The ceremonies began with the full moon last Saturday (Oct 28), also known as the Hunter’s Moon. The ‘Loy Reua’ (‘floating boat’) festival is held twice a year, coinciding with the nearest full moon in June and November.
Ratsada Mayor Nakarin Yosaengrat joined the parade held as part of the festivities on Monday, as the sea gypsies took to the streets of Koh Siray, led by village elders, mostly women dressed in traditional costume.
At the sea gypsy village at Laem Tukkae, villagers continued to welcome guests throughout the week, including Phuket MP Somchart Techathavorncharoen.
The festivities centred on the traditional sea gypsies’ traditional ‘Rong Ngeng’ singing and dancing, famed for their inclusion in cultural events in Phuket and elsewhere off the island.
Phuket is home to three main communities of sea gypsies: the Urak Lawoi, which forms the main group, the Moken, who originate from near Myanmar, and the Moklen.
The Urak Lawoi have communities in Rawai beach, on Koh Siray and at Laem La (east of the bridges at Phuket’s northern tip) and Baan Sapam in Koh Kaew. The Moken also live in Rawai, and at Tha Chatchai. The Moklen tend to congregate at Laem La, at the far north of the island.
Urak Lawoi originated south of Phuket. in Malayu language ‘Urak Lawoi’ means “sea people”, or as Thai people call them, ‘Chao Lay’.
“The lifestyle can tell that they are Urak Lawoi. They flexibly live with other Thai people, socialise, go to school and accept other cultures. The others, Moken and Moklen are more conservative. They are more shy and mostly spend time in their community and don’t really go to school,” explained Chanwit Saiwan, an NGO working with sea gypsies for years, told The Phuket News in a special report.