Koimala of the Maldives

Koimala Siri Mahaabarana Mahaa Radun (Dhivehi: ކޮއިމަލާ ސިރީ މަހާބަރަނަ މަހާ ރަދުން) or Koimala (Dhivehi: ކޮއިމަލާ literally "flower lad") or Koimala Kalo (Dhivehi: ކޮއިމަލާ ކަލޯ, literally "Lord Koimala") was the first king of the all the Maldives Islands from 1117 to 1141. It is believed that he was also the first king from the House of Theemuge. According to Maldivian Folklore, Koimala was a prince from the Indian subcontinent who arrived in Malé Atoll. The people of Giraavaru spotted his vessel from afar and welcomed him. They allowed Prince Koimala to settle on that large sandbank in the midst of the waters tainted with fishblood. Trees were planted on the sandbank and it is said that the first tree that grew on it was the papaya tree. As time went by the local islanders acceped the rule of this northern prince. A palace was built and the island was formally named Maa-le (Malé), while the nearest island was named Hulhu-le (Hulhulé). Since then Malé has been the seat of the Maldivian crown and now the head of state.

A different account claims Koimala to be a Sinhalese prince of royal birth from Ceylon. The prince is said to have married the Ceylon king's daughter and made a voyage with her in two vessels from Ceylon. Reaching the Maldives they were becalmed, and rested a while at "Rasgetheemu" island (meaning the King's Island) in Northern Maalhosmadulhu Atoll. The Maldive Islanders who were then Buddhists, learning that the two chief visitors were of royal descent from the Buddhist kingdom of Ceylon, invited them to remain and ultimately proclaimed Koimala their king at Rasgetheemu. The new king and his spouse migrated to Malé and settled there with the consent of the aborigines of Giraavaru (See Giraavaru people) - then the most important community of Malé Atoll. Until then the Maldives is though to have been ruled by different matriarchies in different atolls.

After the settlement in Malé, two vessels were dispatched to Ceylon to bring more people of the Sinhalese race- or "the Lion Race". It wasn't tradition for the Giraavaru and perhaps other aboriginal people of the Maldives to marry outside their community. Koimala was succeeded by his nephew Dhovemi Kalaminja in 1166.