][3] At dawn, the girl's family would return to the temple to find the girl's dead body.[2] Maldivians were very concerned until a Muslim traveller suggested that he be sent to the temple in the place of a girl to read verses of the Quran there.[2] After the traveller recited Quran in the temple, the demon disappeared and was never heard of again. Everyone was grateful that the demon disappeared and believed that Allah is the greatest of all and converted to Islam.

Analysis

According to archaeologist Egil Mikkelsen, the legend may be inspired by Buddhist tantric rituals and beliefs that were likely practiced in the islands at the time. These rituals included Tantric sex (physically or metaphorically) as a means to reach enlightenment and belief in demonic spirits in where practitioners became possessed and exhibited aggressive behaviors for spiritual means.[3] Tantric texts such as the Hevajra speak of violent imagery, "You should kill living beings, speak lying words, take what is not given, consort with the women of others." Such texts were used in rituals and portions of it were usually understood as literary or figurative.[3] The temple the women were left at to get sacrificed may represent a Tantric Buddhist centre for such rituals. The rape and death of the young women by the monster may indicate traces of customs like the aggression of practitioners possessed by spirits, sexual Tantric practices and violent content within popular Tantric texts. Meanwhile, the monster itself may represent local beliefs in evil spirits. [3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Maldives Culture – Explore The Beauty of Maldives".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Wijesinghe, Pushpitha (15 January 2012). "Medhu Ziyaaraiy". The Maldives Travel. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Mikkelsen, Egil (2025-04-17), "The Conversion to Islam", The Archaeology of Buddhism in the Maldives, BRILL, pp. 203–217, ISBN 978-90-04-72946-9, retrieved 2025-07-04
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