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Maldives National Museum,
Male'
Reinterpreting the Maldivian
Past
Minivan News
24 July 2010
Makara
tantric symbol, coral stone box.
c. 8th century CE.
Found
in 1994 at Hirilandhoo island, Thaa atoll, close to the 'Munnaaru'
heritage site.
Maldives National Museum collection.
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The New National Museum will give Maldivians the opportunity
“to examine and reinterpret our culture and whole way of life”, claims Ahmed
Naseer, state minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture.
“It’s
a great museum complex that includes Male’s best garden park. We now have
a lot of space for people to express themselves in various ways, and where
people can take refuge from this hectic life in Male. A place where they
can relax, experience a bit of entertainment, and improve their historical
and cultural knowledge.”
Built by the Chinese government as
part of a UNESCO project planned for almost 20 years, the new museum will
officially open on Independence Day, Monday 26 July.
For the
opening, the new building facing Chandanee Magu will show exhibits mainly
from the old museum at the nearby Sultan’s Palace, while the other new building
across the park will feature an exhibition of 120 faiykolhu or
Maldivian legal deeds and other official documents dating from the 1600s
to the 1930s, according to Aminath Shareef, who has been cataloguing the
faiykolhu.
They have never been exhibited before, and
were selected from 800 documents discovered by chance in Male in December
2008. “We’ve chosen a variety of documents for Maldivians to see at the
opening,” says Shareef. “They are written in Dives Akuru, Tana, English
and Urdu scripts.”
“The first Maldivian museum was established
in the early 1950s,” says Ahmed Naseer. “Our collection has moved four times.
At last it has found a permanent home. We will also try to acquire other
private collections that people have in their homes. These people are waiting
for a secure place to exhibit their precious possessions. We will be inviting
them to display their collections, or lease items to the museum. We may
even buy their collections once we have the legal framework in place. So
it’s a very exciting future.
“We can finally address many issues
that have lain dormant in our society. Historians use old books and other
things to interpret history, but in our case there are very few books and
the questions about where Maldivians came from and who we were before and
after we converted to Islam – these questions have remained unexplored.
Through the museum we can start examining and interpreting periods of our
history, and this will give us a chance to find some answers.”
“Many Maldivians are aware of the fascinating work done on coral stone at
the old Friday mosque. We are in the process of applying to UNESCO to have
the mosque placed on the World Heritage list. In the Maldives, coral stone
sculpture is a common factor throughout the atolls and some experts claim
Maldivian coral stone work is the best in the world. Of course that is debatable,
but through the museum we can examine these issues, and assess our heritage.
Large
lacquerware 'malafaiy', used as a food container for feasts. |
Dark
coloured demon, coral stone.
c. 9th century CE.
Inscriptions
in Eveyla Akuru on front base and at back |
Head
sculpture
c. 9th-10th centuries CE.
Found in Mundhoo island school grounds, Laamu atoll |
“There is a lot of interest among our young people and students. They are
all looking forward to the opening. It’s something good that’s happening.
We plan to integrate the museum with the education system. At the moment
the heritage department is involved in setting up administration for training
staff, but we will also be inviting lecturers to utilise the museum space.”
“Now the building has been finished, and the President and his cabinet decided
we should open it on Independence Day,” explains Mamduh Waheed, deputy minister
for Tourism, Arts and Culture, “we have to show our appreciation to the
Chinese government and assure them that we will utilise the facilities they
have so kindly provided.
“Within the ministry and the new heritage
department we don’t have the capacity to handle the opening. Former members
of the National Centre of Linguistics and History (which has now been disbanded)
are helping, but even then we needed much more assistance, so the cabinet
decided to put together a taskforce.”
Many Male organisations
and government departments are taking part in the effort to have the museum
ready for the official opening, according to taskforce co-ordinator Aminath
Athifa, “Dhiraagu are working on the PA system, the Male’ Municipality and
STELCO are helping, and the police are providing security as well as the
MNDF who are also handling the physical transfers and exhibit arrangements.
