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The Moken (also ''Mawken or'' ''Morgan''; ; th, ชาวเล, lit=sea people, translit=chao le) are an
Austronesian people The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austrones ...
of the
Mergui Archipelago The Mergui Archipelago (also Myeik Archipelago or ''Myeik Kyunzu''; my, မြိတ်ကျွန်းစု) is located in far southern Myanmar (Burma) and is part of the Tanintharyi Region. It consists of more than 800 islands, varying in ...
, a group of approximately 800 islands claimed by both Myanmar and Thailand. Most of the 2,000 to 3,000 Moken live a semi-nomadic
hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
lifestyle heavily based on the sea, though this is increasingly under threat. The Moken identify in a common culture; there are 1500 men and 1500 women who speak the
Moken language Moken is spoken by inhabitants in southern Myanmar and Southern Thailand, who refer to themselves as Moken (people) and Mawken. Classification The language is closely related to the Moklen language, and can be mistaken to be similar to Urak Lawo ...
, a distinct Austronesian language. Attempts by both Myanmar and Thailand to assimilate the Moken into the wider regional culture have met with very limited success. However, the Moken face an uncertain future as their population decreases and their nomadic lifestyle and unsettled legal status leave them marginalized by modern property and immigration laws, maritime conservation and development programs, and tightening border policies.


Nomenclature

The people refer to themselves as Moken. The name is used for all of the Austronesian speaking tribes who inhabit the coast and islands in the
Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated from ...
on the west coast of
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, the provinces of
Satun Satun (, , ms, Setul) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of the Satun Province. It covers the whole ''tambon'' Phiman of Mueang Satun. Satun lies 985 km south of Bangkok. As of 2005 it has a population of 21,498 ...
, Trang,
Krabi Krabi ( th, กระบี่, ) is the main town in the province of Krabi (''thesaban mueang'') on the west coast of southern Thailand at the mouth of the Krabi River where it empties in Phang Nga Bay. As of 2020, the town had a population of 3 ...
,
Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...
,
Phang Nga Phang Nga ( th, พังงา, , ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phang Nga Province. The town covers the whole ''tambon'' Thai Chang of Amphoe Mueang Phang Nga, Mueang Phang Nga district. As of 2005 it had a ...
, and
Ranong Ranong ( th, ระนองPronunciation) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of the Ranong Province and the Mueang Ranong District. The town covers completely the area of the '' tambon'' Khao Niwet (เขานิ ...
, up through the
Mergui Archipelago The Mergui Archipelago (also Myeik Archipelago or ''Myeik Kyunzu''; my, မြိတ်ကျွန်းစု) is located in far southern Myanmar (Burma) and is part of the Tanintharyi Region. It consists of more than 800 islands, varying in ...
of Myanmar. The group includes the Moken proper, the Moklen (Moklem), the Orang Sireh (Betel-leaf People), and the Orang Lanta. The last, the Orang Lanta, are a hybridized group formed when the Malay people settled the Lanta islands where the proto-Malay Orang Sireh had been living. The Moklen are considered to be mostly sedentary with more permanent villages in the provinces of Phang-nga, Phuket, Krabi, and Satun. These individuals also have closer ties to the countries in which they reside as they accept both the nationality and citizenship. Their children are also educated through local schools and are exposed to more mainstream cultural ideas. The Moken residing on the Islands of Surin retain their more traditional methods and lifestyle. The Burmese call the Moken "selung" or "chalome". In
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
they are called "chao le", which can mean people who "live by the sea and pursue a marine livelihood" or those who speak the Austronesian language. Another term that can be used is or "chao nam" ("people of the water"), although these terms are also used loosely to include the
Urak Lawoi Urak Lawoi ( ms, Orang Laut; th, อูรักลาโว้ย; ) are an Aboriginal Malay people residing on the islands of Phuket Province, Phuket, Phi Phi, Jum (island), Jum, Ko Lanta District, Lanta, Bulon and on Ko Lipe, Lipe and Ko Adan ...
and even the
Orang Laut The Orang Laut are several seafaring ethnic groups and tribes living around Singapore, peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian Riau Islands. The Orang Laut are commonly identified as the Orang Seletar from the Straits of Johor, but the term ma ...
. In Thailand, acculturated Moken are called "Thai mai" ("new Thais"). Because of their nomadic lifestyle, the Moken are also called "sea gypsies" (unrelated to the
Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
), a generic term that applies to a number of peoples in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
(see
Sea Gypsies (disambiguation) Sea Gypsies, Sea Gypsy, Sea Nomads and Sea Nomad may refer to: Ethnography * Sama-Bajau peoples, a collective name for several ethnic groups in the Philippines, Sabah, eastern Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and parts of Sarawak * Moken, an Austronesi ...
). The
Urak Lawoi Urak Lawoi ( ms, Orang Laut; th, อูรักลาโว้ย; ) are an Aboriginal Malay people residing on the islands of Phuket Province, Phuket, Phi Phi, Jum (island), Jum, Ko Lanta District, Lanta, Bulon and on Ko Lipe, Lipe and Ko Adan ...
are sometimes classified with the Moken, but they are linguistically and ethnologically distinct, being much more closely related to the Malay people.


