Moken people
Sign in to saveAlso known as Moken
thumb|300px|Regions inhabited by peoples usually known as "Sea Nomads". The Moken (also Mawken or Morgan; ; ) are an Austronesian people of the Mergui Archipelago, a group of approximately 800 islands claimed by both Myanmar and Thailand, and the Surin Islands. Most of the Moken live a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle heavily based on the sea, though this lifestyle is increasingly under threat.
Key facts
- Ethnic group.group
- Moken people Mawken/Morganဆလုံလူမျိုး/ชาวเล
- Ethnic group.image
- Moken girl.jpg
- Ethnic group.caption
- Moken girl wearing thanaka on her face
- Ethnic group.langs
- Moken, Malay, Thai, Burmese, others
- Ethnic group.rels
- Ancestor worship, Buddhism, Islam
- Ethnic group.related
- Malay, Orang Laut, Bajau
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- ethnic group
- Country
- Myanmar
- Image
- Índios da etnia Bororo-Boe.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- Commons category
- Moken
- described by source
- New International Encyclopedia
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Nomenclature
- Way of life
- History
- Underwater sight
- Governmental control
- 2004 tsunami
- See also
- Notes
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|300px|Regions inhabited by peoples usually known as "Sea Nomads". The Moken (also Mawken or Morgan; ; ) are an Austronesian people of the Mergui Archipelago, a group of approximately 800 islands claimed by both Myanmar and Thailand, and the Surin Islands. Most of the Moken live a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle heavily based on the sea, though this lifestyle is increasingly under threat.
The Moken identify in a common culture and some speak the Moken language, a distinct Austronesian language. Attempts by both Myanmar and Thailand to assimilate the Moken into the wider regional culture have met with very limited success. However, the Moken face an uncertain future as their population decreases and their nomadic lifestyle and unsettled legal status leave them marginalized by modern property and immigration laws, maritime conservation and development programs, and tightening border policies.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Moken people” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.