Abstract:
The most popular form of poetry in Dhivehi (an Indo-Aryan
language of the Maldives) before the twentieth century, raivaru, utilizes the
scrambling of syllables as a poetic device. Scrambling harnesses processes typ-
ically associated with language games. Yet, while players of language games
transform words according to rigid processes, Maldivian poets scramble sylla-
bles in response to six poetic constraints. Two broad forms of scrambling may be
distinguished: intraword vs. long-distance. One factor that may influence the
poet’s decision to scramble syllables in particular ways is the recitation melody.
