Dhivehi beys: traditional Maldivian medicine

*Beys* is the Dhivehi word for medicine, and a practitioner is a *beysveriyaa*. That is the term the Ministry of Health uses in its public register of health professionals. For most of Maldivian history, island communities had no hospital or trained doctor nearby. People relied on remedies made from what grew on a coral island, prepared by healers who learned the craft from a parent or elder.

The tradition did not grow in isolation. Speaking at a national symposium on traditional medicine in December 2018, the then President said old Maldivian medicine developed with knowledge from the East and from the Arabian Peninsula, as reported by *The Edition*. That fits what you would expect of islands on Indian Ocean trade routes.

A beysveriyaa might work with:

• Herbal preparations: leaves, roots, bark, flowers and fruit, boiled into a drink or ground into a paste
• Medicinal oils: plant material cooked into oil and rubbed into joints and muscles
• Poultices and wraps: remedies bound onto the body, especially for sprains and broken bones
• Care around childbirth: tonics and drinks given to mothers after giving birth

The best source in English is *Trees and Shrubs of the Maldives* (FAO, 2007). It covers 100 species and records how island communities use each one. Many entries mention traditional medicine. A few examples, in alphabetical order:

• Coconut palm (*dhivehi ruh*): young leaves go into *rughaglu beys*, a preparation for sprains and fractures. See the coconut palm in Maldivian life.
• Crown flower (*ruvaa*): roots, bark, leaves, flowers and fruit are all used for rheumatism; warmed leaves smeared with sesame oil are pressed on aching parts of the body.
• Five-leaved chaste tree (*dhunnika*): used in many remedies for women, including a leaf drink after childbirth; its spines and leaves go into a fracture oil.
• Indian gooseberry (*beys goan’bili*): the name itself includes *beys*; its fruit is valued as an ingredient in many remedies.
• Kandhu (*Hernandia nymphaeifolia*): leaves, roots, bark and seeds are used in a fracture remedy.
• Lemon (*dhoalhan*): lemon juice with ginger is a common cold remedy, and on some islands leaves are added to bath water for skin allergies.
• Noni (*ahi*): crushed or cooked leaves are applied to swollen, painful areas.
• Ranauraa (*Cassia auriculata*): flowers are boiled into a tonic given to mothers after childbirth.
• Beach naupaka (*magoo*): one of the first plants to colonise Maldivian beaches; leaf juice is used on painful swellings.
• Sour orange (*naarin*): crushed peel in warm water is a traditional remedy for kidney stones.

An earlier FAO report on gender roles in managing natural resources notes that a 1992 survey recorded about 122 plant species with medicinal properties in the Maldives, and that traditional medicine has never been fully documented. Many of the same plants appear in our guide to plants and trees of the Maldives.

Bone setting and sprains

Treating fractures and sprains stands out in these records. Several plants, from coconut leaves to kandhu and the chaste tree, are linked to a fracture remedy. The FAO book spells its name in more than one way (*rughaglu*, *ruhglu*, *ruhgalu*), a reminder that Dhivehi words are written in Latin letters in different ways. When the Health Minister set out national priorities in December 2025, care for muscles and joints was named as an area to document and study.

The tradition has long been passed down in families. In a 2023 profile, *The Edition* spoke to a practitioner in Faafu Atoll who learned by following his father on his rounds. He described a time, about 40 years earlier, when healers travelled between atolls because few islands had easy access to healthcare. He also said fewer young people now want to learn.

Training is now formalised. That practitioner trained for several months before being certified by a government team. The Ministry of Health’s online register lists practitioners under the title “Dhivehi Beysveriyaa”, each with a registration number and a licence expiry date. If you meet a practitioner, it is fair to ask whether they are registered.

There is also scholarly interest in preserving the knowledge. A 1999 Dhivehi-language book on Maldivian medicinal plants is catalogued by the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage (IRCI), a UNESCO category 2 centre, as part of the Maldives’ record of living heritage.

Government interest has grown in recent years:

• December 2018: the government held a National Symposium on Traditional and Alternative Medicine with support from the World Health Organization. The President said Dhivehi beys should be practised by professionals and organised so that treatments and results could be tracked (WHO Maldives).
• Practitioners: registered through the Ministry of Health’s health professional system, with licences that need renewing.
• Products: the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) keeps registers and an approved list that includes herbal, alternative and Dhivehi beys products. New MFDA rules published in July 2026 ban importing or selling unregistered alternative medicines, and treat traditional Maldivian medicine as an approved category (*Atoll Times*, July 2026).
• December 2025: at the WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, the Health Minister said traditional medicine should complement modern medicine, not replace it. Plans include a National Traditional Medicine Committee and exploring its use in primary care on selected islands (MMTV).

You are unlikely to come across Dhivehi beys unless you look for it. On a local island, you might notice it in small ways: a family growing medicinal shrubs in the yard, coconut oil being warmed for a massage, or an older neighbour mentioning a remedy for a sore back.

If you are curious:

• Ask, don’t assume. Many families keep their remedies private. Questions about plants in the garden are usually welcome; asking to try a treatment is a bigger request. Our guide to visiting a Maldivian home covers the etiquette.
• Don’t pick plants in people’s yards or on uninhabited islands without permission.
• Keep your prescribed medicine. Never stop or swap a prescribed treatment for a traditional remedy. Tell a doctor about anything herbal you take, as plants can interact with medicines.
• Check before you take any home. Medicines and herbal products are regulated on the way in and out. Read bringing medicines into the Maldives and Maldives customs allowances.
• For anything serious, see a doctor. Island health centres handle everyday problems, and the main hospitals are in Malé and Hulhumalé. See healthcare for visitors in the Maldives. In an emergency, call 911 or ambulance 102.

On Dhiffushi

Dhiffushi, like most local islands, has its own health centre for modern care. Coconut palms and beach shrubs like those above are part of the everyday landscape, and a slow walk through the village is a good way to notice them. Our guide to Dhiffushi’s history and island life tells more of the story behind daily life here.

Dhivehi beys is a record of how people survived and cared for each other on small islands far from help. It holds knowledge about plants, the body and community that is still not fully written down. Like traditional crafts and the Dhivehi language, it is part of the living culture you meet on a local island. For the wider picture, see our guide to Maldivian culture, people and language.