Sea gypsies The Sea Gypsies or Moken are a nomadic sea people who live in the Mergui archipelago. Their ancestors came from Indonesia. The name Moken is from their own language, which is universal to all sea gypsy groups. The Moken live a very primitive existence and as such have a great respect for nature and the environment. They rely upon their environment for food, clothing and for the materials for boat construction. They live by spear fishing and collecting shellfish. Being nomadic they spend a lot of their time travelling, but they avoid travelling during the monsoon season from May to November. During this time they moor their boats in a sheltered location to form a temporary village of several families. These villages then break up when they start travelling again in December until April. The Moken do not have a written language, but are good at other languages including Thai and Yawi Malaysian. Every year during April an important ceremony occurs on Surin and Sea Gypsies from far away come to attend. They often come from Myanmar and the islands of peninsula Thailand and Malaysia. The festival is called Loi Reua and involves ancestor worship and the asking the spirits to care for and protect the Sea Gypsies.