Feridhoo (Alif Alif Atoll)
| Feridhoo | |
|---|---|
| Inhabited island | |
  Feridhoo Location in Maldives | |
| Coordinates: 04°03′05″N 72°43′35″E / 4.05139°N 72.72639°ECoordinates: 04°03′05″N 72°43′35″E / 4.05139°N 72.72639°E | |
| Country | Maldives |
| Administrative atoll | Alif Alif Atoll |
| Distance to Malé | 88.06 km (54.72 mi) |
| Government | |
| • Island Chief | Hassan Mohamed (Kudabe) |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 1.125 km (0.699 mi) |
| • Width | 0.575 km (0.357 mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 662 |
| Time zone | MST (UTC+05:00) |
Feridhoo (Dhivehi: ފެރިދޫ) is one of the inhabited islands of Ari Atoll and it is located on its eastern fringe. It belongs to the Alif Alif Atoll administrative division.
Historical facts
In centuries past, two male African slaves who had been bought by the kings on their Hajj trips to Mecca were formally released from slavery and were settled in this island. One of them was called Sangoru. He had been working for years at the palace in Malé before the ailing king released him in order to gain merit in the afterlife.
The freeing of slaves before the death of the owner was traditionally a common practice among the very high nobility in the Maldives. Now there are many families on Feridhoo and in neighboring Maalhos who can trace their descendency to those two African ancestors.
References
- Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. 1999, ISBN 84-7254-801-5