According to Allama Ahmed Shihabuddine of Addu Meedhoo, the son of Addu Bodu Fandiyaaru Thakurufaanu, the first inhabitants of the Maldives, the dheyvi's, came here around 4th century B.C. and had a leader whom they called 'Sawamia'.
Within a century after the colonization of the Maldives by the Dheyvis, another wave of travelers came from India and started to occupy the country with the former.