| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Maldives | |
| Languages | |
| Dhivehi | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Maldivians, Tamils, Dravidians |
The Giraavaru people are indigenous people of the Giravaaru islands that is part of Maldives. They are considered to be the earliest island community of the Maldives, predating Buddhism and the arrival of Indo-Aryan speakers in the archipelago. Their ancestors were ancient Tamil people who they referred to as 'Tamila'.[1][2] Other mainstream Maldivians considered them to be of lower social status.[3] They lived on the island of Giravaaru until 1972, but were later relocated to Male',[3] the nation's capital where they were assimilated in with the local social groups.[3]
- ^ Clarence Mahoney , People of the Maldive Islands (Himayatnagar , Hyderabad : Orient Blackswan, 2013), p.55
- ^ Maloney, Clarence. "Maldives People". Retrieved 2008-06-22.
- ^ a b c Kulikov, L.I. (2014). "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)". Zeitschrift für Ethnologie. 139 (2): 199–213 [203]. hdl:1887/32215.