More on the Moken

The Moken, also referred to as the “Sea Gypsies”, are a cultural group whose home is the Mergui Archipelago, some 800 islands scattered along 400 kilometers of the Andaman Sea. They do not often mix with people and do not participate in any economic, social or even cultural activity of their country as they preserved their traditional, still very un-touched culture. They are doubtlessly the masters of the sea, as for generations they have been very close with the ocean on which they are born, live, and die. Amazingly, they can forage a living just using the wide sea as a source, using primitive, basic gear and their own developed hunting techniques to exploit the ocean organisms from it for their own food and survival.

The Moken spend 6-8 months every year traveling to coastal islands in their unique boat called the “kabang” which serves as a second home and a means of transportation. It includes a kitchen, beds, storage places and makes up a living quarter for a whole family, and even pets.