Maldivian Royal Searches Yemeni Roots Part Two

THE ARABS FROM HADRAMAUT
A World without boundaries:
The Hadharm, or Yemeni Arabs from Hadramaut cherish a very strong sense of Arab identity which seems to overlap considerably with Islamic identity, to represent the ideal Moslem. The harsh political and economic realities in Hadramaut and the Islamic perception of geography, which considered the world to be a universal unit without territorial frontiers was an important drive behind the migration of the Hadhrami Arabs. The movement of Arabs into the Indian Ocean region was gradual, sporadic and small in scale though always significant. The Arabs engaged in trade, commerce, shipping, shipbuilding, scholarship, missionary activities, diplomacy and even local politics. The most important method the Arabs adopted to achieve this was marriage. It is therefore not at all surprising that many of the national heroes of the region as well as local ruling houses were actually Arab in origin.

MIGRATING WORLDS
Let me begin by telling how I found myself corresponding with Majid, the Maldivian Royal, became part of the Maldivian saga, and even became involved in the Yemeni Maldivian affairs.
At the age of five, my late father, who had no connection whatsoever to Arab and Moslem, world would tell me stories about Travel of Ibn Batutta, the great Moslem traveler. His favorite parts were Batuttas travels to Maldives and India. Later, I did part of my studies at University of Oslo in Norway. By then, the late Thor Heyerdahl, the great Norwegian explorer, already made his journey across the Pacific. During my studies there, I ventured so many times to his Kon Tiki museum in Oslo that I finally met him. Thor Heyerdahl has a place in the Maldivian saga. Years later he follows an invitation by the Government of Maldives to explore its pre Islamic history. His book "The Maldive Mystery" is a fascinating account about the early navigation in the Indian Ocean.

Prior 26th September 1963 revolution it was not uncommon for big and important families in Yemen to have slaves, for most African slaves. I was assigned a guardian, uncle Abdo, am- Abdo, who became free man with 26th September, 1962 revolution. Uncle Abdo was a learned man, knew how to read and writer and was well versed in Islamic teaching and history. A revolutionary of its own, he joins the Free Yemeni movement lead by late ustadh Ahmed Noman and becames on 26th September, 1962 free. Had a passport but never traveled abroad. It was to become a virtual father-daughter relationship. We functioned perfectly, went everywhere together. He would do the introduction, I the talking.

He was also an excellent story teller. Ramadan and Eid festivities would come. If not traveling outside Sanaa, what better way to spend them, than with am-Abdo and listen to his stories. The Turks, the British, I no longer recall the many different armies that played part in his stories. But remember well, that once a great soldier himself he even owned even a camel and a gun. It was he would tell me again about the Maldive islands. About Arab islands out there in the Indian Ocean, beyond the Arab sea, named Dhibat Mahal, as the Arabs used to call the Maldives. They were of unusual beauty, and wealth. From there came cowries shells, pearls, silks and textiles. Cowries are still used in Yemen today by eastern tribes and beduins mainly for decoration.

Later through my correspondence with Majid I learned that Maldives were a station for African slaves. Weather am-Abdos ancestors passed through Maldives or not, I will never know. Much to my regret am-Abdo passed away in 1987. Later, I also learned that slaves from Hadhramawt were brought to Maldives for Sultans guard there.

Due to tales and stories about Maldives, the islands held a special place in my heart. One day while surfing the net, I came across Majids pages with a wealth of information about history, and culture about Maldives. Uncle Abdo became alive again. It was true then, his stories and tales about the Arab island beyond the Arab sea. Left Majid a massage. An immediate reply was received. Both my father and mother side trace their descent to Yemen, in Hadhramaut. Again am-Abdo came to my mind. It was true then, Maldives, the islands beyond the Arab sea, as uncle Abdo put it, were Arab islands of unusual beauty and wealth.
Ibn Batutta offers an excellent account of the Maldives.

I learned from Majid, that his mother’s father was a certain Moosa Baalawi. Was there such a place in Hadhramaut. Is it the name of pre-Islamic deity of Baal. Would I know anything about, could I perhaps help. Dusty old books were checked, all places in Hadhramaut carefully checked and re-checked, scholars consulted. We worked along all lines. Finally, the Resident Director of the American Institute for Yemeni Studies in Sanaa provided the lead. It is the BaAlawi family from Hadhramaut, traders, scholar and statesmen of the Indian Ocean. Once established that it goes for the BaAlawi family, a flood of information started coming in. About the BaAlawi sultans in Jahore in Indonesia, Somalia, The Comoro islands.

CORRESPONDENCE
What follows here are excerpts from my personal correspondence with Majid AbdulWahab of the Maldivian Royal House of Huraage, a modern economy and IT professor in search for his Yemeni roots.

