Traditional Life
Figure 19.1: Sea Floor Gathering
The Moken tribe of the Andaman Sea are extraordinary people. They spend their whole life by the sea. They spend more than half the year on their hand crafted boats (each boat is made from a single tree, figure 19.1 - 21 and 24-27) that not only provide them with transportation, but also supply a kitchen area, bedroom and living room and are equipped with all other necessary living components... Their life, is the sea.
Moken children learn to swim before they can walk or talk. They learn how, when and where to get the necessities of life. They learn how to read the signs of the sea. They grow to be extraordinary fishermen/women and divers - they are able to catch marine animals using a spear with ease, go over 23 metres deep without any life support, learn to lower their heart rate to stay underwater twice as long as the average person and constrict their pupils underwater to sharpen their eyesight: all from a very young age.
"The marine resources are a major source of food, a reservoir of minerals, major suppliers of oxygen, regulator of climate and also an ultimate dumping ground for the mounting burden of human waste material." (Pai:2007) The Moken People know this the best of everyone.
It would be very easy for the Moken to diminish the environment by overusing the resources available to them to sell or trade. But they choose against this. They choose to lead a simple, tranquil, non-violent life, sharing everything with each other; treating everyone as family. A sustainable life by the sea.
Moken children learn to swim before they can walk or talk. They learn how, when and where to get the necessities of life. They learn how to read the signs of the sea. They grow to be extraordinary fishermen/women and divers - they are able to catch marine animals using a spear with ease, go over 23 metres deep without any life support, learn to lower their heart rate to stay underwater twice as long as the average person and constrict their pupils underwater to sharpen their eyesight: all from a very young age.
"The marine resources are a major source of food, a reservoir of minerals, major suppliers of oxygen, regulator of climate and also an ultimate dumping ground for the mounting burden of human waste material." (Pai:2007) The Moken People know this the best of everyone.
It would be very easy for the Moken to diminish the environment by overusing the resources available to them to sell or trade. But they choose against this. They choose to lead a simple, tranquil, non-violent life, sharing everything with each other; treating everyone as family. A sustainable life by the sea.
The Moken people worship the sea and respect its powers. There are many myths and legends that have been passed down, generation to generation throughout the Moken tribe about the ocean and sea. Because they have learnt how to read the ocean's signs, the Moken were able to avoid most of the terrible effects the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami brought, by searching for higher ground before anyone else even new it was coming.
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When the tribe was asked to talk about the tsunami, they talked about the Laboon, the wave that eats people. This is an example of a Moken legend.
"Angry ancestral spirits bring on this 'Big Wave,' but before it arrives, the sea recceds. Saleh Kalathalay, the village headman, recognised these signs before the 2004 Tsunami struck, and ran to warn everyone to move to higher ground to avoid impending wave." (Ydong: 2012) |
The Moken are nomads. They travel with the marine resources as not to keep taking from one particular area. It can also help them avoid certain naturally occurring disasters. Every time they move to a new island, they have to rebuild their civilisation (Figure 22 and 23).