Maldives Shopping

There are numerous opportunities to buy local art from souvenir shops in Male and from the retail stalls from islands that you visit on excursions. Your resort will also have a gift shop where you can purchase items from the island, but you will usually a much higher price than if you bought it from a local seller.

Hand carved jewelry, wooden lacquer ware, carvings, wooden boxes, woven mats and more are all available for local artisans to serve as a reminder of the time you spent in the beautiful Maldives.

The beautifully carved tombstones in some of the old cemeteries and the fine stone carving of the Hukuru Miskiiy in Malé showcase the intricate skills of Maldivian stone carvers of the past.

Maldivians craftsman create beautiful pieces out of what is available locally. Many of the skills have been passed on from generation to generation.

Calligraphy is a craft that has strong connections with Islam. Old and new mosques display beautifully penned verses from the Holy Quran. The Islamic Center exhibits some of the finest samples of the work of modern calligraphers in the country.

While many crafts have become outdated, others have been renewed with the introduction of tourism. The ornaments made from tortoise shells and black coral, which was once prized by visitors, has stopped completely because of the growing concern of the need to protect the environment.

Wooden Lacquer Ware

These wooden objects, which are shaped and hollowed out pieces of local laurel wood that form wonderfully crafted boxes and containers and other ornamental objects, is perhaps the most distinctive of the Maldivian handicrafts. They are almost exclusively produced in Thulhaadhoo in Baa Atoll. These elegant pieces are lacquered in strands of red, black and yellow resin and delicately carved with flowing flowery patterns.

Mats

The women of Gadhdhoo collect reeds called haa from the nearby island of Fioari. The reeds are dried in the sun and stained with natural dyes with colors from beige to black. The mats with their intricate abstract designs are woven on a handloom into creations sparked by the imagination and skill of the weaver. ‘Thundu Kunaa' as they are known in Dhivehi ranges in size from that of a place mat to a full size single mattress.

Boat Building

Boat building in the Maldives is a more creative process than in other places in the world. The boats are built without any documented plans. The design of the boat is born is the artisans built it. A boat is called a dhonis.

Today the builders use imported hardwoods to make the hull. Coconut wood was used in the past for this purpose. Copper rivets are used today to hold the planks together instead of coir, which was used just fifty years ago. The square sail made of coconut fronds gave way to a triangular lateen sail. Even though a sail is still considered essential and is stowed on board, it is used only during emergencies or to ease the strain on the engines. Almost all dhonis are driven by diesel power.

Dhonis are mainly used for fishing and provide the livelihood for a large proportion of the population. Others are modified to be used for transportation of passengers.