Traditional crafts of the Maldives: lacquer, mats and more

Islanders made crafts from what was at hand. The coconut palm gave fibre, leaves and timber. Local trees gave wood for boats and lathes, reeds gave matting, and the reef gave building stone. Trade added the rest: ships carried dried fish, coir rope and cowrie shells across the Indian Ocean and came back with cloth and lacquer.

Many skills became tied to particular islands, one known for mats, another for rope, another for boats. Some of those specialities still hold today.

If you want the bigger picture first, our guide to Maldivian culture, people and language gives useful background.

Lacquered wood is the craft most visitors recognise. The Dhivehi name joins two skills: *liyun*, shaping the wood, and *laa jehun*, applying the lacquer.

How it is made

The Maldives Department of Heritage has recorded the process in detail:

• The wood. Any strong timber can be used, but the most common is *funa* (Alexander laurel).
• The lathe. The wood is turned on a simple hand lathe called a *kandhu*, spun by pulling a rope.
• The lacquer. Lacquer is imported and coloured with pigments. Traditionally three colours are used: yellow, red and black.
• The layers. Colours go on one at a time, with polishing in between. Dried coconut palm leaf is used to buff the surface.
• The design. The craftsman scratches through the top layer so the colours beneath show. Patterns are usually flowing and floral, and they are drawn freehand rather than with stencils.

Where it survives

The craft was once practised more widely, but today it is kept alive mainly on Thulhaadhoo, a local island in Baa Atoll, by a small number of families. Our Baa Atoll guide covers the atoll more broadly.

Typical pieces include small boxes for jewellery, vases, bowls, pens and keyrings. The heritage record also mentions lacquered *boduberu* drums and dhoni models.

You will also see lacquer in older buildings. The carved timber ceilings and beams of the old coral stone mosques were often finished in the same red, black and yellow layers.

*Thundu kunaa* are fine, patterned mats, and they are among the most skilled pieces of Maldivian handwork.

Materials and method

• The reed. Mats are woven from a local reed, called *haa* (or *hau*) in the south. Craft records say the best reed has traditionally come from Fiyoari in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.
• The thread. Thread is made from the bark of the sea hibiscus tree, which grows widely on the islands.
• The colours. Reeds are dyed using local plant materials, giving soft browns, blacks and natural tones.
• The loom. Weavers work on a horizontal wooden loom roughly the size of a single bed, traditionally made by island carpenters.

Gadhdhoo and the southern atolls

Mat weaving belongs mostly to the southern atolls. The finest mats are said to come from the women of Gadhdhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, which is why they are sometimes called Gadhdhoo kunaa. The Maldives Mission to the UN and other craft records describe the tradition.

Mats were once everyday objects, used for sleeping and prayer, and historical accounts say sultans included them in yearly tribute.

Decline and revival

Cheap plastic mats arrived from the 1970s, and handweaving dropped sharply. Some patterns and techniques have been lost. Today weavers also make smaller framed panels, and some work the patterns into bags and accessories.

*Roanu* is rope made by hand from coconut husk fibre. It once tied boats, lashed roofs and was a major export.

How it is made

• Coconut husks are soaked for weeks or months, often in wet ground near the shore or in mangrove pits, until the fibres soften.
• The softened husks are beaten with a wooden club to loosen the fibre.
• The fibre is washed and dried in the sun.
• It is then rolled and twisted by hand into cord, and the cords are twisted together into rope.

Where it is made

Rope is made in many places, but Kulhudhuffushi in Haa Dhaalu Atoll is the best-known centre. A 2017 report in national media described rope making there as more than a century old and still supporting hundreds of families, with husks soaked in the island’s mangrove pits.

Synthetic rope has taken much of the market, but coir is still used for thatch and small decorative items. The coconut palm guide explains how the tree supplies this and much more.

Woven coconut fronds were the traditional roofing and walling material, and you still see them on beach shades. Craft records also describe woven food covers and storage containers. These everyday crafts are easy to spot on any local island.

The wooden dhoni is a craft in its own right. Builders traditionally worked without drawn plans, passing their skills from master carpenter to apprentice, often within one family. Timber dhonis are still built and repaired on many islands, and Alifushi in Raa Atoll is widely known as the main boat-building centre.

Our guide to the dhoni covers the boat, its timber and its history in full. Small carved dhoni models, sometimes lacquered, are one of the most popular locally made souvenirs.

The *feyli* is a woven wrap, traditionally hand-woven from cotton on wooden looms and coloured with natural dyes. It was worn by men and women and is now seen mainly under the *dhivehi libaas*, the traditional dress. The libaas itself is known for its dense collar of gold and silver thread embroidery, worked by hand.

Hand-weaving is now rare, and most feyli today are machine-made. Our guide to traditional dress of the Maldives goes into the styles, the history and the recent revival.

Some of the finest Maldivian craftsmanship is built into old mosques and graveyards. Blocks of reef coral were cut, fitted tightly together and carved with Arabic inscriptions and plant patterns. Carved coral headstones stand beside many old mosques.

This is a heritage craft rather than a living trade. Few people still have the skills, and conservation work today focuses on protecting what remains. You can see examples at the coral stone mosques and other historical sites.

Please don’t touch carved surfaces.

Most crafts are made in homes and small workshops, not visitor centres.

• Specialist islands. If you are travelling to Baa, Raa, Haa Dhaalu or Gaafu Dhaalu, ask your host whether a visit to a craftsperson can be arranged.
• Local islands. On a walk you may see thatch, rope or boat repairs in progress. Ask before photographing people at work.
• Malé. The capital has the widest range of shops and heritage sites.

On Dhiffushi, the small shops on the island are a relaxed place to browse, and a village walk shows everyday island life up close.

Plenty of souvenirs sold here are imported. To find the real thing:

• Ask where it was made. A good seller will tell you the island, and often the maker.
• Look for small differences. Handmade lacquer, mats and models vary from piece to piece. Identical rows usually mean factory goods.
• Check the materials. Real lacquerware feels solid and the carved lines go through to the colour beneath. Real thundu kunaa have a fine, even weave and natural tones.
• Pay fairly. Buying genuine work keeps the skills alive.

Our souvenirs and shopping guide has more on what to buy and how to pack it.

What not to buy

• Coral, shells and turtle products. Do not buy or collect them. Many marine products need a permit to leave the country, according to Maldives Customs, and tortoiseshell is illegal.
• Anything made from protected species, including shark or ray products.

Our guide to responsible travel in the Maldives explains why.