The Curious and Mysterious Minicoy Islands
A reclusive island with a matriarchal society and picturesque beaches
Minicoy is not a name you hear often. In fact, many of you might not even know which part of the world these islands are located in. Well, to be honest, it is a bit of a conundrum. Often overshadowed by its more popular counterparts, the Andamans, the Minoy islands are located by the Laccadive Sea and are a part of India. Yes, this was news to me as well!
What’s curious about these islands is that though it belongs to the Indian territory, it is in fact geographically much closer to the Maldives from where it borrows most of its culture from. They feature everything from breathtaking lagoons to beautiful coral reefs, from mesmerizing coconut groves to aesthetic beach huts. Dreamy and picturesque are the top two words that come to mind when I look at pictures of Minicoy.
A couple of years ago, before the world went to shit, my newlywed friends embarked on a trip to this exotic island and came back with tales of not only deep-sea fishing, snorkeling, and fishing, but of history and traditions and curious stories which I lapped up with delight and wonder. In Minicoy, women rule the roost. Despite being a largely Islamic community, the family structure is woman-centered and their language is called ‘Mahl’, an Indo-Aryan dialect of Maldivian Divehi, as compared to the Malayalam which is favoured by the rest of the Lakshadweep.
In Minicoyan families, all the houses are in the name of the women of the family and carry the female family name. The concept of ‘marriage’ is a visiting marriage where the husband comes after dinner and leaves before breakfast. They eat the rest of their meals in their mother’s house. When Minicoyans marry, grooms are assigned a bare room in the house of the mother of the bride. The groom and his family are tasked with equipping it with all necessities — a reverse dowry of sorts. Needless to say, the residents have a 100% literacy rate. While speaking of their attire, the women typically wear a colourful full-body robe with a scarf covering the head. Some opt for the sensible salwar kameez to travel and work.
It’s hard to resist the magnetism of the place be it for hardcore travellers or a slow/solo traveller out to chill and relax. Many centuries ago (I’m not sure of the exact timeline), Minicoy was bustling with life of a non-human kind: trees, flowers, small animals were about and there was no sign of humans. Later it turned out that the whole stretch of these deserted islands was full of cannibals and was hence named Minikaa-raajje or cannibal kingdom. After the British era began in India, they anglicized it to Minicoy (as the British are known to do) and the name has stuck since then.
Another interesting name is “Mahila-du” or “island of women”. This is because the crescent-shaped island has been known throughout history as a place where women were daring and independent. Marco Polo visited a “female island” off the coast of India on his 13th-century journey from China to Venice. The globetrotting Moroccan adventurer Ibn Battuta also spoke of the splendid “Malook”.
Apart from its gorgeous natural beauty, historians and travellers have always been attracted to this stretch of islands for a long time due to its mysterious culture and social structure. Can you believe that there are no written records of history that you can find about the Minicoy islands! This is because most of the information and stories were passed down in the oral tradition which is naturally difficult to decipher for anyone who is not from these islands. But at least we know this: the houses are lovely shades of pastels, the food is scrumptious and the locals are warm and welcoming.
