Traces of castes and other social strata in the Maldives: A case study of social stratification in a diachronic perspective (Ethnographic, historic, and linguistic evidence)

This paper explores the social stratification of Maldivian society, with particular focus on its
history and traces of earlier alleged caste systems and slavery as well as their impact on Maldivian society,
and the implications this fact had for their social structure. I will argue that some anthropologically
remarkable traces of earlier social stratification, such as slavery and the caste system, can still be
found on the islands. The same holds true for the social structure of the island Minicoy, part of the
Sultanate Maldives until the beginning of the 16th century, which now belongs to India. I will demonstrate
that while the middle castes have largely disappeared, the upper level of the caste hierarchy (which
has survived in the local elite), the lower castes and certain groups of former slaves have been much
more resistant to social developments and structural changes in the society.
[Maldives, Divehi, Minicoy, social stratificati