The Moken

Andrew Testa

Panos Pictures

THE MOKEN. 01. The Moken are a nomadic tribe who live on the Surin Islands islands 60 km off the coast of Thailand. Recent scientific studies have shown that the underwater eyesight of Moken children is more than50% percent better than the underwater eyesight of other children. Scientists believe that the Moken train their eyes to see better out of necessity, they have to hunt for fish, and also make out things on the sea bed far below them. Experiments are now underway in Sweden to see if other children can train their eyes in a similar way. The Moken spend a large part of their time in the sea, and seem almost as at home in that environment as on land. At present they have no Family names or citizensip, but the Thai authorities have proposed that they all be given the same second name, roughly translated it means 'Hero of the Sea'. The entire Moken population of the Surin Islands survived the recent Tsunami. News reports say that by the time the waves crashed ashore, the Moken were already on the higher ground and therefore safe. It is not known how they knew the waves were coming.

Andrew Testa, "The Moken," in POYi Archive, Item #34621, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/34621 (accessed November 22, 2024).