Pashu

From Mw

Myanmar Malay Muslims or Pashus or Bajau

The Moken (Thai:ชาวน้ำ also spelled Mawken or Morgan), are an Austronesian ethnic group with about 2,000 to 3,000 members who maintain a nomadic, sea-based culture. They speak their own language which belongs to the Austronesian language family.^[1]

Many Burmese Moken, especially those staying on shore on the mainland, that is on the west coast of Malay Peninsula intermarried with local Burmese Muslims, Arab and Indian seamen/traders. They are Muslims and speak Burmese and a Malay dialect. And some of them are holding Myanmar and Malaysia double citizenships although that practice is not accepted by both goverments. If those Malay descendants (Muslims) want to migrate back to Malaysia, there was even a special scheme to accept them back in 70’s. Many of them had relatives in Kedah and some in other northern states of Malaysia.

The first Muslims had landed in Myanmar (Burma’s) Tanintharyi coast as seamen in ninth century. [6] The dawn of the Muslim settlements and the propagation of Islam was widely documented by the Arab, Persian, European and Chinese travelers of Ninth century.[7]

The current population of Myanmar Muslims are the descendants of Arabs, Persians, Turks, Moors, Indian-Muslims and Malays who settled and intermarried with local Burmese and many ethnic Myanmar groups. [8][9]

Muslims arrived in Burma as travelers, adventurers, pioneers, sailors, traders,[10]Military Personals (voluntary and mercenary)[11], and some were reported to have taken refuge from wars, Monsoon storms and weather, shipwreck [12]and for a number of other circumstances. but many of them are professionals and skilled personals serving at various ranks of administration whilst others are port-authorities and mayors and traditional medicine men.[13]

In the chronicles of Malaysia, during the first Melacca Empire of Parameswara in the early fifteenth century, it was recorded the Burmese (Muslims) sailors and traders were regularly arriving there. [1] Those Bago (Pegu) seamen, likely to be Muslims, were also recorded by the Arab Historians of tenth century. During fifteen to seventeen centuries, there were a lot of records of Burmese Muslim traders, sailors and settlers on the whole coast of Burma. That was from Arakan coast (Rakhine), Ayeyarwady delta and Tanintharyi coast (Including all the islands along the whole coast).[14] During Peik Thaung Min (early Bagan dynasty, 652-660 AD), Arab travelers from Madagascar to China through East Indian Islands, visited Thaton and Martaban ports. It was recorded in Arab chronicles in 800 AD. [15]

In seventeenth century, those Muslims controlled the business and became so powerful because of their wealth. They were even appointed as Governor of Mergui, the Viceroy of the Province of Tenasserim, Port Authorities, Port Governors and Shah-bandars (senior port officials).[16] [17] [18]

Muslim sailors built many mosques, but those should be more appropriately called Temples as they were equally holy to Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Chinese. They were called Buddermokan,The so called Buddermokan on Sittway island is claimed by believers of different faiths. … ‘Buddermokan’ [19][20][21] in memory to Badral-Din Awliya, a saint. They are found in Akyab, Sandoway and on a small island off Mergyi. [22]

So Malays in Myanmar (called Salon or Pa Shu), are almost same as but a little bit different from the Malays in Southern Thailand, East and West Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and Indonesia. Pa Shu in Myanmar is likely to be the corrupted word (or a different slang) in Myanmar language from- Bajau. That Bajau tribe is the largest Muslim indigenous group in Sabah (East Malaysia). From the three groups of Bajau these Myanmar citizens of Malays are the Moken and the related Moklen group. They are mostly found in the Mergui Archipelago of Myanmar and the whole of the Tanintharyi coast.

Contents 1 Nomenclature 2 Way of life 3 Governmental control 4 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami 5 External links 6 See also 7 Further reading

[edit] Nomenclature

They refer to themselves as Moken. The name is used for all of the proto-Malayan speaking tribes who inhabit the coast and islands in the Andaman Sea on the west coast of Thailand, the provinces of Satun, Trang, Krabi, Phuket, Phang Nga, and Ranong, up through the Mergui Archipelago of Burma. [1]ma) The group includes the Moken proper, the Moklen (Moklem), the Orang Sireh (Betel-leaf people) and the Orang Lanta. The last, the Orang Lanta are a hybridized group formed when the Malay people settled the Lanta islands where the proto-Malay Orang Sireh had been living.

