This is a story I have been hearing for a very long time and has interested me for quite sometime, Its the story in Maldivian folklore about Sultan Hassan Haji who ruled in Maldives in 1442-68 (Gregorian), who was also known as Hassan the dirty and also as Hadi Hassan.
The text bellow is taken from the English translation of The story of Bodu Takurufan; As told by the famous Buraara Mohamed Fulhu and written by Al-hajj Ibrahim Ibn Ismail Feeboa, found in http://www.maldivesculture.com/
[... he (Sultan Hassan Haji) performed the Haj rituals and then paid for the blessings of further seventy Haj pilgrimages. With the money left over, he bought seventy slaves and returned with them to Maldives.
King Hassan Haji arrived back in Male' and immediately dismissed seventy male servants from the palace, replacing them with his new slaves. He had to find a place for these new people to live, so he built a house for them on a large piece of land between Veyodhoshu palace and the mosque to the west of the three mosques built by Dharumavantha Maharadun. When the house was completed the slaves moved in.
With the approach of the fasting month, the king sent for the atoll chiefs and other wealthy people. They arrived and asked about the purpose of the meeting they'd been summoned to.
'I have called you here to find a way to feed the slaves each night during the fasting month.'
'How can we help with that?' they wanted to know.
'From the time of the sighting of the fasting month's new moon until the end of the month, I want you to cook a pot of twenty kilos of rice each day. Then bring the pot and seventy drinking coconuts here every night.'
They all agreed and then made their way out of the palace. As they walked along their discussions continued. They realised that if they went their own separate ways then nothing had really been organised, so they all stopped at the public square. There they assigned a day for each one of them to do the cooking. They wrote it all down on paper and took it home, repeating the procedure every evening at sunset during the fasting month.
There is an ancient tradition that when it is the season, the trading vessels are launched and they sail to Bengal. Then they return and beach the vessels and keep them under shelter until the next sailing season. Whenever the new season approached, the captains of the odis and dhoanis would officially inform the king that the Bengal sailing season was arriving. Thus was king Hassan Haji informed of the new season and he said, 'Start preparing the odis now, before the season begins.'
The captains organised the crewmen and on an auspicious day the preparations began. When everything was ready, they informed the king who then gave the order to ascertain an appropriate day for the launchings. The person responsible for this told the king he intended to launch his boat the very next day. The king gave his assent and the two regiments were told of the decision. The king also ordered his seventy slaves to help as well.
'Since you are now in Male', you must help the people of this island. Tomorrow the odi bound for Bengal will be launched and you must all be there.'
Next day as the slaves walked to the odi launching area, the regiments were already waiting. Seeing the slaves approach, one of the soldiers remarked, 'Isn't it the case, gentlemen, that our ruler brought negro slaves from Arabia who don't even have the strength of a piece of palm frond?'
The slaves heard this and as they approached, they identified the man who had said it.
After the recitation of a prayer, the odi was heaved forward. As it moved, the slaves threw the man who had made the insulting remark against the ramp, crushing his body with the boat and mashing him into a tangle of bones, blood and skin.
Everyone, from toddlers up, talked about this event and eventually the chief judge heard the news. Then witnesses came forward and told him what happened. Shirazi Fandiyaru Kaleygefan went to the palace to speak with the king.
'Your highness, after what those seventy slaves of yours have done today, they must be punished.'
'Why? What have they done?' asked the king.
'They threw a man against the ramp and crushed him to pieces with the odi they were launching,' replied the judge. 'Shouldn't they be punished for that?'
'That man simply met his ultimate fate,' said the king, adding that he approved of the customs of the nomadic tribesmen he had bought as slaves.
'If they aren't punished in some way, they won't respect the people of this island,' argued the judge. 'They will be able to intimidate everyone!'
'The man met his ordained fate,' repeated the king. 'There's nothing we can do about it.'
'A crime has been committed by men who you yourself have brought to this island,' retorted the judge. 'You are at least partly responsible for what has happened.'
The discussion became a heated argument. The king's anger grew and he summoned the slaves and ordered them to wrap the judge in cotton, soak him in oil and set him alight. The seventy slaves held the judge down and did as they were told.
'Now the judge will experience the pain and suffering he has been complaining about,' they said among themselves.
The judge began to recite all the holy things he knew as he ran around in flames. In the end, the cotton and oil burnt away but his body was left untouched.
At that time in Male' there were seven holy men from Fagi who arrived at the palace to meet the king. Hearing what happened, they also began debating the matter with the king, the same as the judge had done. The king was still angry after his encounter with the judge so he was even more furious with the holymen! He ordered the seventy slaves to kill them. His men began to chase the holy men who were running as fast as they could while reciting the Koran starting with the sura bangara. They ran in every direction but the slaves eventually caught and killed them all.
When the more junior scholars heard about this, they decided the same thing would happen to them if they argued with the king, so they remained silent. However, once the king's anger subsided, they went to see him.
