Savants of the sea engulfed by politics - Thai Moken sea gypsies

[Dover]

Savants of the sea engulfed by politics

By Tom Vater
Photographs by Aroon Thaewchatturat


KO SURIN, Thailand - The Moken sea gypsies, a small indigenous fishing community in Thailand, relied on their deep knowledge of the sea to save the lives of tourists and locals when the giant tsunami that devastated coastal communities in South Asia swept across their islands. Yet the Moken are facing stark choices in the aftermath of the catastrophe, with the Thai government now pursuing them to consider citizenship.

The Moken, animist, nomadic boat dwellers, have been sailing the Andaman Sea for centuries. They make their homes among the nearly 800 islands scattered along the sea off Myanmar. The Moken are ethnically separate from people in Thailand or Myanmar, with their own culture, language and way of living.

There are currently more than 3,000 Moken following this traditional lifestyle. Most live off the coast of Myanmar, though 200 of these sea dwellers live on the islands of Ko Surin National Park in Phang Nga district on the west coast of Thailand.

Ko Surin, a stunningly beautiful and popular marine park, has some of Thailand's prime coral reefs, frequently visited by scuba divers and tourists from all over the world. The park, which lies far from the Thai coast and close to the border with Myanmar, has for decades afforded the nomadic sea dwellers some degree of protection against the vagaries of modern life.

In recent years, however, the Moken have been under intense pressure from authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to abandon their transient culture and assimilate into mainstream Thai society, a development the community has been quietly resisting. What's more, increased contact with park staff and tourists tempts the community to adapt to the modern world. Prior to the tsunami, the Moken ran several television sets off car batteries in their village and were encouraged by NGOs to produce tourist trinkets. The ancient art of building kabang, traditional Moken houseboats, has been slowly dying out. The long-term effects of the tsunami may now force the Moken to give up completely their struggle to maintain their unique culture. ..cont'd

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/GD23Ae03.html