Urak Lawoi (; ; ) are an
aboriginal Austronesian people residing on the islands of
Phuket
Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...
,
Phi Phi
The Phi Phi Islands (, , ) are an island group in Thailand between the large island of Krabi Province, Krabi and the Straits of Malacca coast of Thailand. The islands are administratively part of Krabi Province. Ko Phi Phi Don (, ) (''ko'' 'isl ...
,
Jum,
Lanta
The Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA) is a regional public transportation authority that provides public bus and rapid transit service throughout the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, including Allentown, Bethl ...
,
Bulon and on
Lipe and
Adang, in the
Adang Archipelago,
off the western coast of
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. They are known by various names, including Orak Lawoiʼ, Lawta, Chao Tha Le (), Chao Nam (), and Lawoi.
The population of approximately 6,000 speak a language related closely to
Malay but influenced by
Thai. The Urak Lawoi are one of several Austronesian ethnicities referred to as "Sea Gypsies" (''chao leh'' in Thai).
The local way of life has been changing rapidly in recent years, due to the rapid encroachment of the
market economy
A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...
, and the opening of
Tarutao National Marine Park
Tarutao National Park () consists of 51 islands in the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of Satun Province of southern Thailand. The Tarutao National Park consists of two island groups: ''Tarutao'' (, or ) and ''Adang-Rawi'' (, ), which are s ...
.
See also
*
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 ...
References
Ethnic groups in Thailand
Nomadic groups in Eurasia
{{Asia-ethno-group-stub