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There were certain Hindu traditions in ancient Maldives. Before conversion, the religion of Maldives was Vajrayana Buddhism which was heavily influenced by Hinduism. There are archaeological remains from the 8th or 9th century CE portraying Hindu deities such as Shiva, Lakshmi and the sage Agastya.〔Xavier Romero-Frias, ''The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom''. Barcelona 1999, ISBN 84-7254-801-5〕 Maldivian folklore contains legends about the sage Vashishta, known locally as Oditan Kalēge, a mighty sorcerer. Oditan Kalēge's wife is a beautiful woman called Dōgi Aihā who possesses a fiery temperament and who is as powerful a sorceress as her husband. Her name is derived from the Sanskrit word ''Yogini''.〔 It is not really known why the last Buddhist king of Maldives embraced Islam. The importance of the Arabs as traders in the Indian Ocean by the 12th century may partly explain why the last Buddhist king of Maldives took this decision. The king thereupon adopted the Muslim title and name (in Arabic) of Sultan (besides the old Divehi title of ''Maha radun'' or ''Ras Kilege'') Muhammad al Adil, initiating a series of six Islamic dynasties consisting of 84 sultans and sultanas that lasted until 1932 when the sultanate became elective. According to Merinid traveller Ibn Batuta, the person responsible for this conversion was a Sunni Muslim visitor named Abu al Barakat hailing from Morocco. However, more reliable Maldivian tradition says that he was a Persian saint from Tabriz called Yusuf Shamsuddin. He is also referred to as Tabrizugefaanu. His venerated tomb now stands on the grounds of the Friday Mosque, or Hukuru miski, in the capital of Malé. Built in 1656, this is the oldest mosque in Maldives.〔History of the Maldives〕 ==Don Hiyala and Alifulhu== Among the Maldivian folklore stories in which the spirit and sorcery theme are not essential, the most significant is perhaps "Don Hiyalā and Alifulhu". This story about two good-looking lovers is a much distorted Maldivian version of the Rāmāyana. Despite the apparent dissimilarities, the common sequential structure〔Vladimir Propp, ''Morphology of the Folktale'', Austin, Texas, 1984, ISBN 0-292-78376-0〕 linking the elements of the Maldivian story with the Indian epic (the heroic married couple, the wicked and powerful king, the kidnapping of the beautiful heroine, etc.) is evident. This is hardly unexpected, for all South and Southeast Asian countries have local Rāmayāna variations and the Maldives is definitely part of the South Asian cultural sphere.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hinduism in the Maldives」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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