Way of life

Their knowledge of the sea enables them to live off its
fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
and
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
by using simple tools such as nets and spears to forage for food, which allows them to impact the environment more minimally than other more intensive forms of subsistence. Furthermore, their frequent movement in kin groups of between two and ten families also allows the land to rest and prevents overuse. Moken are considered hunter-gatherers due to their nomadic lifestyle and lack of material good accumulation. They also believe strongly in the idea that natural resources cannot be owned individually but are rather something that the entire community has access to without restrictions. Their egalitarian society follows into their ancestral worship as they regularly present supernatural beings with food offerings. Aside from
ancestor worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...
, the Moken have no religion. More recently, they have reached out and begun trading some food (
sea cucumbers Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuria ...
and edible bird nests) as well as marine products like pearls for other necessities at local markets. Trading and epidemics (
cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
and
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
) also lead to their nomadic lifestyles in order to collect a variety of products to trade and to avoid the spread of deadly diseases. If an epidemic begins to spread, the infected members will remain at the location with a small amount of provisions, while healthy members will depart to a new location. The hope is that the provisions will allow the sick enough time to recuperate while not endangering the rest of the kin group with their sickness. The nomadic lifestyle can also reduce group conflict as affected parties may leave one kin group and enter another to give some distance and allow the feud to die down. After some time has passed and the arguing parties see each other once more, the intensity of the argument will have decreased leading to more amicable relationships. During the dry north-east monsoon season (when the sea is relatively calm), the Moken live on their boats called ''
kabang Kabang (February 29, 2008 – May 17, 2021) was a shepherd mix askal from Zamboanga City, Philippines, who became internationally famous and was described as a "hero dog" when she rescued two children from a potentially fatal motorcycle crash. ...
,'' which serve not just as transportation, but also as a kitchen, bedroom, and living area. Previously the Moken used a
Kabang koman Kabang (February 29, 2008 – May 17, 2021) was a shepherd mix askal from Zamboanga City, Philippines, who became internationally famous and was described as a "hero dog" when she rescued two children from a potentially fatal motorcycle crash. ...
, "a dug-out boat equipped with a
salacca ''Salacca'' is a genus of about 20 species of palms native to Southeast Asia and the eastern Himalayas. They are dioecious (with the exception of Salak Bali) and pollinated by Curculionidae beetles. They are very short-stemmed palms, with leave ...
gunwale
here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...
Salacca is a light wood with a long stem". To construct the boat, the different pieces are fitted into each other with the natural resources the Moken can find on land. The boat's usage was discontinued more than 40 years ago as the salt water eroded the wood within three to sixth months, therefore new techniques were devised to create more robust boats. The kabang last longer and one anthropologist, Jacques Ivanoff, suggests that the boat with its bifurcated bow and stern represent the human body. In monsoon season, which falls between the months of May and October, they set temporary camps on the mainland. During the
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
season, they build additional boats and forage for food in the forest. Some of the Burmese Moken are still nomadic people who roam the sea most of their lives; however, much of their traditional life, which is built on the premise of life as outsiders, is under threat.


History

There is much speculation as to the historical origins of the Moken people. It is thought that, due to their Austronesian language, they originated in Southern China as agriculturalists 5000–6000 years ago. From there, the Austronesian peoples dispersed and settled various South Asian Islands. It is theorized that the Moken were forced off of these coastal islands into a nomadic lifestyle on the water due to rising sea levels.


Underwater sight

For most of the human population, underwater vision is very poor for two different reasons. Both the curved
cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power ...
and the internal lens of the human fail in an aqueous solution. This accounts for two thirds of the optical power with air as the medium. In water this processing power is lost, meaning most are left with extremely blurry vision. Moken children, however, are able to see underwater while
freediving Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear. Besides the limits of breath-h ...
in order to collect clams, sea cucumbers, and more. They have actually been found to see better underwater than European children as their "spatial resolution smore than twice as good". A Swedish scientist, Anna Gislén, theorized that this was due to
constriction Constriction is a method used by various snake species to kill or subdue their prey. Although some species of venomous and mildly venomous snakes do use constriction to subdue their prey, most snakes which use constriction lack venom. The snake i ...
of their
pupil The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black ...
s and accommodation of their visual focus. Other than these abilities, the Moken children had regular corneal curvature meaning that their eyes had not evolved to be flatter like many fish nor had their eyes become
myopic Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include ...
as their vision on land is still clear. She tested this theory on seventeen Moken children and eighteen European children through sessions involving testing of underwater vision. Gislén's experiment affirmed her hypothesis, and she further discovered that European children could train themselves to develop this same trait. After eleven training sessions over one month, these European children developed underwater visual acuity equal to the Moken children's. At the same time, Gislén also documented that the European children sustained temporary eye irritation ("red eyes") as a result of their underwater dives, unlike the Moken children. Gislén's work highlights that both environmental/behavioral
conditioning Conditioning may refer to: Science, computing, and technology * Air conditioning, the removal of heat from indoor air for thermal comfort ** Automobile air conditioning, air conditioning in a vehicle ** Ice storage air conditioning, air condition ...
and evolutionary adaptation are involved in the reported phenomenon of improved aquatic vision in Moken children. Members of another sea nomad group, the
Sama-Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exo ...
, appear to have a number of genetic adaptations to facilitate a lifestyle involving extensive freediving.


