Young students at Ban Koh Adang School on Koh Lipe, Satun province, giggle and shake their heads when asked to tell the story of the Urak Lawoi, their sea gypsy tribe.
But that does not upset Saengsoem Harntalay, their beloved teacher who says she is Thailand's first Andaman sea gypsy with a bachelor's degree. For years, Saengsoem has been trying to teach the history and cultural identity of the Urak Lawoi, literally "People Of The Sea", to the young generation on Koh Lipe.
"It is not important that these kids cannot recite the history or remember the year of the Urak Lawoi exodus. For the curriculum, what matters most is that these kids know who they are," says a smiling Saengsoem, 32, as she encourages her students who are practising rong ngeng — a traditional dance popular among villagers in the Deep South and sea gypsy tribes in the South Andaman Sea.