Huraa
Dom Maraduru Fandiaiy Kaleygefan was the son of Dom Luis de
Sousa, son of Dona Inês. She was the daughter of Dom Joao
and Dona Francisca Vasconcellos. Dom João was the son of Dom
Manoel.
King Manoel was the son of Omar Maafaiy Kilege and Golaavahi
Aysha Rani Kilege. Omar Maafaiy Kilege was the son of the
Sultan Mohamed the Black (reigned 1492 - 93; 1494 - 1510 and
1512 - 1529) and Princess Burecca (According to the Raadavali
Omar Maafaiy Kilege's mother was Aysha Kilege, daughter of
Korari Kinage.). Sultan Mohamed the Black was the son of Sultan
Omar (reigned 1480 - 85) and Sitti Rani Kilege who was the
younger sister of Sultan Abubakur I. Burecca was the daughter
of Recca, daughter of Sultan Abubakur I (reigned 1442 - 43)
and Reccy Kamana of Kandudu.
Sultan
Abubakur was the son of Sultan Hassan I and half brother of
Sultan Yusuf II. Burecca's father was Himithy Shipwright's
son (Maavadi Koi). Sultan Omar was the son of Sultan Yusuf II
(reigned 1420 - 42) and Talamedi Kilege. Sultan Yusuf was
the son of Sultan Hassan I (reigned 1388 - 98). Sultan Hassan
was the son of Kulhiveri Hilaal Kaiulhanna Kaloge (the legendary
Hilaaly Kalo) and Golaavahi Kambulo. Hilaaly Kalo was the
son of Muslim Abbas of Hilaaly, an immigrant from Yemen.
Dom
Maraduru Fandiaiy Kaleygefan’s son was Hussain Daharada Kaleygefan
whose son was Mohamed Faamuladeyri Thakurufan. Mohamed Faamuladeyri
Thakurufan married Aminah Dio, daughter of Mohamed, kateeb
of Muli. Their son was Huraagey Dom Hassan Maniku.
Huraagey
Dom Hassan Maniku, a great-great grandson of Dom Luis was
a junior officer in the armed service of Sultan Mohamed Imaduddine
IV of the Diyamigily Dynasty. At that time one Kuñhi
Amsa Ali-adi Raja ruled the small southern Indian principality
of Cannanore. He was one of a dynasty of Ali Rajas (literally
sea kings) and Ali Raja-bibis (Lady Ali Rajas) who continued
to rule in a so-called princely state until the British left
India in 1948.
The
Maldivians referred to the people of Cannanore and other Malayalam-speaking
Indians as Holin. This word was probably derived from
Chola, a warlike Indian nationality of a previous age.
The Ali Raja of Cannanore was also ruler over the Laccadive
Islands to the north of the Maldives. For over a century the
Ali Rajas had been trying to conquer the Maldives. Their raids
had ceased for many years after Sultan Iskander Ibrahim I
of the Uteem Dynasty sent a Maldivian fleet to the Laccadives
and defeated the Cannanore fleet based there.
The
Laccadives were then annexed in the name of the Sultan of
the Maldives and its chieftains ordered to pay the princely
sum of 12 laris per year (at 2001 exchange rates about 2 New Zealand
cents) in recognition of this. During the latter years of
the Diyamigily Dynasty, the Cannanorese raids into the Maldives
increased in frequency. The Laccadive Islands had long since
lapsed back into Holin rule; the local population being Malayalam-speaking
Moslem Holin themselves.
One of these raids was successful
in breaking through Malé’s defences and abducting the
Sultan Mukarram Mohamed Imaduddine III, in collaboration with
the chief justice and his brother to whom the Holin promised
their governorship in the Maldives. These two were both brothers-in-law
of the Sultan's. They were the Chief Justice Mohamed Shamsuddine,
and his brother Ahmed Mohyeddine, Kateeb of Malé. They
were both sons of the Tarikh chronicler and Chief Justice,
Hassan Tajuddine.
