A history of Maldivian architecture: Part 2—Traditional lineal measurements

Measure is what controls the proportion, form and order of buildings. Architecturally, spaces are determined in relation to man himself. Thus, traditionally, most measurements are based on humans, such as spans and cubits. The average Maldivian is a bit shorter than Europeans though tall people are seen in every island. Except for height, there are few, if any, physical differences between the Middle East Aryans and the Maldivians, in terms of proportion. This is to be contrasted with East Asians whose arms are legs are slightly shorter compared to their torso length.

The following list of traditional measurements of length is derived from Vanavaru dated 15^th March 1995 by Hassan Ahmed Maniku, an eminent historian.

The basic unit of lineal measures in the Maldives was the an’goo, the distance between the third joint of the middle finger and its end. This length is now taken as 0.125 inches. However, an’goo is of not much use in architecture because it is so short. There are names for various multiples of an’goo: 3 an’goo is an oogu; 8 an’goo make a span (kaivaiy) and 16 an’goo make a muh and 24 an’goo make a riyan. The main measure used in architecture until very recently is the riyan.

A riyan is of convenient size to be used in architecture. In fact, riyan is the primary lineal measure used in building houses and boats. The use of riyan is somewhat unique. In ancient Greek, Chinese and Japanese architecture, the foot is the basic unit of length. In ancient Greece, the foot (pes) is then further subdivided into 4 parts (palmus, palm width), 12 parts (uncial, inches or 1/12ths) or 16 parts (digitus, finger widths). The Japanese foot was divided into 10 parts (suns).

It is interesting to study the origin of riyan for it is a bit long (27 inches) for common use. No doubt, the carpenters and the house builders must have found it very convenient. Was it derived from a Sri Lankan unit of measurement? In the Transactions of the Engineering Association of Ceylon, 1936, Ellepola notes the following on page 121:

8 paddy seeds = 1 finger end

12 finger ends = 1 viyata (span) = 9 inches

2 viyata (spans) = 1 cubit = 18 inches

4 viyata= 1 niska

2 niska = 1 dunna (bow, dhuni in Dhivehi)

1000 dunna = 1 kosa.

What is interesting to observe from the above is that 12 finger ends is made equal to a span. In some tables, Ellepola refers to finger ends as angala (a word somewhat close to Dhivehi an’goo). This evidently means that Sri Lankan definition of finger ends is different from the Maldives’. He also notes that the space between the thumb and the forefinger stretched to the maximum extent is called vigussa. The Dhivehi word for this distance is kolhithila. The above definition of 1 kosa given above is very close to the Dhivehi definition of koas.

On page 122 of the documet noted above, Ellapola notes additional details which further give useful information about the measures used in ancient Sri Lanka.

The above leaves little doubt about the equivalence of Sri Lankan bamba and Maldivian bama. The Dhivehi Udu-bama is invariably the bandara bama or the standing reach. The definitions of Miti-Riyane and kuru-muh of the Maldives are also the same. The Wadu-Riyane or Carpenter’s Riyane is 24 carpenter’s “angala” by the definition cited above. Since 7 such angala make one span which is 9 inches, then 24 angala must be (9÷7×24) or about 31 inches—4 inches longer than the Maldivian riyan. Although we can note the similarities between the riyane of Sri Lanka and riyan of the Maldives, the length is not the same.  The Dhivehi riyan also has 24 an’goo, but the variation between the riyane and riyan is due to the varying definitions of an’goo; ours is shorter. The Sri Lankan definition of angala is the distance between the second and the third joint of the forefinger. This distance, or angala, is 1.286″ whereas by the definition given by Hassan Ahmed Maniku, an an’goo is 1.125″. One wonders whether these two measurements were previously the same, and that the definition of an an’goo had changed in the Maldives with the passage of time from the Sri Lankan’s. The odd length of riyan (27 inches) is by  the length of a a stretched arm. Since all adult males have the riyan standard with him, it is a handy measure.

Another possible theory for the length of 27 inches for a riyan may be due to the common Arab influence. It is well known that the Arab traders were visiting the Maldives and Sri Lanka long before the Portuguese invasion of these two countries. Both in Gujarat and in Bombay, the Islamic length guz was equal to 27 inches for centuries prior to 1900 (the guz was defined to be 36 inches much later in India. The Ilahi guz which was the standardized guz by Emperor Akbar was about 33 inches). The 27-inch long riyan could have been popularized  by the Bohra communities from Gujarat and Bombay, who travelled and traded with these countries. The foregoing historical note is to illuminate the cause for the popularity of riyan and for its unusual length of 27 inches. Inches were not a standard by which other measures were defined in the past; an’goo was.  However, today, the dictionary definition of riyan is  27 inches, not 24 an’goo.

By the mid 1980s, the riyan was becoming less and less popular as a measure for architecture and home building. This was due to the introduction of the metric system in the 1970s. However, one still finds that the riyan is frequently used among the old generation.

In both Greek and Japanese architecture, a module is used from which all other dimensions for architectural features are derived. In the case of Greco-Roman architecture, it is the diameter of the columns; in Chinese temples it is the width of the rafter. In Japanese room layouts, this module is the ken which is about six feet. The basic module for dimensioning wood members is, however, 4 sun which is about 121 mm [Engel, H. (1985). Measure and Construction of the Japanese House. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing]. In Maldives, neither the riyan nor any other unit seems to have been used as a module. However, further research, especially the old mosques features need to measured to determine the existence of a module in the design of, at least, mosques.

In Part 3 of this series of articles, I discuss the types of shelters used in the Maldives and the construction of basic buildings.