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.
Chao lay, in Thai language, literally translated means People of the Sea (Chao means citizens, folk or inhabitants; Thale translates as ‘the sea’). It’s something of a catch all term for a number of ethnically related groups that live on or by the sea along the coasts of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. They are all linked by cultural similarities and speaking similar Austronesian languages (rather than the Thai, Burmese or Malay of the mainland). In Thailand three distinct groups are found, the Moken of the Surin Islands, the Moklen on Peninsular Thailand, and the Urak Lawoi in Phuket, Rawaii and islands of Phang Gna Bay. The Moken and Urak Lawoi are often lumped together as ‘sea gypsies’ or ‘sea nomads’ , reflecting their nomadic lifestyles, at least until very recent times (the Moklen having settled on the mainland longer and are no longer closely associated with the sea). Much has changed for the Moken and Urak Laoi 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.
The Urak Lawoi are thought to have come from Malaysia four or five hundred years ago. 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.
Even among Thais, Chao Lay 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. Few if any were killed, knowledge passed down through generations allowed them to recognise the danger approaching and move to higher ground, but their bamboo and wooden villages were devastated. 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
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