There are two well-known local stories about this stone located near the Kandhuvalu Miskiyy. One tells of Muhammad Thakurufaanu (d. 1585) victorious over a monster that he managed to shrink to the size of a perfume bottle during their battle. He then killed the monster and put it in a bottle and buried it. He placed a stone as a marker on the place where he buried the monster. The second story frames the appearance of monsters on the island in relation to the prolonged absence of men from the island while they were away fishing and working abroad. One day Thakurufaanu visited the island and the women asked him for help against the monsters. After listening to the women’s stories about their plight, he then carved the stone to protect them. The stone is called Leylaa Gaa (blood stone) because the sea moss that covered the stone and the mortar that was applied to the stone combined in a chemical reaction that turned the stone to a red color. People misinterpreted this red color for blood and therefore named it blood stone.

MHS Site No.: HAF-UTM-2-SO24
Interlocutor: Abdul Lateef Ibrahim (55)
Interviewer: Mohamed Shamran
Date: 13 December 2019
Atoll: Haa Alif
Island: Utheemu
Address: Vaijeheyge