The Chao Leh of Koh Lipe

The Sea Nomads
(Chao Leh, Chao Lay, Chao Nam, Thai Mai)

With their dark skin, red-brown hair and a stout muscular body the Chao Leh, as they are called by the Thais, already differ from other tribes merely from their outward appearance. They speak an own language, yet they do not use any script. Regarding their origin they can only make vague statements. Even the historians do not agree on it. Some of them say that their place of origin was in Western China or on the Andamans, others think that they come from Polynesia or they are related to the Dayaks from Borneo.

It is certain that the Chao Leh are a seafaring people since time immemorial and they lived on the coastal strip and islands of South Thailand for about 120 years. The sea was and still is their homeland, the sea nourishes them. They go fishing, dive for lobsters and collect mussels. In former times they lived in accordance with nature and they never caught more than they needed to live.

The women enjoy a high status. While the men go to sea, the women take care of the house, manage the money and make the important decisions in the family. The Chao Leh prefer the birth of a girl rather than a boy. A girl means another helper in the household while a son will become the helper of his future wife.
The Chao Leh are animist, but besides the worshiping of spirits many influences of Buddhism and Islam also have entered their belief system. In the traditional society the toh, a kind of medicine man, played an important role. Today he only appears for certain ceremonies.

The Chao Leh are losing their culture. The Thai government makes many efforts to civilize them. They got their official name “Thai Mai“ which means “new Thai“.
Houses, schools and health centers are being built for them. They shall be registered, being supplied with electricity, learn Thai language and convert to Buddhism. The mayor of their village has to be Thai, their products are being marketed by Thais.

The television has created desires to buy things, which indebted the Chao Leh more and more. Therefore, they have to work harder and longer and they have to catch more fish and lobsters than they need to live. They allow others to take advantage on them, for example when fishing with dynamite or diving with a tube leading to the surface of the water. In this way they do not only destroy themselves but also nature. Many migrate to the cities and become contracted workers.

The tourism industry discovered the sea nomads as an attraction, especially around Phuket. The Chao Leh are by nature soft people, so they have learned to remain untouched by the masses of tourists. They only get really upset when herds of strangers enter their house unasked or take photos of breast feeding mothers. The children dive for money that tourists throw into the water or go begging.

Nevertheless, with the help of tourism the Chao Leh have an ace up in their sleeve. By this power they most probably are able to stay in their villages on the sea side, from where they were threatened to be driven out. In the less touristy areas you can get to know the Chao Leh as just normal people whose villages are hardly different from Muslim fishing villages.
You can buy fish from them, hire them for a boat trip or even stay with them.
Chao Leh villages are located on many islands in the Andaman Sea, particularly in the marine national parks of Koh Surin, Koh Lanta, Koh Petra and Koh Tarutao. On the mainland the sizable village Ban Thung Wa can be visited beside the village Ban Bang Niang in Khao Lak.