Maldives: Lomafanu or copper plate grant, Male, mid-12th century CE

Lomafanu are ancient royal edicts written on copper plates. Lomafanu edicts were etched on copper plates held together by a ring of the same metal. They were written in the Evela form of the Divehi Akuru or old Maldive alphabet and they are very important documents in the History of the Maldives. The oldest lomafanu that have hitherto been found and preserved are from Male, the royal capital, and from the islands of Isdu and Dambidu in Haddhunmathi Atoll, where there were Buddhist monasteries. These copperplates were issued at the end of the twelfth century CE. These edicts make it clear that the general conversion from Buddhism to Islam was ordered by royal decree. Editor: Andrew Forbes Collection