The Sakai

[Maph]

I introduced my wife (of whom is from Trang) to an older movie of the early 90's called "The Medicine Man". For those that do not know, the movie's plot entailed two doctors studying flora amongst a native tribe deep in the South American jungle (was really filmed in the jungles of S Mexico). The two doctors make an astonishing medical discovery and have to race against time to finalize their studies before the rainforest around them is cut down by some really swell folks wanting to make a few bucks off selling some trees and plow a road through in the process.

I make it a note to gauge my wife's level of interest when watching American movies. She doesn't have a firm grasp on the language and of course there are cultural differences so sometimes things are lost to her. I was taken back to see her completely enthralled with the movie. I paused it to ask what had garnered so much of her attention and she exclaimed, "They look and live very similar to the Sakai."

So in short, after knowing my wife for years and her knowing my interest in things anthropological she never thought id be interested in a mysterious people of African descendence living in the hill areas of Thailand. I've tried searching high and low on the web for information pertaining to the Sakai. I've found scattered tidbits here and there (mostly on Christian missionary websites... wth?). The most revealing of these tidbits is linked below. I was hoping someone else had something more. How did a people theoretically originating from Africa wind up in the hills of Thailand and no where else in the Northern portion of SE Asia? About how long ago did they settle in the area? What of their unique cultural and religious beliefs?

http://www.ipoaa.com/sakai.htm

[andrew]

Dude, read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semang

There's a kind of tourist village not far from here in Yala, but it's too dangerous to visit.

This link refers to Yala:

http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=14839

Some people have speculated that they're related to African pygmies.

You could (I suppose) call them negroes, though some people prefer the term negrito. The difference however is pedantic -- the suffix "ito" is Spanish/Portuguese and means "little". So a negrito is just a little negro.

Here in Pattani they're called Sakai, but the Sakai consider this name to be derogatory. I seem to recall it means something like "savage" or "barbarian".

I think "Mani" might be the most polite way to refer to them.

[andrew]

Here's a god link -- pages and pages and pages for you to read:

http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/chapter36/text36.htm

Enjoy!

[Maph]

Thank you Andrew

That last link was extremely fascinating. You are indeed correct that "Sakai" is a derogatory term. According to that article it in conjunction with another word means "slave" to those living in Malaysia. From this the article implies that perhaps these people were viewed as a lesser form of human and persecuted, that this is why they remained in the most remote areas.

There seems to be several DNA studies being done, this would be very enlightening. Gah! So many questions, so may possibilities and unfortunately, these people are all but vanished.