THE MOKEN
Human life - as all life on the planet - originated in the sea. Nobody knows this better than the Moken - a tribe of sea gypsies as they are called in Thailand and Myanmar, who has been living in and from the ocean, roaming through the Andaman Sea with their little flotillas over the last centuries.
They are among the last sea nomads still alive today and even though many of them settled down over the recent years, their connection with the sea, its rich fish and stunning corals got never lost. It enabled their communities to survive the tsunami of 2004 unharmed. Their graceful free diving and fishing skills allowed them to build communities based on equality and solidarity and with "no word for worries". Their lightweight kabang boats were the Moken's "ticket to freedom", making it possible to escape pirates, national military and missionaries alike.
Today, the Moken societies are changing. But their culture, history and traditions makes them proud, their closeness and connectivity to the sea lives on.