'Your excellency, you must think about what you have done or you'll suffer for it!'
But the king sent for blacksmiths and ordered them to heat a heavy weight until it was red hot. When the metal began to sparkle, the king placed it on his own thighs and said that even if his suffering was as painful as this, he would still be able to bear it.
Hassan Haji felt the heat in his leg and then an intense burning pain in both legs so severe he couldn't sit or lie down. He kept tossing and turning and screaming. Nothing provided relief. The nobles and high officials ordered the two regiments to construct a pool in the palace grounds. Still in his bed, the king was placed in the pool but it seemed to bring no relief. After a while, the water in the pool even warmed up a little so the nobles and high officials ordered the two regiments to dig a well close to the pool. Several soldiers were ordered to pour cold water from this well into the pool containing the king. But even that brought no relief to his burning pain. The king made a vow to perform a good deed if his suffering was somehow eased. Only then did a remedy begin to work. Ss some medication was applied, the king began to feel better. The men who had poured the water from the well into the pool, were called atarafinin.
After recovering, the king resigned and placed his son on the throne. The young man was given the title of king Veeru Umar and official notification went throughout the country. This was the vow the old king had made.
It was a long time later, when king Veeru Umar was at Friday prayer, that his father Hassan Haji approached a viewing pavilion on the street where the chief minister stood. He watched his son returning to the palace from prayer and commented to the minister, 'Even though he's my son, the throne of Maldives isn't something I should just give away and forget about, don't you think?' He then promised to take back the throne from his son.
The burning pain in his leg began once again. Although cooling medications were applied, there was no relief. He wouldn't change his mind! He screamed continuously and couldn't sit or lie down. Finally, Hassan Haji died.
People hated the way he had ruled as king. They changed his name - shortening the vowel on the 'h', and replacing the 'j' with 'd', and calling him Hassan Hadi which means Hassan the Dirty.
When Hassan the Dirty died, drums were beaten and the two regiments summoned. His body was washed, dressed in cotton and placed in a coffin. But the coffin began to fall apart and the learned men advised the king to construct a new coffin from stone. King Veeru Umar took this advice and ordered the construction of a stone casket which was finished that same day. When the body went into the new coffin and the poles and ropes were attached to carry it to the gravesite, the learned men advised the king to bury the body some distance away from graves of other deceased kings. Once again, the advice was followed. This dead king was buried outside the royal graveyard...]
The text bellow is taken from the English translation of The story of Bodu Takurufan; As told by the famous Buraara Mohamed Fulhu and written by Al-hajj Ibrahim Ibn Ismail Feeboa, found in http://www.maldivesculture.com/
[... he (Sultan Hassan Haji) performed the Haj rituals and then paid for the blessings of further seventy Haj pilgrimages. With the money left over, he bought seventy slaves and returned with them to Maldives.King Hassan Haji arrived back in Male' and immediately dismissed seventy male servants from the palace, replacing them with his new slaves. He had to find a place for these new people to live, so he built a house for them on a large piece of land between Veyodhoshu palace and the mosque to the west of the three mosques built by Dharumavantha Maharadun. When the house was completed the slaves moved in.
With the approach of the fasting month, the king sent for the atoll chiefs and other wealthy people. They arrived and asked about the purpose of the meeting they'd been summoned to.
'I have called you here to find a way to feed the slaves each night during the fasting month.'
'How can we help with that?' they wanted to know.
'From the time of the sighting of the fasting month's new moon until the end of the month, I want you to cook a pot of twenty kilos of rice each day. Then bring the pot and seventy drinking coconuts here every night.'
They all agreed and then made their way out of the palace. As they walked along their discussions continued. They realised that if they went their own separate ways then nothing had really been organised, so they all stopped at the public square. There they assigned a day for each one of them to do the cooking. They wrote it all down on paper and took it home, repeating the procedure every evening at sunset during the fasting month.
There is an ancient tradition that when it is the season, the trading vessels are launched and they sail to Bengal. Then they return and beach the vessels and keep them under shelter until the next sailing season. Whenever the new season approached, the captains of the odis and dhoanis would officially inform the king that the Bengal sailing season was arriving. Thus was king Hassan Haji informed of the new season and he said, 'Start preparing the odis now, before the season begins.'
The captains organised the crewmen and on an auspicious day the preparations began. When everything was ready, they informed the king who then gave the order to ascertain an appropriate day for the launchings. The person responsible for this told the king he intended to launch his boat the very next day. The king gave his assent and the two regiments were told of the decision. The king also ordered his seventy slaves to help as well.
'Since you are now in Male', you must help the people of this island. Tomorrow the odi bound for Bengal will be launched and you must all be there.'
Next day as the slaves walked to the odi launching area, the regiments were already waiting. Seeing the slaves approach, one of the soldiers remarked, 'Isn't it the case, gentlemen, that our ruler brought negro slaves from Arabia who don't even have the strength of a piece of palm frond?'
