The water was their livelihood. Now Thailand’s sea nomads work to preserve a vanishing way of life

SURIN ISLANDS, Thailand (AP) — When Hook was a child, he started his days by jumping off the boat that his family lived on and into the ocean. By age 3, he could already swim and dive in shallow waters. His home was a kabang, a boat, that his family sailed in Thailand’s southern waters. The ocean was his backyard.

Now Hook, whose full name is Suriyan Klathale, lives on land like the rest of his community, a people known as the Moken.

The community, indigenous people from Thailand and Myanmar, came to worldwide attention for its members’ understanding of waves when the Indian Ocean tsunami struck in December 2004, killing more than 200,000 people. The few tourists who happened to be on the islands inhabited by the Moken survived because locals knew, when they saw the water recede, that people needed to get to higher ground.

Today, this once free-sailing people has been grounded by powerful forces of change.

The Moken are one of the various tribal groups and indigenous communities not formally recognized by the Thai government. For years, activists from these communities have pushed for formal recognition with a bill that would help them hold on to traditions.

But as recently as October, the latest draft of this proposed bill, called the Protection and Promotion of Ethnic Groups’ Way of Life, was tabled by Parliament. The bill would legally guarantee these communities’ basic rights, such as health care, education and land, as well as government support to preserve their ethnic identities.

For the Moken, the kabang and their way of living on the ocean are something they hope the law could help preserve. The wooden boat, with a distinctive curve that juts out from its bow and a pavilion set in the middle, is central to the Moken’s identity. “It’s like a lifetime of a person, of a family,” Hook said. “In the past, we lived and died on that boat.”

Today, though, almost no one lives on a boat. Narumon Arunotai, an associate professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok who has worked with the Moken and other indigenous communities for decades, said the shift toward permanent dwelling on land had already started more than 40 years ago.

It was a gradual shift, driven both by stricter border controls as well as the inability to get the wood necessary to build the kabangs. Further, the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 destroyed many of the boats. Other communities known as sea nomads have also changed to dwelling on land.

The Moken are scattered across an archipelago of some 800 islands off the coast of Myanmar and Thailand. In the days when they lived on boats, Moken stayed on land only during the monsoon season, which started around May. They’d stay on land until the winds shifted, usually around December, and then return to the sea. For food, they fished and foraged.

Many of the older generation were born on boats and sailed regularly amongst the islands.

“We could move freely without having to worry about the Myanmar government or the Thai government,” said Tawan Klathale, Hook’s older brother, who was born on a boat and is better known by his nickname Ngui. All Moken in Thailand use the surname Klathale, given to the community by one of Thailand’s former queens.

Freedoms began to constrict, and by the time he and Hook were teenagers, they no longer lived on a boat full-time. Moken started settling in the Surin Islands, off the Thai coast, where they had always stayed seasonally. Some came from Myanmar to Thailand, looking for jobs and safety from pirates.

The Surin Islands meanwhile had become a national park in Thailand in 1981, meaning the trees were now protected by law.

To make a kabang, one needs a good strong tree, at least 1 meter (3 feet) wide and 10 meters (33 feet) tall. The trunk must be straight and be free of defects. Over the course of months, men would hollow out the trunk and carve it into a boat’s hull, while also using fire to make the wood pliable.

Ngui and other members of an informal group called Moken Pa Ti’ao, concerned they were losing the knowledge of boat-building, said they approached the park now and then across the years to get a tree to build a boat. They were refused years ago by the chief of Mu Ko Surin National Park, and haven't asked since.

Today, the village in Surin only has one kabang, built by Tat, an elder, and used mostly to ferry tourists and take children out on day trips. Hook, who lives on the Thai mainland, also has a kabang built with funding from a private donor from Norway after a filmmaker made a documentary about his journey to make one such boat in 2014. But his kabang is built with planks of wood, rather than a single hollowed-out tree.

Aside from the boat building, Tat and Wilasinee Klathale, a teacher on the island, also take village children out on the boats to teach them about the ocean as well as about music and dance. They are among the few keen to remember the traditions.

Today, young Moken are more worried about their livelihoods and finding jobs. Most only make money during Thailand’s peak tourist season when the national park is open to visitors, from November to April, and have to live on that money for the rest of the year, by either working for the park or on boats ferrying tourists.

Boyen Klathale, a young Moken man, wasn’t able to find a job this year during the peak season, and he didn’t want to leave behind his family to find work on the mainland.

The future holds some hope. In 2024, the Mu Ko Surin National Park appointed a new chief, Kriengkrai Pohcharoen. In a shift, he said he was open to collaborating with the Moken on a kabang — as long as it was a tree that fell over on its own, and on increasing their income.

“I want them to have a good quality of life," he said.

The Moken are realistic about their permanent switch to land. These days, most prefer it. But some still remember the old ways — and an aquamarine bay filled with handmade kabangs.

“The world is changing and that’s the way it is, if you ask me,” Ngui said. “I think everything is bound to be lost at some point, but I just want it to stay as long as possible.”