The
raiders took the Sultan off to Kavaraddu (Kavaratti) in the
Laccadive Islands. Subsequently the chief justice and his
brother were executed by the Holin; saying that they could
not trust anyone who was disloyal to their own sovereign.
The Ali Raja then set up an administration in Malé
under a collector called kanaka pillay. (Kanaka pillay
seems to be a title, rather than a name. Maldivians referred
to him as Kanakkafoolhu). They appointed as chief justice,
Kateeb Mohamed Muhibbuddine son of Hussain Afifuddine, brother
of the Chronicler and chief justice Hassan Tajuddine.
The
Holin rule lasted barely four months. Evidently, the Holin
garrison relaxed their defences at their headquarters at Veyodorhu
Ganduvaru, after the Munaaja call, a prayer recited about
two hours before the dawn call to prayers, by a muezzin from
atop the minaret of the Hukuru Miskit (Friday Mosque). Huraagey
Dom Hassan Maniku and a group of followers found this out,
and one night, persuaded the muezzin of the Hukuru Miskit
to recite the Munaaja earlier than usual. Dom Hassan Maniku's
principal followers were:
- Bandeyri
Hassan Hirihamaanthi Kaleygefan, commander of a lance regiment,
- Hussain
Gadahamaanthi Manikfan son of Mohamed Gadahamaanthi Kaleygefan
son of Handeygiri Kaleygefan of Nolivaranfaru,
- Meynaa
Bandeyri Fandiaiy Thakurufan
- Omar
Maniku, brother of the above Meynaa Bandeyri Fandiaiy Thakurufan.
Their
followers numbered about two hundred, according to the Tarikh
able-bodied and fearless, people. As expected, the Holin went
to sleep early that night, and Dom Hassan Maniku and his followers
stole into Veyodorhu Ganduvaru and put the kanaka pillay and
his Holin to the sword.
The
few Holin who managed to escape were pursued and found hiding
in various parts of Malé or in vessels in the harbour.
They were arrested and executed by drowning. Two Maldivian
lives were lost in this operation; one was shot and a sword
wielding Holin named Seykutty Haji killed the other.
Dom
Hassan Maniku lost his left thumb (Upon accession to the throne,
some years later, Dom Hassan Maniku used a white kerchief
to cover the stump of his missing thumb when he went forth
in State. The kerchief was held in place with the right hand
and both hands were raised up to just below chest-level. His
royal descendants continued this tradition when walking in
procession until it was abolished in the reign of Sultan Hassan
Nooreddine II in 1934).
When
news of the fall of Malé reached Cannanore, Ali Raja
sent his agents to Kavaratti to gore out the abducted Sultan’s
eyes and to remove him to the Indian mainland. The Sultan's
nephew Mohamed Manikfan remained in detention in the Laccadive
Island of Androt. An expedition of Indians was promptly dispatched
to Malé to restore Holin rule.
Dom
Hassan Maniku's brother Hussain Maniku, who was abducted with
the Sultan, was brought as their guide. Dom Hassan Maniku
was alert to this. When the invading vessels were sighted,
he ordered the Cannanore flag to be hoisted up the flag-staff
atop the Main Fort Bastion (Bodu Kottey Buruzu), one of many
bastions that lined the city wall of old Malé, built
in the heyday of the Uteem Dynasty. He also ordered his men
to change into Cannanore costume and to let the vessels enter
the inner harbour. When the whole fleet was inside the breakwater,
the gate-blocks of the entrances to the inner harbour were
lowered. The vessels were then boarded and the crews were
either killed or captured by Holin-attired Maldivians whom
the crews mistook for their own countrymen.
The
Holin continued to try to regain control of the Maldives,
by sending out several raiding parties, and establishing a
garrison up in the North. In a bid to rid the Maldives of
the Holin, Dom Hassan Maniku, (then, Hassan Rannabandeyri
Manikfan) sent a junior minister as an ambassador to the French
territory of Pondicherry in India seeking French military
assistance.