Majid: The story of my family and that of my wife Aminath Didi also known as Antu, is that our families can be traced in uninterrupted written records in the Maldives as far back as the late thirteenth century. Most of our known progenitors lived on the island of Fura-Male. Other known roots in the Maldive archipelago are many. Roots beyond these territories can be traced to various regions in Arabia and elsewhere.

In the 16th and 17th centuries King Siri Dhirikusa Loka – Sultan Hassan IX later known as King Manoel or Dom Manoel and his descendants lived as Christians in the Portuguese territory of Goa where they inter married with Portuguese subjects. At the apex of this aristocratic structure was of course the Royal House of Huraagey, who were descended from Muslim Abbas of Hilaal through the Christian King Dom Manoel. The Huraagey Dynasty, therefore, was branch of the earlier Hilaaly Dynasty that reigned for two hundred years until the Sixteenth Century. There is evidence to suggest that the Hilaaly King Siri Bavana or Sulran Hassan I and his twin brother King Siri Loka Veeru – Hussein were descended through their mother side from previous Lunar Dynasty, going back to the Eleventh Century AD and beyond into antiquity.

The term Lunar Dynasty indicates that this was one of those ancient dynasties of sovereigns that traced their lineage to the heavens. Indeed until the Twentieth Century, Maldive Sultans included the phrase kula Suda Ira, meaning descended from the Moon and the Sun in their royal titles. Only those Seedis and Sittis related by descent to the Hilaalya and the Diyamigilys or were raised to the title of Klege were counted among aristocracy. Seedis and Sittis in Maldives were warrant carrying descendants of Mohamed, the prophet, P.B.U.H. people of Arab descend who claimed ancestry from The Prophet. They traveled and settled in many countries during mediaeval times carried warrants from the Islamic authorities of the countries they departed in order to establish their credentials.

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SEARCH FOR YEMENI ROOTS
I lived in the Maldives until part of the way through high school and came here to New Zealand in 1974 to finish school and attend university. I returned to the Maldives for about 5 years but came back here in 1988. I am teacher by profession originally teaching economics, but now teaching IT. My mother had a very good personal library consisting of just about every book, magazine and newspaper ever published in the Maldives. I used to read her book and that was how I became interested in history. My mother died about 11 years ago.

You have mentioned having a slave as a guardian who used to tell you stories about Maldives and this is how you got interested in Maldives in first place. It is interesting that some countries did not banned slavery until recently or never banned it at all. My father used to tell me that his grandfather had African slaves. It was not uncommon for wealthy Maldivians even in the early twentieth century to return from Haj, from Mecca, with concubines who were of a nationality called Circasian. They looked European.

I also note that you studied in Norway and met Thor Heyerdahl known for his Kon Tiki expedition and author of the book The Maldive Mystery. I also met him, when he was in the Maldives. A very interesting person. Very close to his death, I wrote to him about an old Maldivian poem which is believed to be fiction. He took some interest but I heard of his death soon after. I suspect the poem was written based on some ancient historical fact.

It says there were two goddesses, one in Siam, roughly that is now Thailand, and the other in Musimbi thought to be in Mozambique. They maintained contact with each other via the Maldives. Perhaps pre-Columbian ocean travel.
My mother’s grandfather’s grandfather was supposed to be a Moosa Baalawi from Hadhramaut. Is there such place in Yemen?

Did you know that there is quiete a sizeable Yemeni community in what is now Indonesia. When I was a student in Wellington, in New Zealand, I was surprised to find a Yemeni student called Mohamed Shaiban who communicated fluently with Indonesians in the Indonesian language. Upon asking he said that he was brought up in Indonesia in a Yemeni community. Some of these people must have passed through the Maldives.

Am glad you had a look at my late brother’s poetry. I have to work a bit on the pages. My brother was one of those people who would not have lasted as you may be able to tell from some of his poetry. There is a double meaning in the most of his poems and sense of humor too. There is also a philosophical element. It would be really good if am able to trace my mothers Hadhrami connections. Am looking forward to hear from you soon.

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Many thanks for explaining the meaning of Baalawi. Of course, it makes sense now. I did know about the use of Ba and Bar by some Middle Eastern peoples as a kingship term in their names.
However, I never thought that Baalawi was the family name of BaAlawi.

My grandfather like many Maldivians had an Arabic name as well as a Divehi name. His Divehi name was Bodufenvalhugey Seedi and his Arabic name was Hussain bin Mohammed al-Hussein. I look forward to the BaAlawi story from you.

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To Majid: What follows here are references to the BaAlawi family of Hadhramaut that was able to gather from different English and Arabic sources as well as personal communications. They offer some perspective into a real Indian Ocean dialogue and cooperation.