Every movement of our collection is photographed and documented.”
Maldives
government officials and members of the National Defence Force transferring
part of the coin collection from Sultan's Palace to the Maldives National
Museum, July 2010
Regarding the museum’s long-term
plans, Ahmed Naseer says, “We’ll be exploring non-academic methods of creating
interest. In the future, there’ll be exhibitions to attract people who would
not normally think a museum is a place for them. A lot of our old craft
skills are dying away and they need to be revived. For example, the mat
weaving that still occurs in Gaadhoo on Huvadhu atoll, and the lacquerware
from Thulhaadhoo in Baa atoll. We will have exhibitions that include the
craftspeople, and they can show others how mats and lacquerware are made.
In Male we have a very fast pace of life and young people are often quite
unaware of these skills. The people from the islands can show us how these
beautiful things are created and it will inspire a resurgence in our craft
skills and ability to earn more tourism income.”
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Figure
incised on coral stone block.
c. 9th century CE.
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The training of staff is the biggest challenge facing the museum’s administrators,
Naseer explains. “We expect to receive assistance from other countries who
are experienced in museum management, and hope to send our young people
to neighbouring countries to get training in preservation methods.
“Invitations will be sent to foreign students to come and work as interns
with local people; for example through the Heritage Centre in Singapore.
We are planning to have exchange programs enabling our people to work overseas
in other museums. This will help alleviate our staff shortages. A lot of
people are looking forward to this; the level of expectation is high.
“From the beginning of the consultative process almost two decades ago,
an important issue was the provision of a human resource program to train
people to run the museum and maintain the collection. But the human resource
requirements were not attended to; all the focus was on getting these huge
buildings erected. It’s a pity that UNESCO didn’t insist on the training
part of the project.
“Maldivians are very interested to learn
about their heritage,” Naseer believes. “Most of it is not known. They will
be able to question things for the first time. They were used to just obeying
and accepting what they were told; not using their own minds. This is an
opportunity for Maldivians to improve their knowledge of their past. They
don’t have to be afraid to ask questions.
“A museum can be an
exciting place that inspires people and we will develop the sort of trained
staff the Maldivian people need to help them understand their heritage.”
Sultan’s Park and the Eden Project
An integral part of the new museum is the development of Sultan’s Park,
situated between the two museum buildings, into a unique Maldivian botanical
garden.
“Maldives is Eden’s latest project area,” says the organisation’s
English curator, Ian Martin. “At the moment we are trying to renovate this
very attractive garden and turn it into something with a big emphasis on
the plants of the Maldives – how people think about them, how they use them.
These plants can be used for fruit and vegetables, but there can also be
plants for their spiritual satisfaction, appreciated for their beauty.
“Over the next year or so, we’ll really get involved with the transformation
of a rather traditional ornamental garden into something very special for
Maldivians. It will become a place where Maldivians can understand themselves
and what their future could be – giving them ideas about how they can progress
towards a more sustainable economy that isn’t just relying on fish and tourism.”
Ian Martin worked as a horticulturalist in tropical countries for 23 years
before joining the Eden Project fourteen years ago. “My links abroad became
useful to promote Eden’s philosophy of improving the understanding and care
of plants for crops and conservation around the world,” he says.
“Helping in the initial landscaping work are labourers and other staff from
the city’s nursery and the Male Municipality, and of course the MNDF personnel
who have been really great and very easy men to work with.”
“The second phase of our work will be turning Sultan’s Park into a specialised
garden – the only place in the world where you will find this particular
collection of plants with these stories,” Martin explains. “We want to produce
something distinct for the Maldives – something beyond being a nice garden
with pleasant shade. Maldivians will find plants that have played a key
role in their cultural identity. It will become a place for children to
understand what it means to be a Maldivian. It can’t be boring, it has to
be entertaining, and something they won’t be able to find anywhere else.”
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Maldives National Museum 
