Xavier Romero Frías facts for kids
Xavier Romero Frías is a Spanish writer and expert who was born in 1954. He lived among the people of the Maldives for 13 years. Today, he lives in Bangkok, Thailand.
Some of Xavier Romero Frías' books about local legends and traditions have been banned by the government of the Maldives.
Contents
Exploring Maldivian Culture
Xavier Romero Frías began studying the traditional stories and beliefs of the Maldives in 1979. To do this, he learned two different ways of speaking the Maldivian language very well. He also learned about their writing systems and Arabic. During his time in the Maldives, Romero Frías focused on collecting the old stories by becoming friends with older people on the islands he visited. Before his work, most Maldivian stories and legends were not written down.
Collecting Maldivian Stories
Romero Frías translated about one hundred Maldivian legends and tales into English. These stories were about local ghosts and old myths from many atolls in the Maldives, especially from the South and from Male. After this, he lived in India for twelve years. There, he studied Sanskrit and researched where Maldivian culture came from. During this time, he published a book about his findings called The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Another book he released in 2012 is Folk tales of the Maldives. This book is a collection of folk tales that he also illustrated himself.
His Impact and Art
Other experts have praised Romero Frías's work. For example, Sri Lankan scholar Rohan Gunaratna said he "followed the steps of British scholar HCP Bell." Roland Silva, who was in charge of the Archaeology Department of Sri Lanka, compared Romero Frías's important work to that of Henry Parker. Parker was a British expert who collected folk tales from villages in Sri Lanka around 1880.
In the 1980s, Romero Frías gave talks at the University of Madras. He was invited by Professor V. Sudarsan, who led the Anthropology Department. Over the past thirty years, he has written many articles and given talks about traditional Islam in the Maldives. He also spoke about how different beliefs mix together and the reasons behind certain types of violence.
As an artist, he has drawn pictures for books for the Ministry of Education in Malé, the Maldives. He also painted the fish and legends of the Maldives, as well as old sailboats. Some of his artworks were shown in an exhibition in Vienna, Austria, in 1987.
Understanding Maldivian Identity
Xavier Romero Frías wrote about how difficult it is for Maldivians to fully accept their own national identity. He explained that "In every Maldivian mind there is a sharp struggle between inherited customs and Muslim ideology." He added that because this problem is not solved, people often feel guilty. They feel frustrated because they cannot fit their old cultural heritage with their Islamic beliefs.
See also
In Spanish: Xavier Romero Frías para niños
- Maldivian folklore