Governmental control

The Burmese and
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
governments have made attempts at assimilating the people into their own culture, but these efforts have met with limited success. Thai Moken have been permanently settled in villages located in the Surin Islands (
Mu Ko Surin National Park The Surin Islands ( th, หมู่เกาะสุรินทร์, ) is an archipelago of five islands in the Andaman Sea, 60 km from the Thai mainland. Administratively, the islands are part of Tambon Ko Phra Thong, Khura Buri Dist ...
), in
Phuket Province Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...
, on the northwestern coast of Phuket Island, and on the nearby
Phi Phi The Phi Phi Islands ( th, หมู่เกาะพีพี, , ) are an island group in Thailand between the large island of Phuket and the Straits of Malacca coast of Thailand. The islands are administratively part of Krabi Province. Ko Phi ...
Islands of Krabi Province. The
Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated from ...
off the Tenasserim coast was the subject of keen scrutiny from Myanmar's regime during the 1990s due to offshore
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
discoveries by
multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
s including
Unocal Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...
,
Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad (National Petroleum Limited), commonly known as Petronas, is a Malaysian oil and gas company. Established in 1974 and wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with all oil and gas reso ...
and others. Reports from the late-1990s told of forced relocation by Myanmar's
military regime A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...
of the sea nomads to mainland sites. It was claimed most of the Moken peoples had been relocated by 1997, which is consistent with a pervasive pattern of
forced relocation Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
of suspect ethnic, economic and political groups, conducted throughout Myanmar during the 1990s. In Thailand, the Moken have been the target of land grabs by developers contesting their ownership of ancestral lands. Although nomadic peoples have resided in Thailand's Andaman coastal provinces for several centuries, they have historically neglected to register official ownership of the land due to their lack of knowledge and involvement in legal protocol.


2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

The islands the Moken inhabit received much media attention in 2005 during the recovery from the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
. As they are keenly attuned to the ocean, the Moken in some areas knew the tsunami that struck on 26 December 2004 was coming and managed to preserve many lives. However, in the coastal villages of Phang Nga Province, like Tap Tawan, the Moken suffered severe devastation to housing and fishing boats in common with other Moken communities.


See also

*
Moklenic languages The Moklenic or Moken–Moklen languages consist of a pair of two closely related but distinct languages, namely Moken and Moklen. Larish (1999) establishes the two languages as forming two distinct subgroups of a larger Moken–Moklen branch. La ...
*
Sama-Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exo ...
* Sea Nomads, a disambiguation page *
Urak Lawoi Urak Lawoi ( ms, Orang Laut; th, อูรักลาโว้ย; ) are an Aboriginal Malay people residing on the islands of Phuket Province, Phuket, Phi Phi, Jum (island), Jum, Ko Lanta District, Lanta, Bulon and on Ko Lipe, Lipe and Ko Adan ...


Notes


Further reading

* Bernatzik, H. A., & Ivanoff, J. (2005). ''Moken and Semang: 1936–2004, persistence and change''. Bangkok: White Lotus. *Ivanoff, J. (2001). ''Rings of coral: Moken folktales''. Mergui archipelago project, no. 2. Bangkok, Thailand: White Lotus Press. *Ivanoff, J. (1999). ''The Moken boat: symbolic technology''. Bangkok: White Lotus Press. *Ivanoff, J., Cholmeley, F. N., & Ivanoff, P. (1997). ''Moken: sea-gypsies of the Andaman Sea, post-war chronicles''. Bangkok: Cheney. *Lewis, M. B. (1960). ''Moken texts and word-list; a provisional interpretation''. Federation museums journal, v.4. uala Lumpur Museums Dept., Federation of Malaya. *White, W. G. (1922). ''The sea gypsies of Malaya; an account of the nomadic Mawken people of the Mergui Archipelago with a description of their ways of living, customs, habits, boats, occupations, etc''. London: Seeley, Service & Co. *White, W. G. (1911). ''An introduction to the Mawken language''. Toungoo: S.P.G. Press.


External links


Project Moken

"The Sea Gypsies"
(CBS-TV; 60 Minutes; 2005).
Salons: Sea Gypsies @ Enchanting Myanmar

Moken: Sea Gypsies @ National Geographic
(Subscription Required)

(Tsunami Extra)
Phuket Magazine: The Moken – Traditional Sea Gypsies


– Burma "Sea Gypsies" Compendium
Moken language and verbs

Ethnologue report for Moken


– Expeditions, Research in Applied Anthropology
"The Sea Gypsies of Surin Island" by Antonio Graceffo

images of Moken children underwater



A reading list of books on the Moken and the Mergui Archipelago

Moken music, Archive.org
{{Authority control Austronesian peoples Ethnic groups in Myanmar Ethnic groups in Thailand Modern nomads Nomadic groups in Eurasia