Sea Gypsies Saw Signs In The Waves

How Moken People In Asia Saved Themselves From Deadly Tsunami

(CBS)  Dr. Narumon Hinshiranan is an anthropologist, and one of the very few experts who speak the Moken language.

How did the Moken know that the tsunami was coming? "The water receded very fast and one wave, one small wave, came so they recognized that this is not ordinary," says Hinshiranan. "And then they have this kind of legend that passed from generations to generations about seven waves."

It’s a legend recited around campfires, bearing an astonishing resemblance to what actually happened on Dec. 26, 2004.

They call it the Laboon, the "wave that eats people," and it’s brought on by the angry spirits of the ancestors. Before it comes, the sea recedes. Then the waters flood the earth, destroy it, and make it clean again.

"So basically, the tsunami myth is that the world is reborn after it is covered with water," says Simon. "So, we're back to the Biblical flood."

"Yes," says French anthropologist Jacques Ivanoff, the world’s foremost authority on the Moken. He's been living with them on and off for more than 20 years. 60 Minutes joined him on a voyage of discovery.

Ivanoff was going to the Moken islands off the coast of Burma, a military dictatorship closed to the outside world.

Ivanoff’s boat, a converted cargo ship called the Moken Queen could have sailed right off the pages of Joseph Conrad. The captain was called “Long Ear,” and the crew was Burmese. The deck was shrouded in nets to keep out malarial mosquitoes.

All sense of time of the 21st century seemed to evaporate into the tropical night air as the boat probed farther and farther into what often seemed to be the heart of darkness.

"You are outside of everywhere. You are nowhere, in fact," says Ivanoff.

At dawn, two Moken boats came out of nowhere. The Moken on the two boats hadn’t seen each other since the tsunami and started exchanging tales of survival. While the Moken off Thailand had been on dry ground, these Moken in Burmese waters had been in their boats, at sea.

"The water had such unbelievable strength," said one Moken man. "It was swirling like a whirlpool as if it was boiling and coming from the depths of the earth."

Like their Thai cousins, these Moken also knew what to do. Since they were at sea, they made for deeper water and were spared. Others, like some Burmese fishermen near them, were not.

"How come they knew something was wrong, and the Burmese fishermen did not," Simon asked the Moken man. "They weren’t Burmese businessmen; they were fishermen. They should know the sea, too."

"They were collecting squid, they were not looking at anything. They saw nothing, they looked at nothing. They don’t know how to look," says the Moken man. "Suddenly, everything rose up, their boats were thrown up in the air. The violence was unbelievable."

A family of Moken was living on a boat on the beach when the Moken Queen got to shore. But during the tsunami, they had also been at sea. Simon started by introducing himself.

Simon: My name is Bob.

Moken man: Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob.

We had come here to find out whether these people had survived the tsunami. We wound up captivated by their culture. We had never seen anything like it.

[messages17]

What an amazing culture! To not have the word "want" in your language or the behavior or actions associated with it.
What wouild it take for any of us to spend a day and not be touched by the energy of someone/business telling us to Want It.
Saks 5th Avenue ran an ad campaign this year the" centeal theme was stated on every advertisement WANT IT - The fashion world has blessed it and we have it." We are so deluged by the message want me, buy me - that we don't even know it anymore.

[messages17]

What an amazing culture! To not have the word "want" in your language or the behavior or actions associated with it.
What wouild it take for any of us to spend a day and not be touched by the energy of someone/business telling us to Want It.
Saks 5th Avenue ran an ad campaign this year the" centeal theme was stated on every advertisement WANT IT - The fashion world has blessed it and we have it." We are so deluged by the message want me, buy me - that we don't even know it anymore.

[messages17]

What an amazing culture! To not have the word "want" in your language or the behavior or actions associated with it.
What wouild it take for any of us to spend a day and not be touched by the energy of someone/business telling us to Want It.
Saks 5th Avenue ran an ad campaign this year the" centeal theme was stated on every advertisement WANT IT - The fashion world has blessed it and we have it." We are so deluged by the message want me, buy me - that we don't even know it anymore.

[minminmin-2009]

I'm less optimistic than some of you. I fear these people will be slowly steamrolled into somebody else's culture. Look how many cultures have fallen, the American Indians, the Hawaiians, the aborigines...the list is horribly long...I hope they hang in there.

[klifton2-2009]

In our quest to be "advanced" and "civilized" we have become irrelevant. Anyone who does not conform to our definition of civilized, we thumb our noses at them and handle them with disdain. Good for the Moken! Indeed, they have a lot to teach us, if only we are less arrogant and stop adopting the "I know best" attitude.

[rational_1]

I'm sitting here in front of my computer in an air conditioned office reading this article, before a full day of writing and meetings. The Moken, on the other hand, hang out with their kids and friends, live in a great place and don't worry about deadlines and other pressures. They seem really at peace (lucky them!!). Makes you wonder if our techno-civilization was really such a good idea!

[dukeudevil]

One gets the feeling that the Moken were here long before us (i.e., so-called civilized people) and will be here long after we "go," military bases and/or tsunamis withstanding.

Nice follow-up, CBSNews.com. Thanks for the update.

[brianbwb-2009]

to friquegnonm

The Moken have always been sea people , until only relatively recently untouched by other cultures. Their language does predate Buddhism, and the music is also unique, though this is changing. their culture assimilated Buddhist ideas, and later western ideas as and when they fit their aquatic lifestyle, but there is still a strong and proud tradition that clings to the root of their existance. The Moken came from the sea, they will go back to it.

[plainjean]

Great journalism CBS! Somewhere up above Margaret Mead is smiling down upon you. And those Mekon. Bob Simons has discovered the way to end global warming: live like the Mekon!

[msbb18]

*** great piece. check out John Lurie's video on fishing in the Andamon sea. Different, but interesting.

[friquegnonm]

Could someone please tell me if the language/society of the Moken predates or is subsequent to exposure to Buddhist ideas.