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The Sea Gypsies of Surin Island |
| Section: CULTURE / CROSSROADS |
| Author: Antonio Graceffo |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 9/1/2007 |
| Size: 2,846 Words, 16,353 Characters |
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One of the smallest ethnic minorities in Asia, the Mogen people -- commonly called Sea Gypsies -- were virtually unknown to the outside world until the 2004 tsunami ravaged South East Asia. One of the most amazing stories reported by the international press at that time was that not one of the Sea Gypsies had died as a result of the tsunami.
Having lived for centuries in close communion with the sea, the Sea Gypsies incredibly anticipated that a tsunami would hit and took timely refuge inland, in the mountains. How could these people have possibly foretold the impending disaster of the tsunami? In interviews, several Mogen said simply “the fish told us about the tsunami.” Suarama Mogen, the 62 year-old headman of a village on Surin Island, said that their animist lore had warned them of the tsunami, so when they saw the sea recede they knew what was coming. Many Mogen men got in their boats and paddled to the other side of the island rescuing tourists. Some Mogen, out at sea, actually rode it out. They knew how to paddle out beyond the wave and how to negotiate the whirlpools that followed.
Soon after this story broke, international attention began to focus on these fascinating people. They would have much preferred to remain anonymous. Aid began pouring in changing the economic dynamic, as well as the diet of the Mogen. The press came. Tourists came. And soon, government regulations came. The Mogens' way of life had been altered forever.
Traditionally a nomadic people who spend much or all of their lives living on their boats, the Sea Gypsies inhabit the waters off of Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, ...
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...ith the foreigners, learning foreign ways. In spite of government protections, more and more tourists come to gawk at the Mogen. They bring with them outside cultural influence and a dependence on cash.
The tsunami didn’t kill the Mogen people, but it's wake has put their culture and way of life in peril. It remains to be seen how much longer their unique and distinct heritage can survive.
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
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articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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