Ethnic group of the Mergui Archipelago and Surin Islands
For the language, see Moken language.
Moken peopleMawken/Morgan ဆလုံလူမျိုး/ชาวเล
Moken girl wearing thanaka on her face
Total population
2,000–3,000 (2013)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Thailand Myanmar
Languages
Moken, Malay, Thai, Burmese, others
Religion
Ancestor worship, Buddhism, Islam
Related ethnic groups
Malay, Orang Laut, Bajau
Regions inhabited by peoples usually known as "Sea Nomads".[2]
Moken
Orang laut
Sama-Bajau
The Moken (also Mawken or Morgan; Burmese: ဆလုံ လူမျိုး; Thai: ชาวเล, romanized: chao le, lit. 'sea people') 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 2,000 to 3,000 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; there are 1500 men and 1500 women who 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.[3] 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.[4][5][6][7]
^"The lost world: Myanmar's Mergui Islands". Financial Times. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
^David E. Sopher (1965). "The Sea Nomads: A Study Based on the Literature of the Maritime Boat People of Southeast Asia". Memoirs of the National Museum. 5: 389–403. doi:10.2307/2051635. JSTOR 2051635. S2CID 162358347.
^Ivanoff, Jacques; Bountry, Maxime. "Moken sea-gypsies" (PDF). Lampi Marine National Park. International Scientific Network Tanaosri. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
^Some classifications do not include Moken under the Malayan languages, or even under the Aboriginal Malay group of languages. "Ethnologue report for Moken/Moklen" Ethnologue. Moken is considered part of, but isolated within, the (Nuclear) Malayo-Polynesian family, displaying no particular affinities to any other (Nuclear) Malayo-Polynesian language. Moreover, it has undergone strong areal influence from neighbouring Mon–Khmer languages, comparable to, but apparently independently from the Chamic languages.
^"'The ocean is our universe' - Survival International". Survivalinternational. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
^"The Moken of Burma and Thailand". Human Rights Watch. 25 June 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
^"The Moken". Projectmoken.com. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
The Moken (also Mawken or Morgan; Burmese: ဆလုံ လူမျိုး; Thai: ชาวเล, romanized: chao le, lit. 'sea people') are an Austronesian people of the Mergui...
Moken is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by inhabitants in southern Myanmar and Southern Thailand, who refer to themselves as Moken (people) and Mawken...
The Moklenic or Moken–Moklen languages consist of a pair of two closely related but distinct languages, namely Moken and Moklen. Larish (1999) establishes...
small community of the Moken or Morgan people (Thai: ชาวเล, romanized: chaao laeh, lit. 'sea people', 'sea gypsies'). The Moken population on the Surin...
Thailand. It is related to but distinct from the Moken language of Myanmar and southern Thailand. Unlike Moken, it is not spoken in Myanmar. Larish (2005)...
refuge, because it was almost impossible to control. For this reason, the Moken people found refuge here until the modern world intervened. The islands...
majority ethnic group in the southernmost three provinces, together with the Moken and Urak Lawoi ('sea gypsies'); and both groups of Hmong-Mien. Other ethnic...
languages such as Mon, Khmer, and Mlabri; Austronesian languages such as Cham, Moken and Urak Lawoi'; Sino-Tibetan languages like Lawa, Akha, and Karen; and...
the Indian subcontinent. Folk traditions of the area include that of the Moken seafarers and various kinds of ritual tribal dance. One instrument played...
Philippines, Sabah, eastern Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and parts of Sarawak Moken, an Austronesian ethnic group who maintain a nomadic, sea-based culture...
the Salones (Moken) and Pashus (Malays) migrated into Burma from the south and sea since prehistoric time. The Burmese call the Moken Selung, Salone...
of Mergui Archipelago islands of Myanmar and Thailand, commonly known as Moken. The population of this tribe is estimated in the 21st century to be 420...
Kochis Koryaks Kurumbar Maldhari pastoralist groups of Kutch Mansi people Moken Mongols Nenets Tarkhans Tibetans (primarily the Changpa at present) Turkic...
Riang Tai Loi Wa Mon Khamti Khün Tai Lue Tai Laing Tai Nuea Kedah Malay Moken Moklen Salone Standard Malay Hmong Nepali (Burmese Gurkha) Daingnet Rohingya...
Sora people Nicobarese people Shompen people Sri Lankan Malays Urak Lawoi Moken Badagas Brahui people Dongria Kondha Gondi people Irulas Kannadigas Khonds...
station, Chicago, US, a former railway station, now a rapid transit station Moken or Morgan, a seafaring ethnic group in the Andaman Sea Captain Morgan, a...
The Moken people of South-East Asia are able to focus underwater to pick up tiny shellfish and other food items. Gislén et al. have compared Moken and...
kingdom. Austrian anthropologist Hugo Bernatzik collected a tale from the Moken people with the title The frog and the maiden, which he considered to have...
communities, as well as the Lisu, Rawang, Naga, Padaung, Burmese Gurkha, Moken, and many minorities across Shan State. The official language and primary...
(Quebec, Ontario), United States (New York) Animism, Christianity Moken Austronesian → Moken Thailand, Myanmar (Mergui Archipelago, Surin Islands) Buddhism...
initial inhabitants of Ko Yao were the Moken peoples, often referred to as Sea Gypsies. In addition to the Moken, the region has seen the migration of...
Moken may refer to: One of the Moken peoples Moklen language This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Moklen. If an internal link...
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