Dhumashi (Maldivian smoking rack)

A rack for smoked fish

Dhumashi is the Dhivehi name for a Maldivian fish rack. In the valhomas process, cleaned tuna is cut into long pieces called ari and cooked in salted water. The fish is then placed on the raised rack above an open fire to smoke. Traditional racks are made from dried coconut-palm stalks, while metal racks are a more recent variant. Coconut shells and wood are reported as fuels. After smoking, the fish is dried in the sun. The rack holds the fish during smoking; it is not the pot used for cooking or the surface used for the later sun-drying stage.

A dhumashi is a rack rather than a firebox, smoking cabinet or drying platform: it holds fish over open fire pits through the smoking stage. It is one movable component in a wider sequence that includes boiling and a separate period of sun drying. This distinction keeps the open rack separate from enclosed modern smoking equipment, which is not the same object. No island-level origin or standard rack design is established; the supported association is country-level, with the Maldives.

Two materials mark documented variants: dried coconut-palm stalks in the traditional form and metal in more recent versions. The rack itself does not supply heat; the fire below provides smoke. Proper handling of raw fish remains necessary before cooking. A rack, smoking and later sun exposure do not remedy mishandling before the fish is cooked.