As
a result, the French governor Dupleix seconded a Corps du Garde
to Malé in 1756. It was made clear that the Corps du Garde
was to be under the jurisdiction and in the payroll of the
Princess Regent of the Maldives. When the ambassador sent
to Governor Dupleix returned with the Corps du Garde in
four French vessels, a Holin fleet of three vessels was moored
in Dunidoo Harbour across from Malé. The Holin were
virtually besieging Malé, but were unable to penetrate
the defences of the island.
The
Corps du Garde attacked the Holin and sunk one of their
vessels. The other two vessels escaped and sailed to the island
of Donakulhi in the North where the Holin had established
a base. Dom Hassan Maniku sailed to Donakulhi with the Corps du Garde
where the Holin garrison was sacked and their men were either
captured or killed. The Battle of Donakulhi having won Dom
Hassan Maniku commanded the fleet of Maldivian and French
vessels back to Malé on 21 April 1756.
The
French Corps du Garde was stationed at Naaney Bastion
along the northern waterfront. This arrangement was terminated
in 1759, when a group of the Frenchmen had a brawl with a
group of Maldivians, resulting in deaths. De Lally, Dupleix's
successor in Pondicherry, relieved the Corps du Garde.
Until recently the lane next to the Bastion was called Faranji-kalo
Goali (European-man Lane). The French were paid for their
services with a large lump of ambergris weighing 153.1 kg
according to the Tarikh.
A
few years later, news reached Malé of the death of
Sultan Mukarram Mohamed Imaduddine III in Cannanore. Dom Hassan
Maniku, as Prime Minister was then effectively ruling the
Maldives, with two Diyamigily princesses, in turn, as Princess
Regent. Firstly, Aminah Rani Kilege, daughter of
Ibrahim Iskander II and, after her self-imposed exile to Addu
Atoll, her niece, Aminah Rani Kilege, daughter of Mukarram
Mohamed Imaduddine III.
The
Tarikh records two versions as the reason for the elder
Aminah Rani Kilege's self-imposed exile. According to the
Maldivian language version of the Tarikh, her husband
Ali Dorhimeyna harboured designs on the throne, and intended
to displace Dom Hassan Maniku from the premiership. The Arabic
language version records that she and her husband fled in
order to default on their financial debts owed to the French
merchant Monsieur Le Termellier.
From
Addu Atoll they tried to flee to the territories of the Ali Raja
of Cannanore, but were intercepted by an armed vessel sent
from Malé as they were about to enter the Ali Raja's
waters. They were brought back to Malé and exiled to
Fenfurhi. Her cousin-in-law Ahmed Thakurufan escaped and for
years returned regularly with raiding parties sent by the
Ali Raja.
Subsequently
another plot to displace Dom Hassan Maniku was uncovered.
Hussain Gadahamaanthi, husband of Diyamigily Fatima Rani Kilege,
another of the Princess Regent's aunts, led this plot. The
couple was banished to Kalhifurhi and remained there for two
years until pardoned by Dom Hassan Maniku as Sultan. The regency
was proving to be unsustainable as the Diyamigily womens'
husbands jostled for power.
The
leading citizens then asked Dom Hassan Maniku to ascend the
throne in his own right but he kept refusing the offer. A
deputation went to Muleege, Dom Hassan Maniku’s residence
repeatedly, offering the throne, and with much reluctance
he accepted the offer on condition that the throne revert
to the Diyamigily Dynasty after his death. Such was Dom Hassan
Maniku’s loyalty, and that of his father before him, to the
Diyamigilys. If there was anyone who became king, queen, sultan,
sultana or president of the republic, who was not keen on
his or her position, then it must surely have been Huraagey
Dom Hassan Maniku.
Huraagey
Dom Hassan Maniku was installed as Sultan in a makeshift building
erected on the site of the palace complex destroyed by the
Holin. This took place on Friday December 7th,
1759. As sultan, he was known as Hassan Izzuddine, with the
additional title of al-Ghazi or warlord. Thus began the Huraagey
Dynasty. Perhaps one could say that the Hilaaly Dynasty was
restored yet again.
What
had motivated Huraagey Dom Hassan Maniku, a young junior officer
aged 25, to launch that operation against the invading Holin?
