Toddy ‘is the sweet sap of a variety of Asian palm tree used as a beverage, either fresh or fermented’. Toddy collecting is a long standing traditional occupation in the Maldives, but despite being hard and risky, it does not provide a substantial income. In fact, they are classed amongst the lowest income earners. To collect the toddy, the flower casing (bud) is cut at the top end before it blossoms and an empty coconut shell is hung to collect the drip (sap). It can take several hours to fill a shell, which usually has a capacity of about 500 ml. This coconut shell collector is locally called ‘Golhaa’, a word that originated from snail shell because it looks like a coconut shell according to linguists. When filled, the collector, known locally as ‘Raaveriya’ (toddy collector) or ‘Ruh Araameeha’ (palm tree climber) climbs up the tree and empties the toddy into a container made of two coconut shells in a vertical configuration, called ‘Raa Badhi’. Raaveriyaa then walks around the island selling the toddy by the glass, and if he cannot sell his daily collection, it is cooked to make liquid sugar called ‘Dhiyaa Hakuru’, which the Maldivians love to eat with rice, coconut and dried fish, in addition to being a main ingredient for several local sweet dishes, such as cakes and sweet breadfruit dessert, among other.
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