Thailand's Moken Tribe

Thailand's Moken Tribe

On Thailand's tropical Surin Islands lies one of the world's fastest disappearing cultures.

The Moken, a nomadic sea tribe that has roamed the Andaman sea for centuries, are in a desperate fight to keep their traditions alive. Having survived the 2004 tsunami by recalling their ancestors' cautionary tales, the winds of modernity are now proving a greater threat to their way of life.

Two hundred Moken gypsies live on the Surin Islands, as part of one of the only communities where children still speak fluent Moken and young men spear fish the traditional way, by holding their breath and diving to great depths.

But the islands are part of a national park, so the Moken are prohibited from cutting down trees to make their traditional boat, the kabang.
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During the dry season, Mokens would spend months at sea aboard their wooden kabangs, only living on land during the rainy season when the seas were menaced by monsoon storms. Just a few generations ago, most nomadic Mokens were born on kabangs. But today, there are hardly any left in Thailand. The only kabang 101 East could find was built specifically for tourists.

Spearfishing has long been integral to the Moken way of life, but overfishing has emptied nearby seas. Moken divers now have to dive deeper and go further out to sea to find fish. Many have died from decompression sickness.

Today, many Mokens have abandoned their nomadic ways, and live where their ancestors spent monsoon seasons. Those stretches of shoreline are now greatly sought after by developers, eager to cash in on the growing tourist demand for tropical beaches. As property values skyrocket, fiercely contested land battles are playing out, with the Moken often on the losing side.

One such community can be found on Rawai beach, on Thailand's Phuket island. More than a dozen lawsuits have been filed by a deed owner against residents of Rawai. To investigate the Mokens' claim to the land, the government has dug up old Moken graves in the area. Businessman and deed owner Piyawat says he legally purchased the land in 2008, not knowing that so many Moken were already living there. Since then, he says he has not been able to use his land because local residents chase him out. After years of legal battles, there is still no resolution in sight.

While the post-tsunami aid has brought education and healthcare to the Moken, it has also left many on the fringes of society.

Now, as the Mokens attempt to strike a balance between tradition and modernity, can they maintain their life when the ocean resources they depend on are fast depleting? Will they be able to preserve their traditions while adapting to modern Thai life? And can they survive a cultural crisis that may be a greater threat than any tsunami?