The Burmese call the Moken Selung, Salone, or Chalome.^[2] In Thailand they are called Chao Ley (people of the sea) or Chao nam (people of the water), although these terms are also used loosely to include the Urak Lawoi and even the Orang Laut. In Thailand, acculturated Moken are called Thai Mai (new Thais).

The Moken are also called Sea Gypsies, a generic term that applies to a number of peoples in southeast Asia. The Urak Lawoi are sometimes classified with the Moken, but they are linguistically and ethnologically distinct, being much more closely related to the Malay people.^[3][4]

[edit] Way of life

Their knowledge of the sea enables them to live off its fauna and flora by using simple tools such as nets and spears to forage for food. What is not consumed is dried atop their boats, then used to barter for other necessities at local markets. During the monsoon season, they build additional boats while occupying temporary huts. Because of the amount of time they spend diving for food, Moken children are able to see better underwater due to Accommodation (eye)of their visual focus.^[5][6]

Some of the Burmese Moken are still nomadic people who roam the sea most of their lives in small hand-crafted wooden boats called kabang, which serve not just as transportation, but also as kitchen, bedroom, and living area. However, much of their traditional life, which is built on the premise of life as outsiders, is under threat and appears to be diminishing.

[edit] Governmental control

The Burmese and Thai governments have made attempts at assimilating the people into their own culture, but these efforts have met with limited success. Thai Moken have been permanently settled in villages located in the Surin Islands Mu Ko Surin National Park^[7]), in Phuket]] Province, on the northwestern coast of Phuket Island, and on the nearby Phi Phi islands of Krabi province.^[8]

The Andaman Sea off the Tenasserim coast was the subject of keen scrutiny from Burma's regime during the 1990s due to offshore petroleum discoveries by multinational corporations including Unocal, Petronas and others. Reports from the late 1990s told of forced relocation by Burma's military regime of the 'Sea Gypsies' to on-land sites. It was claimed most of the Salone had been relocated by 1997, which is consistent with a pervasive pattern of forced relocation of suspect ethnic, economic and political groups, conducted throughout Burma during the 1990s.

[edit] 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

The islands where the Moken live received much media attention in 2005 during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and Southeast Asia Tsunami recovery, where hundreds of thousands of lives were lost in the disaster. As they are keenly aware of the sea, the Moken in some areas knew the tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004 was coming,^[9] and managed to preserve many lives.

Also spoken in: Thailand Language name Moken Region West coast of south Thailand, Phuket, Phangnga, Krabi, Ranong. Alternate names Mawken, Basing, Selung, Selong, Salong, Salon, Chau Ko’ Dialects Dung, Ja-It, L’be. Comments They live primarily on boats, but occasionally settle on islands in the area. Fishermen. Traditional religion, Muslim.

Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language: Academic Publications Amon Thavisak. 2001. “The effects of glottal finals on pitch in Southeast Asian languages.”

Pittayaporn, Pittayawat . 2006. “When words erode: Moken trisyllabic syncopation and PAn stress.”

Selung/Moken ETHNONYMS: The names used by and for nomadic boat people typically refer to the people’s connections with the sea. “Moken” (Mawken, Maw khen) is the name people living around the Mergui Archipelago of Myanmar (Burma) use to identify themselves. Originating from a Moken story, the name means “drowned people” or “people of the drowning,” maw or l’maw (drowning, to dip), o’en-ken abbreviated to oke’n (”salt water”), according to Bernatzik and to White. Anderson mentions people calling themselves Manoot (menut or manut, people) Ta’au (teau or t’ow, sea) or “people of the sea.” Similar terms for “people” are found in Thailand (chao) and Malaysia (orang) with words for “sea” (Thai le; Malay laut) or “water” (Thai nam); hence Thais call Moken “Chao Nam” or “Chao Le” and Malays use Orang Laut.

The meaning and etymology of the Burmese name Salon, Selon, Selong, Selung, or Silung is not clear; it may derive from the Thai-Malay placename Salang (Thalang) Phuket, where Moken may have lived. Other names for Moken are associated with sociopolitical status, geography, and environment; these include

1. Orang Rayat (Malay, “subject”) or
2. Rayat Laut (”the sea subjects”),
3. Orang Pesukuan (”people divided into clans”), and
4. Bajau (Bugis, “subject”), a term denoting sea people of north Borneo and the Sulu Archipelago (often equated with pirates).
5. Local groups may take the name of geographic places where they live (e.g., Orang Barok, for Baruk Bay, on the island on Singkep).

