Public Project
The Unseen Weave
Summary
In the coastal villages of Southwestern Thailand, the Moklen people sustain a way of life guided by spirit, ritual, and an enduring bond with the natural world. The Unseen Weave traces this delicate tapestry of belief and belonging — a reminder of how human existence and the environment are inseparable threads of the same fabric.
This photo essay invites you into the spiritual world of the Moklen people, a little-known Austronesian ethnic group living along the Andaman Coast in Southwestern Thailand. Through their spiritual beliefs and traditional practices, we explore “The Unseen Weave,” an intricate framework that connects their lives to the natural world and diverse human communities around them. This deep connection provides valuable insights into how humans fit into and should interact with the natural environment.
Moklen wisdom is rooted in natural spirit worship, where natural entities, such as rocks, forests, and the sea, are believed to possess a spiritual essence, offering protection, guidance, and blessings. Ancestor worship is a core part of their beliefs, with ancestral spirits continuing to influence the lives of their descendants and strengthening intergenerational connections across time.
Guided by the principles of non-accumulation and shared ownership, the Moklen’s foraging practices reflect a moral relationship between humans and all elements of nature. They believe that overexploiting natural resources would upset nature's spirits. Their rituals, from seeking blessings for plant medicine from small insects to floating away misfortune in the sea, exemplify how these beliefs profoundly shape their interactions with the environment.
Beyond that, their spiritual world reflects an ongoing dynamic cultural exchange, weaving together elements and beliefs through interactions with other communities across Southern Thailand. This is evident in their worship of Buddhist and Hindu deities, for example, through the offering of traditional snacks adapted from Thai traditions, demonstrating a rich integration of diverse cultural elements.
The under-documented traditional knowledge of the Moklen offers invaluable lessons for our modern society. Their inherent understanding of nature’s agency and the spiritual consequences of human actions serves as a powerful model for sustainable natural resource management and environmental protection. By exploring The Unseen Weave we can reflect on our connection to a living planet and consider how Moklen wisdom can inspire a more harmonious and responsible coexistence with the natural world.
This photo essay is a visual outcome of an ongoing collaborative project with linguists, anthropologists, folklorists, and archivists to document the endangered Moklen language and culture. Despite living in world-famous tourist destinations like Phuket and Phang Nga, the Moklen remain largely unknown, even to their immediate local communities.
Exhibition History
The photo essay The Unseen Weave: Moklen Spirituality for a Living Planet has been exhibited at the following institutions:
- Sriwiang Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
Gallery Website
- House of Lucie Samui, Surat Thani, Thailand
Read about the Exhibition
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