Suriyan Klathale speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at Surin Islands, Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Chief of Surin national park Kriengkrai Pohcharoen speaks on walkie-talkie to his staff at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Narumon Arunotai, who works closely with the Moken and indigenous communities, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, discussing the Kabang boat at Chualongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Wilasnee Klathale speaks to reporters during an interview with The Associated Press at Moken village at Surin Islandin Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Suthat Klathale speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at Moken village at Surin Islands, Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Moken students sing Thailand's national anthem at a learning center at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A Kabang boat is docked on Surin Islands, Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

York Klathale waits for customers to buy souvenirs at Moken village at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Pek Klathale makes handicraft for tourists to buy in Moken village at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Bon Klathale wait for customers to sell souvenirs at Moken village at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Tawan Klathale demonstrates to throw a spear to hunt fish for tourists in Moken village at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Bonbong Klathale cooks at her house in Moken village at Surin Island in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A Moken villager walks in front of spirit poles at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Tepan Klathale sits on her house in Moken village at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, on a rainy Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Tat Klathale makes a Kabang boat model for tourists to buy at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Loba Klathale sits on her house in Moken village at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Tat Klathale makes a paddle in Moken village at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A villager walks in Moken village at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province Thailand, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Kiroom Klathale stands on her house at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Jepen Klathale and his wife Boomkoyoung Klathale sit on their house in Moken village at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A general view of Moken village at Surin Islands in Phang Nga Province, Thailand, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A general view in Moken village of Surin Islands, Phang Nga province, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

BALTIMORE (AP) — Lamar Jackson was solid in Baltimore's biggest game of the season so far.

Then, after one of the star quarterback's rare slip-ups, one of his teammates delivered the play of the day.

Jackson threw three touchdown passes and Marlon Humphrey scored on a fourth-quarter interception return to help the Ravens pull even with Pittsburgh atop the AFC North with a 34-17 victory over the Steelers on Saturday.

Pittsburgh (10-5) would have clinched the division with a victory, but now the teams are deadlocked after the Ravens (10-5) won for just the second time in the last 10 games in this series. Baltimore clinched a playoff berth. The Steelers had already done so.

“It was cool to get a pick-6, but clinching a spot in the playoffs, to beat the Steelers, I'm just happy that the guys came in, put in the work, and we just took care of business,” Humphrey said. “I felt that this team has had our number over the years. Just take care of business, man. I felt like the performance we put on wasn't perfect, but I felt like that's what we were supposed to do.”

Russell Wilson threw two touchdown passes, the second of which tied the game at 17 with 5:14 left in the third quarter. Jackson answered with a 7-yard scoring strike to Mark Andrews, and after Pittsburgh turned the ball over on downs, a 44-yard run by Derrick Henry put the Ravens in the red zone.

That drive came to nothing when Jackson was intercepted for just the fourth time this season, but then Humphrey — who was celebrating the recent birth of his son Duke — picked off Wilson and went 37 yards to the end zone to give Baltimore a cushion in a series that’s been razor-thin of late. The previous nine games between the Steelers and Ravens were decided by seven points or fewer.

“My whole family's in town to help out with my wife and everything,” Humphrey said. “I was texting her before. I'm supposed to go pick her up from the hospital, discharge her with the baby. So there's a lot of just great things that happened this week.”

Jackson improved to 2-4 against Pittsburgh as a starter. This was his first time facing the Steelers at home since 2020.

“I feel like we've been busting our behind all season long, had ups and downs throughout this whole season, but to clinch a playoff against a great team like that, that's great,” Jackson said. “That means we're moving in the right direction.”

Henry rushed for 162 yards.

Pittsburgh entered the game with a plus-18 margin in turnovers, but the Ravens had the edge in that department Saturday. Baltimore recovered three of its own fumbles and had two big takeaways.

“We didn’t control the run game. We never did. When you don’t, you’ve got to do some splash plays or win the turnover battle in a significant way, and we didn’t do that either,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “There were some balls on the ground that we didn’t get. Then obviously we turned the ball over going in -- it took seven points off the board -- and they had a pick-6. The rest is history, as they say.”

Jackson found Isaiah Likely for a 9-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Wilson answered with a 1-yard scoring pass to MyCole Pruitt, and the Steelers appeared poised to take the lead when the veteran quarterback broke loose for a 19-yard run in Baltimore territory.

But Ar'Darius Washington delivered a punishing hit on Wilson at the end of that play, jarring the ball loose. Kyle Van Noy recovered for the Ravens at the Baltimore 4.

The Ravens then drove 96 yards and took a 14-7 lead on Jackson's 14-yard touchdown toss to Rashod Bateman.

Wilson threw a 12-yard TD to Cordarrelle Patterson to tie it in the third.

Jackson set a team record with his 37th touchdown pass of the season, and he's now up to a career high of 3,787 yards.

Ravens receiver Zay Flowers had five catches for 100 yards, surpassing 1,000 on the season.

Henry has exceeded 1,500 yards rushing for the fourth time. He's now up to 1,607, a mark he's only surpassed once — in his 2,027-yard campaign of 2020.

Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. injured his calf, and WR Ben Skowronek hurt his hip. ... Baltimore RB Justice Hill left the game because of a concussion.

Both teams play on Christmas Day to wrap up stretches of three games in 11 days. Pittsburgh hosts Kansas City on Wednesday and Baltimore plays at Houston.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, left, gestures while scrambling against Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Broderick Washington during the first half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews (89) celebrates with wide receiver Rashod Bateman (7) after scoring a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers reacts after making a catch against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry runs with the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry busts a long run against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Cordarrelle Patterson (84) catches a touchdown pass as Baltimore Ravens linebacker Malik Harrison defends during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks to an official during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin looks on during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, left, and wide receiver Rashod Bateman (7) react after connecting for a touchdown pass and catch against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson throws a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) celebrates his pick-6 interception score with teammates during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, bottom right, hits the turf as Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, left, returns an interception for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)