See also Bajau; Samal; Sea Nomads of the Andaman by BARBARA S. NOWAK

Religious Beliefs

1. Traditional animistic beliefs are allied to Malaysian Orang Asli ideology. Islamic, Christian, and Buddhist beliefs have filtered into the belief systems of local groups to varying degrees.
2. Moken of Mergui are the only group Islam has not penetrated.

Orang Laut range from nominal Muslims who continue to eat pork and do not fast during Ramadan to more conservative Muslims.

Ceremonies. Reminiscent of B’sisi’ and Jah Hut on the Malay Peninsula, Orang Laut shamans pull pain spirits from the sick and lure them into carved figures that are disposed of later.

Pashu is just the local name in Kawthaung for people of Malay ancestry. Actually the whole Burma is using this name, Pashu. It is also used to describe the mixed Malay-Burmese-Thai patois that many of them speak. Sometimes the word Pashu is also applied to the Moken as they are related to the Malays. An example of usage is the local Kawthaung name for Pterocarpus indicus or pashu-padauk while in English it is sometimes called Malay padauk. Almost all the Pashus are Muslims in Kawthaung but that could be confusing since the Malay are more likely to be Muslim than the Burmese or Thai.

In the southern tip of Myanmar in Myeik district of Taninthayi Division, a sizable number of Pashu (Bajou) people have lived since time immemorial. They are of the Malay race.

They speak Malay and some of their elderly members can read Jawi, Malay language written in Arabic Script. (Modern Malay is also written in Roman Script). Concentrated in Bokpyin township and villages around it and many sprawling islands in the Bay of Bengal, they learn a livelihood through fishing, pearl diving, agriculture and various trades.

They speak Myanmar with a strong Myeik ( Beik ) accent, and many can talk in Bahasa Melayu also. They have commercial links with south Thailand and north Malaysia. In Kawthaung the southernmost town of Myanmar, across Ranong in south Thailand , there are many mosques, including a large Pashu mosque. There are some Pashus who have intermarried with other Burmese Muslims and some of their youths have taken up modern Myanmar education.[7]

REFERENCE Maung-Ko Ghaffari, Yangon, Myanmar’s letter/article, published in the Sun newspaper, Malaysia on May 28, 2007. He gives me this newspaper photocopy with the permission for reproduction and circulation consent duly signed. He was the Chief Editor of The Islam Alin (Light of Islam) magazine published in Yangon. He cited or referred to the, “Our Pashu People”, published by Colonel Ba Shin, Chairman of the Burma Historical Commission and Secretary General of the Islamic Religious Affairs Council. Burma/Myanmar.

The Bajou in Malaysia and Indonesia are Muslims and are same as Myanmar/Burmese Pashus (Bajou) and mostly found in Johore, Batang Island Indonesia, Sarawak (East Malaysia) and Singapore. I

Reference: “Our Pashu People”, published by Colonel Ba Shin, Chairman of the Burma Historical Commission and Secretary General of the Islamic Religious Affairs Council. Burma/Myanmar

Even 'Pashu Khaung Phyat' bogyman, meaning Bajau headhunter is well known in Burma.

But as some of the ancient Myanmar/Burmese used to call the Malays as Pashu, it may refer possibly to Malay but now we all call Malay a Malay.

