A lot of Maldivians refer to Dhangethi as the ‘ Handhu Runbaa’ island. Handhu is the moon and Runbaa is jar in Dhivehi. Here’s the story why Dhangethi is called ‘Handhu Runbaa’ island. It was long back, ancestors of Dhangethi, who like any other Maldivian that time, depended on fishing. A group of fishermen set sail for fishing one night. It’s said that it was a lovely night with the sky beautifully lit by a crescent moon.
That night, one fisherman on the boat saw the reflection of the moon in the jar in the dhoni half filled with water. He immediately cried out to all his fellows to see what they had. Everyone was startled to see the Moon inside the jar. Wasting no time, they put a cap on the jar, tightened it securely and set sail to Male’. They wanted to give the then Radhun (king) the moon as an honorary. Once they reached Male’ and went to the king and gave him the good news, the king was rather surprised.
The King asked them to show what they had and when they opened the jar, to all of their disbelief and distress, the moon had vanished. This is one of the several versions of the story, the most common though. Ask Dhangethi people for more and they will be more than happy to tell about the legend. Even though the story is rather funny and people tease about the incident, civilians of Dhangethi are proud to have a story worthy telling.
