Ibn Batuta As like in any society, people in the Maldives have their own social customs, traditions and cultures, however, in time some of these customs got lost, perhaps in the hurdle of modernity. With the tourism boost in the 70's, came the influence of the western society. Some positive and some negative. I would like to talk about some of the old Maldivian cultures, that we do not follow anymore, forgotten or those that we may have known very little about. Of course these are very interesting traditions our forefathers practiced. I ll begin with Tangier traveler and Maldivian Chief Justice Abu-Abdullah Mohammed, the famous Ibn Batuta ( 1304-78) . He writes: "'The inhabitants of the Maldives Islands are honest and pious people, sincere in good faith and of a strong will; they eat only what is lawful, and their prayers are granted. When one of them meets another, he says God is my lord: Muhammad is my prophet: I am a poor ignorant being ."