This last season of assessments has taken me to west coast of Thailand on its southern isthmus. Along with a couple of friends, I hopped on a long tail boat (see photo) and went to a few little islands just off the coast to seek out one of the three Sea Gypsy people groups-the Moken (roughly pronounced maw-can). One particular trip was a night excursion between two island villages.
9:30 pm- There was no moon and it was cloudy with a bit of sprinkles that tickled our necks. We hopped on a boat and got a ride from Phayam Island to Elephant Island in a boat that had no running lights. We did the trip completely in the dark over open water. The swell was only 1-3 feet so hardly any spray came in, yet the bow of the boat continually hammered into the surge with a “Boom, boom!” Our driver knew the waters well, but it still was a bit unnerving to travel without knowing where the shorelines ended and where possible outcroppings of rock began. The only shapes to be seen were the outlines of the islands that we passed or the occasional squid trawler over the dark, undulating expanse. The trip lasted for over an hour, and we landed safely on the beach around 11p.m.
The next morning, we visited a village to see if their heart language was still Moken or if they had switched to Thai. I also wanted to discover if they retained some aspects of their worldview (e.g. funeral practices, resolving domestic squabbles, use of indigenous clothing or national costume) or were in the midst of adopting the Thai culture. All the Moken I met were friendly and willing to share about themselves with a complete stranger-me. I was able to complete my survey.
Approaching A Village For Survey
Moken Couple In Their House
March 30th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
More interesting stuff!