Was it because his father and many of his relatives were abducted
with the Sultan by the Holin? - Perhaps so. However many commentators
maintain that he did what he had done because of his background.
He was a member of the Hilaaly dynasty through the line of
the Christian kings.
Hassan
Izzuddine named as his successor, the late Diyamigily Sultan’s
nephew, Mohamed Manikfan, when the latter returned from India,
after fleeing from his captors. He was one of those who were
abducted with the late Sultan.
Mohamed
Manikfan reputedly had an ill temper. In a fit of rage he
stabbed a man named Ibrahim Didi who, for some reason had
displeased him. The man survived the assault and for his misfortune,
was nicknamed Keehi (stabbed) Ibrahim Didi.
Hassan
Izzuddine reprimanded Mohamed Manikfan for what he had done.
With a hurt ego he vowed revenge. The Sultan, however, took
no further action. When Huraagey Sultan al-Ghazi Hassan Izzuddine
died, this Diyamigily prince, as Sultan Mohamed Ghiyathuddine
succeeded him.
On
his deathbed Hassan Izzuddine was supposed to have said to
Mohamed Manikfan, "I commit the kingdom of the Maldives
to the care of Your Highness, and I commit my children to
the care of the Almighty". Huraagey Sultan al-Ghazi Hassan
Izzuddine died on Monday 21 July 1766, aged 35.
Following
rumours in Malé of a plot among some ministers to depose
Ghiyathuddine in favour of Hassan Izzuddine’s eldest son,
Mohamed, the Sultan ordered a purge of the Malé elite.
Most of the surviving colleagues of Hassan Izzuddine were
banished.
The
former Sultan’s widow Fenfurhy Aminah Dio also known as Kakaagey
Bodu Didi and their three children Mohamed (aged 14); Ibrahim
(aged 8) and Ali (aged 4) were sent to Fenfurhi in Ari Atoll
in the west. Bodu Didi's father Ali Kakaa Thakurufan
was from that island. Three of the alleged conspirators escaped
on their way to exile and fled to the Dutch-ruled island of
Ceylon. They were all brothers of Princess Aminah (Bodu Didi).
Ghiyathuddine appealed to the Dutch governor in Colombo seeking
their extradition, but by then they had fled Ceylon to Chandarnagarh
in India.
With
such close relations of the late Sultan’s widow and children
at large in foreign lands, Ghiyathuddine became very insecure
(a very common sentiment displayed in similar circumstances
by the rulers of the Maldives). He therefore banished them
from Fenfurhi to Hithadu in Addu Atoll.
He
also sent orders to the locals forbidding them from helping
the young princes and their mother. As a result, they were
reduced to a life of starvation and destitution and lived
as vagrants. Such was Ghiyathuddine's gratitude to Sultan
Hassan Izzuddine for his unselfish loyalty to the Diyamigilys.
The
current official version
is that Ghiyathuddine was quote "denied
the opportunity of reciprocating the same sentiments to the
Huraage family"
unquote. Could this be a classic case of transferring blame
to victims? In this case the victims were a young widow and
her three very young children.
Seven
years later, Ghiyathuddine gathered enough confidence to make
a trip to Mecca to attend the hajj pilgrimage. He appointed
his sister Princess Aminah, daughter of Diyamigily Sultan
Ibrahim Iskander II as Princess Regent. She was the one who
fled to Addu Atoll relinquishing the same position under Dom
Hassan Maniku.
Soon
after the Sultan left Malé , the Princess Regent’s
husband, in collaboration with his wife attempted to seize
the throne for himself. He was Ali Velaanaa Thakurufan son
of Mohamed Dorhimeyna Thakurufan son of Mohamed Kuda Bandeyri
Thakurufan of Addu. The militia rebelled and soon surrounded
the palace complex.
