The village of Niawy is situated on a small island in the heart of Mergui archipelago. The Moken are sea nomads for thousand years. Nowadays a majority of them have settled for complex reasons and under pressure from the government. The moken are animistic and live in perfect harmony with their natural environment. The Burmese are Buddhists practicing the fishing and trade on the islands. In Niawy the Moken leaves with burmese now and the two communities live perfectly together. It is not known if the Moken culture will be absorbed by the Burmese and disappear if the moken decide to resume their nomadic life (some are still) or if a new form of mixed culture is born. The perfect knowledge of the natural environment by the moken and the more capitalist view of the Burmese serves the two peoples. Some Burmese came to attend the last shaman ceremony and this suggests a harmonious future. article : photo moken
