Traditional games of the Maldives: bashi, baibalaa and more

On a small island, a game was never only a game. It was how neighbours met after work and how the whole community marked a holiday. Most traditional games need little more than a patch of beach and something woven from a palm.

Football has since become the sport that most Maldivians play and watch, and you can read about it in our guide to sports in the Maldives. The older games have not vanished, though. They come back strongly at festivals, and the government now asks island councils to keep them alive.

In April 2026 the Ministry of Heritage sent a circular to island councils asking them to hold special activities for Eid al-Adha, as reported by The Edition. One of its suggestions was traditional games unique to each island on the afternoon of Eid, open to children, older people and women. So if you are on a local island over Eid, there is a good chance you will see some of what follows.

Bashi

Bashi is the game most visitors hear about, and it belongs to women. Visit Maldives, the state tourism body, describes it as the country’s national game before football took over.

• Where it is played: on a sand court with a net across the middle.
• Teams: seven or eleven players a side.
• How it works: a server knocks the ball over the net with a racket, and the other team tries to catch it. Each server has 12 chances, and a match is split into two innings.
• Equipment: in the past, a ball of rolled coconut palm leaves and a wooden or metal racket; today, usually a tennis ball and a tennis racket.

Girls often start young and join island teams in their late teens. Bashi is still played in the evenings on some islands, and the big tournaments come around national holidays. National championships have drawn dozens of island teams (PSM News).

Baibalaa

Baibalaa is a team tag game played inside a ring drawn on the sand. One team stands inside the ring, the other outside. Players from the outside team try to tag those inside, and anyone who is caught is held until the round ends. It is fast, physical and loud, which is why it is played on soft beach sand to cut the risk of injury.

Baibalaa is especially popular with young people. The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Fitness reports that a national Eid Baibalaa Challenge is held every year after the Eid holidays. The 2026 edition, which ran from 21 March to 1 April, had 38 teams and 71 matches, and for the first time used a double-elimination format.

Some of the most memorable games are tied to Eid itself. There is no single rulebook: each island keeps its own version. Our Eid in the Maldives guide covers the wider celebrations; here are the games you are most likely to come across.

Boakiba foruvun (hiding the boakiba)

This is a contest between the women and the men of an island, played on Eid morning. The women make kulhi boakiba, a spicy tuna and rice cake, and hide it. The men then try to find and take it. If the women keep it safe until breakfast, they win; if not, the men eat it. The Edition reported in 2024 that the game is still played on some islands at Eid, and a dance group from Manadhoo in Noonu Atoll made a music video about it. Find out more about the dish itself in our kulhi boakiba recipe.

Koadi kendun

Koadi kendun is a playful contest over a decorated pole. In Kihaadhoo, Baa Atoll, as The Edition described in 2022, the men dress a pole with palm fronds on the first day of Eid and dance around it in the evening. It is then tied to a coconut tree chosen by the women, who guard it while the men try to slip past and bring it down. The winning side is rewarded with a feast.

Bodu mas and other Eid contests

Bodu mas (“big fish”) is more performance than game: a large model fish is taken to the beach and islanders act out the struggle to land it. PSM News has described these re-enactments, along with sports contests for women in the evening, set to the beat of boduberu. Some islands also hold fishing races for women and water fights in the streets.

Not every game needs a beach. Families also played games drawn on a board, a piece of card or the ground.

Thin hama

Thin hama is a two-player strategy game. The board is three squares, one inside another, joined by lines.

• Players take turns placing their pieces on the points where lines meet. During placement, you may not make three in a row.
• Once all pieces are down, you slide them along the lines to empty points.
• Making three in a row lets you remove one of your opponent’s pieces.
• You win when your opponent is left with only two pieces.

Shells once served as pieces; today any small objects will do.

Raazuvaa

Raazuvaa is the Maldivian form of chess. The aim is the same as in chess, but some rules differ: the pawns move differently, and the king and queen are placed in a different way. Boards are sometimes made of wood finished in traditional lacquerwork.

Ohvalhu gondi

Ohvalhu gondi, “the game of eight holes”, is a mancala-style game. Players move cowrie shells or small pebbles around a board of holes, counter-clockwise, and the first to empty their eight holes wins. On some islands people simply scooped the holes into the beach and played with shells and bits of coral. Cowries have a long history here; see cowrie shells and the Maldives.

Gan’du fillaa

Gan’du fillaa is an indoor guessing game. One player leaves the room while the others wrap someone in a blanket with pillows (the gan’du). The guesser returns, sings a chant and must name the person inside.

• Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha: the best time by far. Afternoons on local islands often bring games for children, women, older people and men, with music into the night. Eid dates follow the moon and move about 11 days earlier each year; see festivals and public holidays.
• National holidays: bashi and other tournaments are often timed around them.
• Evenings: on some islands you may still see bashi or casual games on the beach or football ground after the heat of the day.

In Dhiffushi, Eid is the time to look out for games and celebrations; see our Eid al-Adha event page. The island also has a football ground where evening matches are common. Ask your host what is planned while you are there.

Island games are community events, not shows for tourists.

• Dress modestly when you leave the beach: cover shoulders and knees. Our guide to what to wear in the Maldives explains the details.
• Ask before photographing people, especially women playing bashi and children. Some players will be happy to be photographed; others will not.
• Watch from the side and keep off the court or ring. Baibalaa in particular is rough, and spectators get in the way.
• Join only if invited. If someone hands you a racket or waves you over, it is usually meant warmly. Do not push to take part in women-only games such as bashi if you are a man.
• Be patient. Programmes often shift around prayer times and the heat.
• Leave the beach as you found it. Do not take shells or coral as souvenirs; many marine products need a permit to leave the country.

For more on local customs, read our local island etiquette guide and our photography guide.