Thoddoo (Alif Alif Atoll)

Thoddoo
Inhabited island
Thoddoo Location in Maldives
Coordinates: 4°26′13″N 72°57′34″E / 4.43694°N 72.95944°E / 4.43694; 72.95944Coordinates: 4°26′13″N 72°57′34″E / 4.43694°N 72.95944°E / 4.43694; 72.95944
Country	Maldives
Administrative atoll	Alif Alif Atoll
Distance to Malé	67.51 km (41.95 mi)
Dimensions
• Length	1.675 km (1.041 mi)
• Width	1.200 km (0.746 mi)
Population  (2014, including foreigners)[1]
• Total	1,534
Time zone	UTC+05:00 (MST)

Thoddoo

Thoddoo (Dhivehi: ތޮއްޑޫ) is one of the inhabited islands of Alif Alif Atoll in the Republic of Maldives.

History[]

Archaeology[]

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There are important Buddhist ruins in an area of this island and some key remains were found. Muhammad Ismāīl Dīdī, leading member of the committee exploring the Buddhist ruins of Toddu Island in the 1950s, was amazed at the care with which a Buddha statue they found had been buried. His mind wandered back to the time of forceful conversion and his opinion was:

Even though the people in Malé had already become Muslims, (Toddu) islanders were still attached to the Buddhist tradition. However, knowing that they had to submit to the official religion, they decided to hide the idol they used to worship and did so with utmost care. As fast as they could, they removed the idol (budu) from its pedestal and placed it on a depression of the floor of the surrounding temple compound filling it with fine sand. They buried it very respectfully along with other holy implements and flower garlands, circling the perimeter with stones. They didn’t destroy the temple building itself, probably because our ancestors of this island hoped that after a short time, the Buddhist religion would establish itself again. Then they would be able to reinstate the idol to its original position.

Unfortunately the Buddhist sites were not protected after excavation and have been vandalized in recent times.

Geography[]

The island is 67.51 km (42 mi; 36 nmi) northwest of the country's capital, Malé,^[2] and also 20 km (12 mi) from Rasdhoo. Thoddoo is about 2 km (1.2 mi) in length and 1 km (0.62 mi) in width. One-third of the total area is agricultural, another third is the village itself, and the rest of the island is empty.

Demography[]

Economy[]

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Agriculture is the one of the main income sources of the island. Local farmers cultivate various tropical vegetables like chillies, brinjal, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, drumstick, ladies finger, pumpkin and different types of fruits like papaya, honey melons, passion fruit, banana, water apple and mango. This island is the largest producer of watermelon in Maldives. Watermelons are commonly produced during the holy month of Ramadan when demand in Malé peaks and prices are high. Thoddoo is well known as the largest producer of betel leaf in the country and it is the strongest economic activity in Thoddoo in the past 40 years.

When the local tourism was introduced in the year 2015, Thoddoo alsostarted playing a wide role in tourism industry and the tourism is now becoming a main economy of Thoddoo. Now, there are approximately over 200 guest rooms and 10 restaurants on the island. 15 speed boats for guest transfer are available and its total annual turn over comes approximately $ 5.4 million.

References[]

• Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Barcelona 1999, ISBN 84-7254-801-5
• Divehi Tārīkhah Au Alikameh. Chapter 11, page 262.

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