Thai and Burmese Tribal Ethnic Groups: The Moken


Figure 1.--This underwater photo shows two Moken children of Surin Islands, Thailand. They are spearfishing with no equipment but the spear.

A destinctive Thai and Burmese tribal group group is the Moken. This is the term they used to describen themsleves. Other terms used to describe them in Thailand are the Mawken or Morgan. The Burmese call them the Moken Selung, Salone, or Chalome. This includes the Mergui Archipelago off the soutern peninsukar area of Burma. Moken is also used to describe all of the Austronesian speaking tribes who inhabit the coast and islands in the Andaman Sea on the western (peninsular) coast of Thailand and Burma. The Austronesian origins are a matter of some academic debate. For years ethnographers have theorized Taiwanese origins, but recent DNA ecidence suggests a much more longer operiod in the islands of Oceania that previously believed. Other groups often described as Moken are: the Moklen (Moklem), the Orang Sireh (Betel-leaf people) and the Orang Lanta. The Orang Lanta are a more recent addition, a hybridized group formed when the Malay people settled the Lanta islands which the proto-Malay Orang Sireh inhabited. The Urak Lawoi are sometimes groupoed within the Moken, but they are linguistically and ethnically different. They are ethically Malay.Way of life Popularly they are referred to in Thailand as the 'sea people' or 'watrer people'. We have also noted 'sea gypsies' being used. They are an Austronesian ethnic group composed of about 2,500 people. As their names sugget, they pursue a sea-based culture. They speak a destinctive language in the Austronesian language family rather than Thai. The Moken culture and livlihood is based on the sea. They live in boats in many coastal areas. They harvest sea foot, both fish and other seafood as well as seaweed. They used traditional methods,mostly spears and nets. What is not consumed immdediately is dried on the top if their boats. They brter their catch (peimarily the dried fish) in local markets for what they cannot produce themselves. Life is somewhat seasonal. During the Monsoon season the sea is to rough for the Moken to venture out on their small boats. They use the inactive time to build or repair their boats and nets. At this time they may build huts on land. One sourse suggests that the children from an early age spend so much time diving underwater that that they are able to see better underwater than on the surface. An accommodation of their visual focus seems to have occurred. [Travis, pp. 308-09.] As a result of Burmese policies after independence to pursue socialist, isolationist economic policies, Burma fell behind Thailand in economic development. The Thai economomy embracing free market capitalism wa able to achieve significant growth and modernization. As a result, the Moken in Burma are less assimilated. They still exhibit their traditional nomadic life-style, spending most of their lives at sea searching on small hand-crafted wooden boats which they call kabang. The boats are used not only to seach for fish and other seafood, but also as living accoimodations. Bith the Burmese abnd Thai Governments have attempted to assimilate the Moken. The Thais have had more success, but mnu Moken continue to prefer their traditional life style. The Moken because of their greater familiarity with the sea, managed to survuve the devestating 2004 Tusnami that devestated comminitirs throughout the Andaman Sea. A few Moken settlkements,however, were hard hit.

Sources

Travis, J. "Children of sea see clearly underwater," Science News (May 17, 2003) Vo. 163, No. 20, pp. 308-09.







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Created: 1:19 AM 6/10/2012
Last updated: 1:19 AM 6/10/2012