Xavier Romero-Frias
Encyclopedia
Xavier Romero-Frias is a Spanish writer and scholar. He lived in the Maldives
over a 13-year period. His present residence is in Bangkok
, Thailand
.
and oral tradition
of the Maldives beginning in 1979, at a time when the ancestral customs
were quickly disappearing in the Maldives because of the increase of standardized Islamic education
and of modernization
. In order to achieve his goal he learned two dialects of Dhivehi, the Maldivian language, fluently and understood well others, gaining also deep knowledge of the Maldivian writing systems and Arabic
. During his years in the Maldives Romero-Frias took a special interest in compiling the traditions of the Maldives by becoming friendly with the elders of the islands he visited. Before Romero-Frias did this work, very few of the Maldivian stories and legends were in written form.
After many years of work Xavier Romero-Frias completed the English translation of about hundred Maldivian legends and tales about local ghosts and semi-historical myths from many atoll
s of the Maldives, but mainly from the South of Maldives and from Male', the capital of the country. After this he lived twelve years in India studying Sanskrit
and researching the origins of the Maldivian cultural heritage. During this time he published an extensive monograph
with his research on the Maldivian ancestral identity, which includes not only legends, but also observations on folk religion
, drawings of sail boats and samples of local art, among other ancient Maldivian traditions. This monograph was published as The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom.
According to Sri Lanka
n scholar Rohan Gunaratna
, Xavier Romero-Frias "followed the steps of British scholar HCP Bell
."
Dr Roland Silva, the Director of the Archaeology Department of Sri Lanka between 1983 and 1992 compared the pioneering work of Xavier Romero Frías with that of Henry Parker
, a British anthropologist who compiled the folk tales of the villages of Sri Lanka around 1880.
Xavier Romero-Frias gave lectures at the University of Madras
in the 1980s invited by Professor V. Sudarsan, head of the Department of Anthropology. During the past thirty years he has written many articles and commentaries, as well as given lectures on traditional Islam, religious syncretism
and the causes of Islamic terrorism.
As an artist he has illustrated books for the EDC (Educational Development Center) of the Ministry of Education in Male', Maldives and painted the fish as well as the legends of the Maldives and the sailships of previous times. There was an exhibition of some of his works in Vienna
, Austria, in 1987.
, Xavier Romero-Frias observed: In every Maldivian mind there is a sharp struggle between inherited customs and Muslim ideology. Since this conflict remains unresolved, there is a widespread feeling of guilt and frustration at being unable to adjust the ancestral cultural heritage to the Islamic ideological pattern.
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
over a 13-year period. His present residence is in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
Works
Xavier Romero-Frias investigated the folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
of the Maldives beginning in 1979, at a time when the ancestral customs
Mores
Mores, in sociology, are any given society's particular norms, virtues, or values. The word mores is a plurale tantum term borrowed from Latin, which has been used in the English language since the 1890s....
were quickly disappearing in the Maldives because of the increase of standardized Islamic education
Islamic studies
In a Muslim context, Islamic studies can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge...
and of modernization
Modernization
In the social sciences, modernization or modernisation refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by...
. In order to achieve his goal he learned two dialects of Dhivehi, the Maldivian language, fluently and understood well others, gaining also deep knowledge of the Maldivian writing systems and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. During his years in the Maldives Romero-Frias took a special interest in compiling the traditions of the Maldives by becoming friendly with the elders of the islands he visited. Before Romero-Frias did this work, very few of the Maldivian stories and legends were in written form.
After many years of work Xavier Romero-Frias completed the English translation of about hundred Maldivian legends and tales about local ghosts and semi-historical myths from many atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
s of the Maldives, but mainly from the South of Maldives and from Male', the capital of the country. After this he lived twelve years in India studying Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and researching the origins of the Maldivian cultural heritage. During this time he published an extensive monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
with his research on the Maldivian ancestral identity, which includes not only legends, but also observations on folk religion
Folk religion
Folk religion consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of an organized religion, but outside of official doctrine and practices...
, drawings of sail boats and samples of local art, among other ancient Maldivian traditions. This monograph was published as The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom.
According to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n scholar Rohan Gunaratna
Rohan Gunaratna
Rohan Gunaratna is an international terrorism expert. He is the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research ] at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore...
, Xavier Romero-Frias "followed the steps of British scholar HCP Bell
Harry Charles Purvis Bell
Harry Charles Purvis Bell , more often known as HCP Bell, was a British civil servant, a commissioner in the Ceylon Civil Service. Appointed an official archaeologist, he carried out many excavations in Ceylon , for the Archaeological Survey, during an appointment running from 1890 to 1912After...
."
Dr Roland Silva, the Director of the Archaeology Department of Sri Lanka between 1983 and 1992 compared the pioneering work of Xavier Romero Frías with that of Henry Parker
Henry Parker (author)
Henry Parker was a British engineer in colonial Ceylon during the Victorian era. He was attached to the Irrigation Department from 1873 to 1904. During his work as engineer he developed an admiration for the skills displayed by the ancient Sinhalese at the time of the construction of their...
, a British anthropologist who compiled the folk tales of the villages of Sri Lanka around 1880.
Xavier Romero-Frias gave lectures at the University of Madras
University of Madras
The University of Madras is a public research university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the three oldest universities in India...
in the 1980s invited by Professor V. Sudarsan, head of the Department of Anthropology. During the past thirty years he has written many articles and commentaries, as well as given lectures on traditional Islam, religious syncretism
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
and the causes of Islamic terrorism.
As an artist he has illustrated books for the EDC (Educational Development Center) of the Ministry of Education in Male', Maldives and painted the fish as well as the legends of the Maldives and the sailships of previous times. There was an exhibition of some of his works in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria, in 1987.
Quote
Regarding the difficulty for Maldivians to wholeheartedly embrace their own national identityNational identity
National identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status....
, Xavier Romero-Frias observed: In every Maldivian mind there is a sharp struggle between inherited customs and Muslim ideology. Since this conflict remains unresolved, there is a widespread feeling of guilt and frustration at being unable to adjust the ancestral cultural heritage to the Islamic ideological pattern.
Sources
- Maldives ethnography List of books
- "Open Letter to Maldivians: The Maldives: From Charybdis to Scylla?" Dhivehi Observer 9 December 2005
- Blasco, Roge (2000) "Xavier Romero: Tras las leyendas perdidas de las islas Maldivas" GaraGaraGara is a bilingual newspaper published in the city of San Sebastián in the Basque Autonomous Community...
3 September 2000 - Husna Razee, ‘Being a Good Woman’: Suffering and Distress through the voices of women in the Maldives
- Scott M. Fitzpatrick, Seafaring simulations and the origin of prehistoric settlers to Madagascar