The Bajau, (also written as Badjao, Badjaw or Badjau) are an indigenous ethnic group the Philippines and in parts of Sabah, Brunei and Sarawak. many Bajau had migrated to neighbouring Malaysia . . . They were sometimes referred to as the Sea Gypsies, although the term has been used to encompass a number of non-related ethnic groups with similar traditional lifestyles, Bajau is a collective term, used to describe several closely related indigenous groups. The origin of the word Bajau is not clear cut. Although it is generally accepted that these groups of people can be termed Bajau, these groups never call themselves Bajau. They call themselves with the names of their tribes that are mostly the names of the places of their origins. They accept the term because they realise that they share some vocabulary and general genetic characteristic such as in having darker skin. For most of their history, the Bajau have been a nomadic, seafaring people, living off the sea by trading and subsistence fishing. They kept close to shore by erecting houses on stilts, and traveled using lepa-lepa, handmade boats which many lived in. The many Bajau sub-groups vary culturally and linguistically, but are unified through their adherence to Sunni Islam of the Shafi’i school. Commonly, many sub-groups of Bajau are named after the place or island they live-in for many years. Eventhough, they are called Bajau, each sub-groups has they own unique language, cultures and tradition. However, certain sub-groups are able to understand the languages of other sub-groups and races. Claims to religious piety and learning are an important source of individual prestige among the coastal Bajau, and the title of salip/sarip (descendants of the Prophet Muhammad) are shown special honour in the local community. The Ubian Bajau, due to their nomadic marine lifestyle, are much less adherent to orthodox Islam, and practice more of a folk hybrid, revering local sea spirits, known in Islamic terminology as Jinn.

There are three groups of Bajau according to the New Straits Time, Malaysia’s English newspaper published in early 90’s. I copied and recorded the facts but was quite ignorant to note down the date and author.

These three groups of Bajau are_

The Moken and the related Moklen group. Orang Laut (Sea People). Bajau Laut.

Myanmar citizens of Malays are the Moken and the related Moklen group. They are found in the Mergui Archipelago of Myanmar and the islands of south western part of Thailand.

One of the other two subtypes are the Orang Laut (Sea People) are seen in Riau-Lingga Archipelago, Batam, Eastern Sumatera of Indonesia and Southern Johore of Malaysia.

The last group is the Bajau Laut, largest of all groups, live in Sulu Archipelago of the Philippines, eastern Bornio, Sulawesi and islands of eastern Indonesia.

Pashu in Myanmar is likely to be the corrupted word (or a different slang) in Myanmar language from - Bajau. That Bajau tribe is the largest Muslim indigenous group in Sabah (East Malaysia). They are known as Sea Gypsies or Sea Nomads.

Malays in Myanmar or (called Pashu of Burma), are almost same as but a little bit different from the Malays in Southern Thailand, East and West Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and Indonesia.

So the Pashu Muslims of Myanmar are likely to be from the Muslim-Moken and are related to Moklen group of Bajau.

Ancient Myanmar/Burmese used to call the Malays as Pashu, it may refer possibly to Malay but now we all call Malay a Malay. In the Glass Palace Chronicle, official history of Burma, there is the story of Alaunsithu, grandson of Kyansittha (Second Burmese King in History). Reported to had arrived Pashu/Malaya. One of the spectator child fell into the sea, drowned and saved by a sailor of Alaunsithu. (I will search back the book and give the reference page later.)

Kin Won Min Gyi, the Minister of our last king, Thibaw, went to Europe through Malaya and recorded the appearances, culture, dressings of PASHUS.

And another article written by Datuk Kadir Jasin, Chief Editor of The New Straits Time, Malaysia’s English newspaper, after he followed the PM Tun Dr Mahathier’s first visit to Burma/Myanmar.He wrote about the Muslims in Burma, including these Pashu Malays of Burma and even mentioned about early arrival of Islam in Burma starting from Byat Wi, Byatta, Shwe Phyin brothers etc. (Datuk Kadir Jasin later became the Malaysia Government news agency, Bernama’s chief and now retired

References

^ Anderson, John (1890) The Selungs of the Mergui Archipelago Trübner & Co., London, pp. 1-5

^ Classification of Urak Lawoi language

^ Urak Lawoi of the Adang Archipelago, Tarutao National Marine Park, Satun Province, Thailand by Dr. Supin Wongbusarakum December 2005

^ Gislén, Anna (May 13, 2003) “Superior Underwater Vision in a Human Population of Sea Gypsies” Current Biology 13(10): pp. 833-836;

^ Travis, J. (May 17, 2003) “Children of Sea See Clearly Underwater” Science News 163(20): pp. 308-309;

^ “The Muslims of Burma” A study of a minority Group, by Moshe Yegar, 1972, Otto Harrassowitz. Wisbaden. page 2, first line.

^ “The Muslims of Burma” A study of a minority Group, by Moshe Yegar, 1972, Otto Harrassowitz. Wisbaden. page 2, line 5,6,9

^ ibid page 6, line 25,26&27.