The BAALAWI OF HADHRAMAUT - STATESMEN, SCHOOLARS, TRADERS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN
Having laid down their arms and given up political struggle, the "Alawiyun" became the carriers of a Sufi tariqa. The Second stage was that of the development and consolidation of alTariqa alAlawiya, the Alawi Sufi order, which lasted from the seventh century to the eleventh century A.H. 13-17th century A.D.
The tariqa was a simple one which did not have khalw, seclusion, for purposes of spiritual exercises, and did not denounce worldly activities. The third stage lasted from eleventh to the fourteen century A.H, later 17th to 20the century A.D. During this period the Alawi ulama and awlija, saints, came to be known by the title of habib.

This was the period of emigration to India and Southeast Asia. Hadhrami Arab and Indian Muslim traders has been engaging in trade and missionary activities in the region for centuries and constituted an integral part of the Muslim trade diaspora which stretched from Egypt to the Malay world. Today the whole of the Hadhrami hierarchical segmend is still represented in Africa. At the top of the social hierarchy, the sharifs, best known are AlSaqqaf, BaAlawi and AlAydarus. By playing on their prestige and by means of marriages contracted with ruling families, the sheriffs were able to establish political bases or take possession of power structures wherever they settled. There are numerous and often significant examples of their influence in the political domain.

For example that BaAlawi sultans were secured in the Comoros, Kilwa, Zanzibar, Tumbatu and at Vumbaktu. Members of the BaAlawi lineage continue to exercise various degrees of religious, social and political influence in late 20 century Kerala…
Further south in the then Italian port of Mogadishu in 1891 one of the major chiefs was Sayyid Ahmed BaAlawi whose ancestor had come from Tarim, in Hadhramaut seven generations earlier…
Imam Abdalla ibn Alawi AlHadad publishes "The Book of Assistance for Moslems". Born in Tarim in the hills of Hadhramaut. His ancestors The Alawi Sadda had for centuries produced generation after generation of great scholars, and gnostics to the straight path….

Certainly no aristocracy so widely disseminated over Asia and Africa playing century upon century an important and consistent role in the Islamic community nor can any branch of the numerous Sharif and Sayyid families founded over 14 centuries ago claim a more varied sphere of activity of achievement than the Alawi Sayyids of Hadhramaut….

The first focus of Sayyid emigrants eastwards from the Middle Ages was India. They settled in important commercial, cultural and political center, like Bijapur, and Surat, Ahmedabad, Haiderabad, Gujerat, Delhi, Calicut, Malibar… but the greatest emigrations of all were to Java, Sumatra, Atcheh and Malaya…. The Alawi Sayyids arrived there some time before the Dutch. An Alawi from Johore settled in Maindanao, in Philippines, marrying the Sultans daughter…..

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Hi iren, got your mail. Just having a visit from two of my in laws. I look forward to hear more about the BaAlawi connection.
Forgot to tell you earlier that my fathers lineage is from a person called Moslim Abbas of Hilaaly. He lived around the year 1300 and I am 22 generation from him the king- sultans of the Maldives since 14the century. His son married a member of a ruling dynasty called the Moon. The Soma dynasty reigned for many generations before becoming Moslems.

NOTE:
Hadhramaut is a governorate in the present Republic of Yemen along the Arab Sea. The main port is Mukalla, Tarim and Seyun were known seats of learning.

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MALDIVES IN BRIEF
The Republic of Maldives is a group of islands lying in the Indian Ocean south west of Sri Lanka and south of the Indian sub continent stretching 800 km in length and 130 km in width comprising of 1190 coral islands with only 202 inhabited.
Each island is surrounded by a shallow lagoon which is enclosed by a coral riff providing protection from the sea.
The population is 213.215 of which about 56.000 live in the capital Male being the trading center.
Being on the equator, the monsoons are mild.
The Maldivians are a mixed race.
Through out the Maldives Dhivehi, a language which belongs to the Indo-Iranian group of language is spoken.
The newly independent Maldives changed from Sultanate to a Republic on 11th November, 1968.
Maldivians are sunni Moslem. Islam is the religion of the State and the backbone of society.
The National Emblem of the Republic of Maldives comprises a Coconut Palm, Crescent and Star.

The economy is based on three principal activities, fishing, tourism, and shipping. Poor soil and limited availability of cultivable land limit agriculture. Traditional industry consists of local boat building, handicraft such as mat- weaving, jewelry making and lacquer work. Export oriented industries include tuna fish canning, and manufacture of garments.

The Maldives is a member of U.N. and most of specialized agencies. Maldives has diplomatic relations with over hundred countries. The country also enjoys membership in major international financial institutions.

Like the coral reefs that protect the islands, Maldivians maintain a commitment to keep their own world to themselves, and to maintain the Maldivian culture.