Traditional houses and architecture of the Maldives

Most homes were built from palm timber, thatch and rope, which do not last. Durable coral stone was kept mainly for mosques and tombs. A 2015 review of Maldivian architectural heritage by researchers at the University of Malaya notes that the oldest physical remains are coral stone structures from the Buddhist period, and that since the 1960s fast development has replaced much of what was left.

So the heritage you see today lies mostly in village layouts, building methods, everyday words for parts of the home, and a few protected buildings. For the wider story, see our guide to the historical sites of the Maldives.

A traditional island has a break in the reef (neru) for boats, a landing beach and a main road lined with houses. Near the shore you would find boat sheds (dhoni haruge) and the beach pavilion, holhuashi: a raised, roofed platform where people rest, talk and play games. Holhuashi are still found across the country and are among the easiest traditional structures for a visitor to see.

The compound was the real home. Daily life happened mostly outdoors, under mango and breadfruit trees. Typical parts of the compound, as recorded by the Maldives Heritage Survey (Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, working with the Maldives Department of Heritage) and the University of Malaya review:

• Ge: the main house.
• Badhige: the kitchen, built as a separate hut away from the main house. With no chimney, smoke escaped through small openings and breathable palm-frond walls. A wooden rack above the hearth (dhumashi) was used to dry and smoke fish.
• Koshaaru: the granary, with timber walls and floor, a thick thatched roof, and raised off the ground on large coral blocks.
• Valhu: a shallow well for bathing, washing and cleaning fish.
• Gifili: a walled bathing and toilet area open to the sky, near the well.
• Bihdhohfaraaiy: the backyard, with the kitchen, gifili and store huts, and often fruit trees and vegetables.

Yards held coconut, fruit trees, areca palms and betel, with jasmine by the entrance. Our guide to plants and trees of the Maldives covers many of them.

The main house was usually a simple rectangle with two main rooms:

• Beyruge (outer room): where visitors were received, and where men, older children and guests ate and slept. It held two wooden platforms for sitting and sleeping, the bodu ashi (“big platform”) and the smaller kuda ashi, plus a coir-strung bed and large wooden chests.
• Etherege (inner room): the private room, the domain of the women of the house, where the head lady of the household slept with the younger children.

A covered portico or veranda, the fenda, was where guests were welcomed. A common feature was a swing seat at one end. Larger, wealthier houses added verandas on the north and south sides, and a back veranda (thalhan mathi) was used by women for dining and preparing meals.

Two pieces of furniture are closely linked with Maldivian homes, and both are recorded in the Maldives Heritage Survey glossary:

• Undhoali: a swinging bed made of wood and hung from ropes. It is often sheltered by its own small open hut, the undhoalige, in the yard.
• Joali: a low recliner seat made of coir rope stretched over a wooden or metal frame. Joali are often set side by side, and a swinging version hangs from trees in open public spaces.

You will still see joali on local islands today, on beaches, outside homes and by the harbour. A row of them by a house is usually private seating, so ask before sitting. Our local island etiquette guide has more on being a good guest.

Coconut timber and thatch

The coconut palm was the main source of building material. Trunks gave posts and beams. Woven fronds made the roof and often the walls too. The most durable mats were made by stripping the leaf blades and stitching them tightly with coir rope, then laid in overlapping layers on a steep roof.

In English this woven palm thatch is often called cadjan. Our guide to the coconut palm in Maldivian life explains how every part of the tree was used.

Breadfruit wood was used for boards, doors and windows; wealthier homes sometimes used imported teak.

Coral stone

Coral stone (hirigaa) was quarried from the reef and cut while wet, when it is soft. It hardens as it dries. The finest coral stone work is in the 17th-century mosques, where carved blocks fit together without mortar.

Lime and lime plaster

From the late 19th century a new way of building spread: walls of broken coral rubble set in lime mortar (thelhigaa faaru), finished with lime plaster and lime wash. The lime itself was made by burning coral. A plaster of sandy soil mixed with slaked lime (uva faaru) was also used. Lime-washed walls give many older buildings their soft white look.

Designed for the climate

Traditional builders used simple, effective ways to stay cool:

• Gable ends faced east and west, to cut direct sun and driving rain.
• Deep overhanging roofs shaded the walls and protected doors and windows.
• Wall openings and lattice panels (jaali) let air flow through.

Through the 20th century, island houses changed fast:

• Roofs: corrugated metal sheets replaced thatch and, on some buildings, clay tiles. The University of Malaya review dates this to the 1960s, while the Heritage Survey glossary says from the 1980s. It likely happened at different times on different islands.
• Walls: cement and concrete blocks replaced palm walls and coral rubble.
• Coral mining: mining coral from the house reefs of inhabited islands was banned in 1992. New coral stone building ended, though some old stone has been reused.

What has lasted is the compound idea. Many island homes are still set behind a wall around a sandy yard, with a shady tree, a joali or two, and a family name for the house. In the Maldives a house name can be part of a person’s identity; our guide to Maldivian names explains how.

On a local island such as Dhiffushi, the sandy lanes show this mix of modern homes, compound walls and families sitting out in the evening shade. Our page on Dhiffushi history and island life tells how the island has grown.

• Coral stone mosques: the finest examples of traditional building. Six are on the UNESCO Tentative List. See our guide to the coral stone mosques of the Maldives.
• Muleeaage, Malé: a palace commissioned in 1914 and completed by 1919 for the sultan’s heir, on the site of the sultan’s ancestral home (as reported by national media). It is now the official residence of the President and can only be seen from outside.
• The National Museum, Malé: displays of carved woodwork, lacquerwork and coral stone. See the National Museum guide.

You can link these sights on foot with our one day in Malé itinerary.

The Maldives’ Heritage Act (Law No. 12/2019) was ratified in September 2019. It covers documenting and protecting cultural heritage and makes damaging historic items or sites a crime. The government has been compiling a register of heritage sites, with more than 400 listed so far, as reported by national media.

As a visitor you can help:

• Don’t touch, climb on or remove stone from old mosques, tombs or ruins.
• Don’t buy coral or coral stone objects. Many marine products need a permit to leave the country.
• Support local crafts made from palm, coir and wood. See our guide to traditional crafts.