Changing lives for the remaining sea nomads of the Andaman coast
In Southeast Asia, as in so much of the World, traditional ways of life are disappearing fast. Ethnic groups and cultures are being absorbed into the modern world before our very eyes. In the past few decades nomadic groups that roamed across national borders have largely been settled in villages, and so their way of life rapidly evolves to accommodate these changes. The internet, mass tourism, and the accelerated rate at which ‘undeveloped’ land is disappearing have speeded up this process. But, even among the new tourist hotels and shopping malls some, like the Chao Lay, still cling on, for now.
The Urak Lawoi are part of the Chao Lay people, thought to have come from Malaysia four or five hundred years ago. The Chao Lay are commonly referred to as Sea Nomads or Sea Gypsies, reflecting their nomadic lifestyles, at least until very recent times. Much has changed for the Chao Lay in the past twenty years. They still have few land rights, though that has improved significantly. Their communities face growing pressure from developers, but also from marine conservation areas limiting their traditional fishing grounds. In Phuket in particular, the demand for coastal land for development is huge. The lack of literacy among many Chao Lay, and unfamiliarity with Thai law, has allowed unscrupulous developers to exploit these limitations and grab land. The Urak Lawoi villagers in Rawaii have recently won a nine year long legal battle against developers who claimed ownership of their land and wished to expel them. A welcome victory but only one against relentless pressure. In other locations, such as Ko Lipe island, to the south, the Urak Lawoi have become illegal squatters on their own lands.
I don’t get in to the water as much as I used to. It can be hard to make the time between other projects. Monsoon winds and rain have not helped recently, turning the water into a green, turbid soup. But here’s a picture , taken yesterday, from a small, personal project.
The Chao Lay comprise three distinct ethnic groups in Thailand; the Moken that inhabit the islands of the northern shores of the Andaman Sea, the Moklen, along the central shores and islands, and the Urak Lawo of Krabi, Phuket and Trang. Even among Thais, these communities were largely unknown until 2004. They were officially stateless and landless people. The devastation wreaked by the 2004 tsunami hit the Chao Lay particularly hard. Many were killed and much property destroyed. Government agencies and Relief groups suddenly became aware of the Chao Lay and the problems they faced, in particular their statelessness and diminishing access to the resources needed for their traditional lifestyles. Somewhere around 12,000 Chao Lay are believed to live in communities scattered along the Andaman coast of Thailand.
Below: A Chao Lay diver works inside a fish trap on the seabed, repairing a break in the net wall after having having transferred all fish to a smaller net, ready to take them to the surface.
One, perhaps unexpected, problem appears to have arisen – in part at least – out the recent granting of Thai citizenship to the Chao Lay. Overall, this must be viewed as a good thing, granting them right and a level of security they previously did not have. The flip side is that many of the younger generation are branding themselves as ‘Thai Mai’, literally ‘new Thai’ rather than Chao Lay. Surrounded by development: flashy cars, brand new hotels and affluent tourists, the ‘old ways’ are seen by some as backward, looked down upon, and something they wish to distance themselves from. How much longer the Chao lay in Thailand will survive as a distinct cultural and ethnic group is an open question.
Images and text copyright Colin Munro/Colin Munro Photography
For more stories, made to order framed wall-art canvas wrap prints, fine art prints, posters, stock images and more stories, visit my main site: www.colinmunrophotography.com
I write these posts primarily because I enjoy doing so. They’re free to read, and if you enjoyed reading this one I hope you’ll continue to read them (maybe even subscribe to my blog). I have no plans to paywall any of them. If you feel like you want to support my time input, well … I do like good coffee.
P.S I am now also on Substack
No Comments Yet