The slaves heard this and as they approached, they identified the man who had said it.
After the recitation of a prayer, the odi was heaved forward. As it moved, the slaves threw the man who had made the insulting remark against the ramp, crushing his body with the boat and mashing him into a tangle of bones, blood and skin.
Everyone, from toddlers up, talked about this event and eventually the chief judge heard the news. Then witnesses came forward and told him what happened. Shirazi Fandiyaru Kaleygefan went to the palace to speak with the king.
'Your highness, after what those seventy slaves of yours have done today, they must be punished.'
'Why? What have they done?' asked the king.
'They threw a man against the ramp and crushed him to pieces with the odi they were launching,' replied the judge. 'Shouldn't they be punished for that?'
'That man simply met his ultimate fate,' said the king, adding that he approved of the customs of the nomadic tribesmen he had bought as slaves.
'If they aren't punished in some way, they won't respect the people of this island,' argued the judge. 'They will be able to intimidate everyone!'
'The man met his ordained fate,' repeated the king. 'There's nothing we can do about it.'
'A crime has been committed by men who you yourself have brought to this island,' retorted the judge. 'You are at least partly responsible for what has happened.'
The discussion became a heated argument. The king's anger grew and he summoned the slaves and ordered them to wrap the judge in cotton, soak him in oil and set him alight. The seventy slaves held the judge down and did as they were told.
'Now the judge will experience the pain and suffering he has been complaining about,' they said among themselves.
The judge began to recite all the holy things he knew as he ran around in flames. In the end, the cotton and oil burnt away but his body was left untouched.
At that time in Male' there were seven holy men from Fagi who arrived at the palace to meet the king. Hearing what happened, they also began debating the matter with the king, the same as the judge had done. The king was still angry after his encounter with the judge so he was even more furious with the holymen! He ordered the seventy slaves to kill them. His men began to chase the holy men who were running as fast as they could while reciting the Koran starting with the sura bangara. They ran in every direction but the slaves eventually caught and killed them all.
When the more junior scholars heard about this, they decided the same thing would happen to them if they argued with the king, so they remained silent. However, once the king's anger subsided, they went to see him.
'Your excellency, you must think about what you have done or you'll suffer for it!'
But the king sent for blacksmiths and ordered them to heat a heavy weight until it was red hot. When the metal began to sparkle, the king placed it on his own thighs and said that even if his suffering was as painful as this, he would still be able to bear it.
Hassan Haji felt the heat in his leg and then an intense burning pain in both legs so severe he couldn't sit or lie down. He kept tossing and turning and screaming. Nothing provided relief. The nobles and high officials ordered the two regiments to construct a pool in the palace grounds. Still in his bed, the king was placed in the pool but it seemed to bring no relief. After a while, the water in the pool even warmed up a little so the nobles and high officials ordered the two regiments to dig a well close to the pool. Several soldiers were ordered to pour cold water from this well into the pool containing the king. But even that brought no relief to his burning pain. The king made a vow to perform a good deed if his suffering was somehow eased. Only then did a remedy begin to work. Ss some medication was applied, the king began to feel better. The men who had poured the water from the well into the pool, were called atarafinin.
After recovering, the king resigned and placed his son on the throne. The young man was given the title of king Veeru Umar and official notification went throughout the country. This was the vow the old king had made.
It was a long time later, when king Veeru Umar was at Friday prayer, that his father Hassan Haji approached a viewing pavilion on the street where the chief minister stood. He watched his son returning to the palace from prayer and commented to the minister, 'Even though he's my son, the throne of Maldives isn't something I should just give away and forget about, don't you think?' He then promised to take back the throne from his son.
The burning pain in his leg began once again. Although cooling medications were applied, there was no relief. He wouldn't change his mind! He screamed continuously and couldn't sit or lie down. Finally, Hassan Haji died.
People hated the way he had ruled as king. They changed his name - shortening the vowel on the 'h', and replacing the 'j' with 'd', and calling him Hassan Hadi which means Hassan the Dirty.
When Hassan the Dirty died, drums were beaten and the two regiments summoned. His body was washed, dressed in cotton and placed in a coffin. But the coffin began to fall apart and the learned men advised the king to construct a new coffin from stone. King Veeru Umar took this advice and ordered the construction of a stone casket which was finished that same day. When the body went into the new coffin and the poles and ropes were attached to carry it to the gravesite, the learned men advised the king to bury the body some distance away from graves of other deceased kings. Once again, the advice was followed. This dead king was buried outside the royal graveyard...]
Note: the 70 slaves mentioned in this text is also referred to as "70 Bah'bu-run" meaning 70 blacks.
Have a look at the list of Maldivian Rulers :
http://maeedsblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/list-of-rulers-in-maldives.html
Have a look at the list of Maldivian Rulers :
http://maeedsblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/list-of-rulers-in-maldives.html