With
the guns atop the New Fort Bastion inside the palace complex
trained on their apartments, the Regent and her husband were
ordered to leave the premises through the southern service-entrance
and proceed to the waterfront. There, they were put on an
odi about to sail for Huliyandu in Haddummati Atoll in the
South. The militia formally deposed Ghiyathuddine from the
throne in favour of Mohamed Manikfan, son of Hussain Dorhimeyna
Kilegefan who was the brother of Hassan Izzuddine. Mohamed
Manikfan’s mother was Zuleikha Dio. He was installed under
the name of Mohamed Shamsuddine II.
Soon
Mohamed Shamsuddine II sent word to Addu Atoll and brought
the three exiled princes and their mother back to Malé
. When they arrived he abdicated in favour of the eldest who
was installed on the throne as Sultan Mohamed Muizzuddine.
When Ghiyathuddine returned from hajj, he was detained on
board his ship, off the island of Guraidu. In a letter to
the Sultan, he relinquished all claims to the throne and pleaded
to be allowed to live in Malé as a private citizen.
It
was said that the following night a party of men boarded his
vessel and sailed it out into the high seas where Ghiyathuddine
was murdered by drowning. His son Abdulla was banished to
Fua Mulak in the south. Many years later he was raised to
the title of Faamuladeyri Kilege. He or his direct descendants
never challenged the authority of the Huraagey sultans and
continued to live in Fua Mulak, where their line remains to
this day. However they were not permitted even to visit Malé
until the reign of Sultan Mohamed Shamsuddine III, early in
the twentieth Century.
A
daughter, Kakaagey Kalu Goma, also known as Aysha Rani Kilegefan
survived Muizzuddine. He was, succeeded by his youngest brother
Ali, under the name of Hassan Nooreddine I. In the twentieth
year of his reign, Hassan Nooreddine I went to hajj with over
300 people in a richly laden and well-armed fleet of ships.
Ghalib son of Musaed son of Masood, Shareef of Mecca had a
disagreement with the Sultan and seized most of his property,
including the ships. The Shareef was interested in acquiring
the canons aboard the Sultan's ships in order to wage war
against the Ottomans.
While
in Jeddah, the Sultan and his entourage were hit by an epidemic
of smallpox in which 230 Maldivians died. Among them were
the Sultan, his eldest son Abdul Hameed, daughter Fatima,
and Prime Minister, Mohamed Handeygirin. Hassan Nooreddine’s
second son Mohamed Mueenuddine I, who remained behind in Malé
as Prince Regent, succeeded him.
Kakaagey
Kalu Goma daughter of Sultan Mohamed Muizzuddine married married
Eduru Ibrahim Rannabandeyri Thakurufan, the master of a martial
arts training regiment.
Eduru
Ibrahim Rannabandeyri Thakurufan carried the appellation of
Thakurufan because of his low ranking birth (see the
section on Ancient
Offices). However because he married a sultan's daughter,
he was later called Rannabandeyri Manikfan.
The
names Kakaage and Kakaagey (of Kakaage)
were derived from the fact that Kalu
Goma's grandmother was Fenfushy Aminah Bodu Didi who was the
consort of Sultan el-Ghazi Hassan Izzuddine (previously known
as Huraagey Dom Hassan Maniku). Bodu Didi was the daughter
of Fenfurhy Ali Kakaa Thakurufan. When Kalu Goma's
father, Sultan Mohamed Muizzuddine died she was 3 years old.
It was her grandmother Bodu Didi who looked after her at the
latter's residence which was by then called Kakaage,
which was at the site of the old power house between Kalu
Thukkalaa Magu and Faarhanaa Kilege Magu in Male.
Kalu
Goma had five children, they were: Ali Rannabandeyri Kilegefan
(died 1873), Ahmed Manikfan (died 1834), Hawwa Didi (died
1829), Khadijah Didi (died 1837) and Sanfa Didi (died 1843).
Kakaagey Kalu Goma and Eduru Ibrahim Rannabandeyri Manikfan
were the progenitors of the Kakaagey (Divehi Ganduvaru) family,
one of the leading families in Malé and the leading
family in Minicoy to this day. My wife Antu is a descendant
of the Kakaagey family on her father's side.
Please go
to
Hilaaly-Huraa Family Table
and
Diyamigily
Family history and table
