Meet the Sea Nomads, the Human TRIBE that Lives UNDERWATER

opera.com

May 23, 2020 7:37 AM

The Moken people also known as the Sea Nomads is a nomadic seafaring tribe that lives in the island archipelagos on the Andaman Sea, and along the west coast of Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. They were once entirely dependent on the ocean, and spent much of their time diving for food on the seafloor. 

Experiments have shown that they could see underwater with total clarity - a unique adaptation that other human beings would really struggle to learn, and could also stay underwater for as long as 13 minutes at depths of around 200 feet. 

A recent study also suggests that their evolved spleens (which is way larger than that of an average human being) gives the Sea Nomads a genetic advantage for life in the deep.

However, the sea him as lifestyle is increasingly u

under threat. They are considered a marginalized 

 and oppressed group that don't enjoy the same 

citizenship right as their mainland counterparts.

Increased industrial fishing is also making it 

harder for them to subsist on local stocks. As a

result, many choose to leave the sea. Without 

support for their way of life, and culture.

It is predicted that the group could soon go into 

extinction.