Food
Food choices and eating habits of the residents of Maldives were restricted as most
of their sandy soil is uncultivable. The staple diet consists of fish and rice and
the national dishes are fried fish, fish curry and fish soup.
In the Maldives, meat and chicken are meant only for special occasions. Arecanut
with betel leaf, cloves and lime is consumed after dinner. The locals have their
own homemade brew, Raa which is a sweet and delicious toddy tapped from the trunk
of the palm tree.
Culture
The national language is Dhivehi and 3 newspapers and several magazines are published
in it. Over a period, Hindi, Western and Oriental influences have modified not only
the Dhivehi way of living, but also the traditional music and dance too.
Yet the contemporary Dhivehi culture is strong and adaptive. You can see rock bands,
singing in Dhivehi and multi-storey buildings and island houses with local and non-Maldivian
influences.
The traditional music and dance form is bodu beru, meaning a big drum. A group of
four to six drummers and dancers begin with a slow African style rhythm, casually
swaying and swinging their arms. As the tempo increases, they synchronise the speed
of their movements to increase with the tempo and end up in a rhythmic frenzy of
dancing and drumming.
