This project will document the material knowledge system relating to the fabric of the lobung, wooden poles representing Moken’s founding ancestors. The Moken are an Austronesian nomadic population, living in the Myeik Archipelago (Myanmar and Thailand). Every year at the transition between the dry- and rainy-seasons, Moken subgroups perform a “bo lobung” (“making the lobung”) ceremony, during 3 days. Amidst a growing pressure on land and sea-based resources from fisheries, national parks, and development projects (aquaculture, hotels), the Moken way of life has been enduring drastic changes since the 1990s, putting an end to hundred years of nomadism on-board their home boats, known as “kabang”. The “bo lobung” ceremony and related material practices is the main material knowledge system remaining in this society. Though these ceremonies are still well alive among certain Moken groups, elders fear new generations will lose the knowhows (especially shamanism) necessary to perform these rituals. Interestingly, lobung’s shapes and decorations have been evolving through time, but also from one sub-group to another, notably to reflect changes in the Moken way of life. Through both fieldwork documentation (360° video, video, photos, sketches and roadbook) and interviews about the Moken Alive Museum archives, the project will look at the set of know-hows that lobung-making involves, who detain these knowhows and how the material knowledge system evolved through time and space. Doing so, this project seeks to understand its role in maintaining Moken identity, while allowing the expression of change (social, cultural, economic).
Carving of a lobung made of wood and shell (Surin, Thailand, 1987, ©Jacques Ivanoff).
Three trunks were cut to make the spirit poles (lobung). The white cloth is the mark of the spirits (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
An elder starts carving one of the year’s three new lobung (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
The spirit poles gradually take on their final shape. In the foreground, a model boat is being carved that will be added to the spirits’ altar (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
An elder carves a pipe for the male ancestor (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
Two spirit poles at the entrance of the Moken village with a model-traditional boat at their feet (kabang) (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
The spirit poles of the Lata Moken group in 1985 (Surin, Thailand, 1985, ©Jacques Ivanoff).
A spirit pole from the Chadiak group made of wood and shell decorations (Surin, Thailand, 1987, ©Jacques Ivanoff).
The Chadiak shaman prays in front of the papan puti, the “altar”, at the foot of the spirit pole located at the foot of the mountain beside the village (Surin, Thailand, 1984, ©Jacques Ivanoff).
End of the spirit-poles ceremony at the shaman’s grave in Lata cemetery (Surin, Thailand, 1987, ©Jacques Ivanoff).
Spirit posts in the center of the Moken village of Lata (Surin), before three of them were replaced for the annual ceremony (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
An altar for the spirit-ancestors (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
The shaman records for the project the sound of a gong used during the spirit pole ceremony (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
Two of the three new lobung replaced older ones which the old ones are left to rot at the edge of the forest (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
While carving is the work of the elders, painting the lobung can be done by all the generations, women and men (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
The shaman gives some directions for painting the lobung (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
A girl from the Moken group paints the lobung (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
The female ancestor’s pole is recognizable here by her necklace being painted (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
Sample of the rudimentary materials used for painting the lobung (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
An old spirit pole is being removed to make way for the new one (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
The shaman invokes the ancestors with the help of a fan which symbolizes the wind through which spirits travel (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
Offerings are made to renew the contract (karun) requesting the protection of the ancestors (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
Elders gather in order to seek the protections of the ancestors (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
The flags symbolize the door to the spirits during the ceremony (Surin, Thailand, 2024, ©Fabienne Galangau-Quérat).
PI:
Jacques Ivanoff
Collaborators:
Maxime Boutry
Fabienne Galangau-Quérat
Khin Maung Htway
Location of Research:
Thailand
Host Institution:
Eco-Anthropology Laboratory Musée de l’Homme
Djalé, Ye Tun Myint, Maxime Boutry, Fabienne Galangau-Quérat, Jacques Ivanoff (2018). Photo: Laurent Parienti
Khin Maung Htway, Magyon Galet (2019)
Top Banner Image: A shaman performing the lobung ceremony. Photo: Laurent Parienti