The Fuvahmulah graveyard in Meedhoo

It is natural for people to assume that “Fuvahmulah Kahbin” (Fuvahmulah Graveyard) would exist – as the name suggests – in Fuvahmulah. What if you were told that “Fuvahmulah Kahbin” is situated not in Fuvahmulah, but in some other island? That would certainly raise questions worth finding answers to.

“Fuvahmulah Kahbin” is situated in Addu atoll island Meedhoo. Meedhoo is the island that lies closest to Fuvahmulah, and is also the island that shares the biggest family ties with Fuvahmulah. Though Fuvahmulah and Meedhoo people speak different dialects, the dialect used in Meedhoo has more similarity to Fuvahmulah dialect than those used by other Addu atoll islands that lie to the west.

Elderly people of Meedhoo say that their island was one of the most frequent destinations for travelers from Fuvahmulah. However, “Fuvahmulah Kahbin” was not built to bury travelers from Fuvahmulah who died in Meedhoo. It is linked to the story of how Fuvahmulah was evacuated.

Legend has it that Fuvahmulah was evacuated three times. The reason for evacuation was because of an evil spirit that came to the island. It was said that all those who did not flee the island to escape its clutches wound up dead. Those who fled the island went to Meedhoo.

It was also said that some of the people who fled the island when the evil spirit entered the island for the third time were dead by the time they reached Meedhoo. And that “Fuvahmulah Kahbin” was the place where the bodies of those who died during the journey were buried.

The evil spirit was finally defeated when it entered the home of a woman who failed to get off the island for some reason, and just happened to be cooking “hukkaro”. The woman bravely used the spatula she was using to cook “hukkaro” on the evil spirit and it was never seen on the island again. Fuvahmulah was never evacuated after that.

The story of how Fuvahmulah got evacuated is written in historical documents – however, it wasn’t caused by an evil spirit, but rather an epidemic that spread throughout the island.

Fuvahmulah was evacuated for the third time in mid-18th Century, during the time when Dhonbandaarain saved Maldives from the clutches of Muslims of Malabar. An epidemic which caused high fever and diarrhea spread in Fuvahmulah resulting in death of countless people. The remaining people abandoned the island, got on ships, and travelled to Meedhoo.

A scholar from Fuvahmulah, Moonifaaku Mudhinkaleygefaanu was in Male’ when news of Fuvahmulah being evacuated reached the capital. He was said to be the best sorcerer in Maldives during his time. He was the kingdom’s official sorcerer. As soon as Moonifaaku Mudhinkaleygefaanu heard news of what happened to his home island, his top priority was to get people back to Fuvahmulah. Historians say that he had taken permission of the King, travelled to Meedhoo and taken the people of Fuvahmulah back to their island and used sorcery to combat the epidemic. Moonifaaku Mudhinkaleygefaanu took residence in Hoadhadige in the island.

It is said that only one or two people of Fuvahmulah on each ship that had traveled to Meedhoo were alive by the time they made it to the island. The dead were buried in an area to the east of a place called Dhonruhvau. The place is known as “Fuvahmulah Kahbin” or “Mulaku Kahbin”.

Though overgrown trees make it difficult to identify the area, some gravestones still remain intact. It is important that the area be protected due to its historic value. Though “Fuvahmulah Kahbin” may be situated in Meedhoo, it is an integral part of the history of Fuvahmulah.