^ Pathi U Ko Ko Lay’s lecture 1973, Islamic Religious Library Magazine

^ “The Muslims of Burma” A study of a minority Group, by Moshe Yegar,,page9, paraaph 4.

^ ibid, page10,line 7,8&9.

^ ibid page 2, paragraph 3, line 1,2&3.

^ ibid page 30, whole page.

^ ibid page 2, 2nd. paragraph, line 1,2 &3.

^ Various notable facts in Myanmar History, in Burmese, by U Kyi BA History Honours. Page 156, 157.

^ ibid

^ Maurice Collis, Simese White(London Faber and faber, 1936. page 40.

^ “The Muslims of Burma” A study of a minority Group, by Moshe Yegar, page 5, line 22 to 27

^ Sir Richard C. Temple, Buddermokan, JBRS,XV, pt 1 (1925)1-33

^ “The Muslims of Burma” A study of a minority Group, by Moshe Yegar, page 8 1st. paragraph

^ A. Journal of the Burma Research Society 15: 1-33. the coast from Assam to Malay with the curious mosques known as Buddermokan reverenced by the Buddhists and China-men as well as Mahomedans. B. Arakan Rajsabhay Bangala Sahitya(1600 - 1700 AD)Bengali Literature in the Kings’ Court of ArakanBy Dr. Muhammad Enamul Huq (M.A., Ph. D) and Sahitya-sagar Abdul Karim Sahitya Visarad Translated from Bengali by: Mating Sein Pru [www.rakhapura.com/ScholarsColumn/Bengali_Literature_in_the_Kings_Court_of_Arakan.asp]

^ ibid

^ “Mu Ko Surin National Park” National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok, Thailand;

^ Bauerlein, Monika (November 2005) “Sea change: they outsmarted the tsunami, but Thailand’s sea gypsies could be swept away by an even greater force” Mother Jones 30(6): pp. 56-61;

^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/18/60minutes/main681558.shtml “Sea Gypsies See Signs In The Waves” 60 Minutes CBS News, 25 December 2005];

^ Jones, Mark (6 May 2005) “Thailand’s fisherfolk rebuild after tsunami” Reuters also from Web Archive

[edit] External links

• Moken: Sea Gypsies @ National Geographic (Subscription Required)
• Moken: Sea Gypsies @ National Geographic (Tsunami Extra)
• Phuket Magazine: The Moken - Traditional Sea Gypsies
• NationalGeographic.com - Sea Gypsies
• ProjectMaje.org - Burma "Sea Gypsies" Compendium
• Mergui Archipelago Project
• Ethnologue report for Moken
• The Sea Gypsies of Surin Island - (Expeditions, Research in Applied Anthropology)
• "The Sea Gypsies of Surin Island" by Antonio Graceffo
• Tourist view on the Moken in Burma/Myanmar
• Picture gallery of the Moken of Surin Islands from a Singapore / Thailand documentary expedition
• Tsunami: The Tale Of The Sea Gypsies / 60 Minutes

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

• Bernatzik, H. A., & Ivanoff, J. (2005). Moken and Semang: 1936-2004, persistence and change. Bangkok: White Lotus. ISBN 9744800828
• Ivanoff, J. (2001). Rings of coral: Moken folktales. Mergui archipelago project, no. 2. Bangkok, Thailand: White Lotus Press. ISBN 9747534711
• Ivanoff, J. (1999). The Moken boat: symbolic technology. Bangkok: White Lotus Press. ISBN 9748434907
• Ivanoff, J., Cholmeley, F. N., & Ivanoff, P. (1997). Moken: sea-gypsies of the Andaman Sea, post-war chronicles. Bangkok: Cheney. ISBN 9748496651
• Lewis, M. B. (1960). Moken texts and word-list; a provisional interpretation. Federation museums journal, v.4. [Kuala Lumpur]: Museums Dept., Federation of Malaya.
• White, W. G. (1922). The sea gypsies of Malaya; an account of the nomadic Mawken people of the Mergui Archipelago with a description of their ways of living, customs, habits, boats, occupations, etc. London: Seeley, Service & Co.
• White, W. G. (1911). An introduction to the Mawken language. Toungoo: S.P.G. Press.

• http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/going-green-environment/conservation-in-action/this-bulb-ngv.html]