Moken children near Surin Island, Thailand

A Moken boat

The Moken (also spelled Mawken or Morgan; Burmese: ဆလုံလူမျိုး; Thai: ชาวเล, chao le "sea people"), are an Austronesian ethnic group with about 2,000 to 3,000 members who maintain a nomadic, sea-based culture. They speak their own language which belongs to the Austronesian language family.^[1]

Nomenclature[link]

They refer to themselves as Moken. The name is used for all of the Austronesian speaking tribes who inhabit the coast and islands in the Andaman Sea on the west coast of Thailand, the provinces of Satun, Trang, Krabi, Phuket, Phang Nga, and Ranong, up through the Mergui Archipelago of Burma [1](Myanmar). The group includes the Moken proper, the Moklen (Moklem), the Orang Sireh (Betel-leaf people) and the Orang Lanta. The last, the Orang Lanta are a hybridized group formed when the Malay people settled the Lanta islands where the proto-Malay Orang Sireh had been living.

The Burmese call the Moken Selung, Salone, or Chalome.^[2] In Thailand they are called Chao Ley (people of the sea) or Chao nam (people of the water), although these terms are also used loosely to include the Urak Lawoi and even the Orang Laut. In Thailand, acculturated Moken are called Thai Mai (new Thais).

The Moken are also called Sea Gypsies, a generic term that applies to a number of peoples in southeast Asia. The Urak Lawoi are sometimes classified with the Moken, but they are linguistically and ethnologically distinct, being much more closely related to the Malay people.^[3][4]

Way of life[link]

Their knowledge of the sea enables them to live off its fauna and flora by using simple tools such as nets and spears to forage for food. What is not consumed is dried atop their boats, then used to barter for other necessities at local markets. During the monsoon season, they build additional boats while occupying temporary huts. Because of the amount of time they spend diving for food, Moken children are able to see better underwater due to accommodation of their visual focus.^[5][6]

Some of the Burmese Moken are still nomadic people who roam the sea most of their lives in small hand-crafted wooden boats called kabang, which serve not just as transportation, but also as kitchen, bedroom, and living area. However, much of their traditional life, which is built on the premise of life as outsiders, is under threat and appears to be diminishing.

Governmental control[link]

The Burmese and Thai governments have made attempts at assimilating the people into their own culture, but these efforts have met with limited success. Thai Moken have been permanently settled in villages located in the Surin Islands (Mu Ko Surin National Park),^[7][8] in Phuket Province, on the northwestern coast of Phuket Island, and on the nearby Phi Phi islands of Krabi province.^[9]

The Andaman Sea off the Tenasserim coast was the subject of keen scrutiny from Burma's regime during the 1990s due to offshore petroleum discoveries by multinational corporations including Unocal, Petronas and others. Reports from the late 1990s told of forced relocation by Burma's military regime of the 'Sea Gypsies' to on-land sites. It was claimed most of the Salone had been relocated by 1997, which is consistent with a pervasive pattern of forced relocation of suspect ethnic, economic and political groups, conducted throughout Burma during the 1990s.

2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami[link]

The islands where the Moken live received much media attention in 2005 during the Southeast Asia Tsunami recovery, where hundreds of thousands of lives were lost in the disaster. As they are keenly aware of the sea, the Moken in some areas knew the tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004 was coming,^[10] and managed to preserve many lives.

However in the coastal villages of Phang Nga Province, like Tap Tawan, the Moken suffered severe devastation to housing and fishing boats in common with other Moken communities.^[11]

See also[link]

• Sea Gypsies, a disambiguation page
• Seafarers, an expanded disambiguation page

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Moken

The Hager Twins, also known as the Hager Brothers and The Hagers, were a duo of American country music singers and comedians who first gained fame on the TV series Hee Haw. They were identical twin brothers Jim (died May 1, 2008) and Jon Hager (died January 9, 2009).

Biography[link]

The brothers were born August 30, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois ^[1] and adopted by Jack and Frances Hager, a Methodist minister and a schoolteacher.

The Hager brothers first sang in the church choir. As teenagers, they sang on a Saturday morning WGN-TV series targeting others in their age group. Both brothers served in the United States Army and performed at Officers' Clubs and NCO Clubs in the United States and Europe.

They attended Maine Township High School in Park Ridge (Class of 1959), one year ahead of Harrison Ford and a few more years ahead of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

After leaving the military, the Hager brothers moved to California and performed at the Ledbetter's Night Club in Los Angeles with The Carpenters, The New Christy Minstrels, John Denver, Steve Martin and Kenny Rogers. They also worked at Disneyland, which is where Buck Owens saw them perform and signed them to contracts. In addition to Owens, the brothers served as opening acts for Tex Ritter, Wynn Stewart, Billie Jo Spears and Lefty Frizzell.

Most of the country first came to know Jim and Jon on the CBS series Hee Haw, on which both were cast members from 1969 ^[2] to 1986.^[1]

The Hager brothers signed with Capitol Records in 1969 and hit the country charts with "Gotta Get To Oklahoma ('Cause California's Gettin' To Me)".^[3] They also charted Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings", which was a on the B-Side of Haggard's "Working Man Blues."^[4] In all, they recorded six albums—three for Capitol, two for Elektra-Asylum, and one for Barnaby Records.^[5]

The brothers were featured in the second preview issue of Playgirl, February, 1973.

Their TV appearances also include the original The Bionic Woman, in which Jim and Jon played Verm and Dier, respectively, in the February 11, 1978, episode "Sanctuary Earth."^[6] The characters were cloned detectives.^[3]

In 1976, Jim and Jon starred, with Lillian Gish, as Tony and Shep Thomas in the TV-movie Twin Detectives.^[7] They also appeared in TV commercials and with Florence Henderson in Country Kitchen on TNN.^[3]

The Hager Brothers continued to entertain, and also contributed to numerous charities.^[8]

Jim Hager died of an apparent heart attack on May 1, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee.^[9] Jon died in his sleep on January 9, 2009, also in Nashville.^[10]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Matthew "Matt" Phillips (born 13 March 1991) is an English-born Scottish international professional footballer who plays for Blackpool.

Phillips is a winger and previously played for Wycombe Wanderers. He has represented England at under-19 and under-20 level but was called up to the full Scotland squad for the friendly match against Slovenia.^[1] He made his Scotland debut against the USA on the 26 May 2012.

Club career[link]

Wycombe Wanderers[link]

Born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire,^[2] Phillips was with Wycombe Wanderers from the age of eight when he was spotted playing in a five-a-side tournament.

A month after his seventeenth birthday, he made his first team debut on 26 April 2008 in the 1–0 defeat to Notts County, the penultimate game of the 2007–08 season as an 82nd minute substitute.^[3]

His first start came a week later in the 2–1 win over Bradford City at Adams Park,^[4] in which he was voted man of the match by the Wycombe supporters.^{[citation needed]} He made a further substitute appearance in the play-off semi-final home leg, a 1–1 home draw with Stockport County on 11 May.^[5]

Phillips signed his first professional contract in July 2008, a year before the end of his youth team scholarship. His first goal for the Chairboys came on 10 November 2008 in the 4–1 away win over AFC Wimbledon in the First Round of the 2008–09 FA Cup.^[6] His first league goal came on 6 December in the 3–2 away defeat to Aldershot Town.^[7]

Phillips went on to make a massive contribution to the Chairboys promotion from League Two in the 2008–09 season becoming a regular on either the left or right wing, impressing with his ability to take on defenders and to cut inside. He was also won the clubs two "Young Player of the Year" awards at the end of the season as well as the League Two "Apprentice of the Year".

Phillips was given the number 18 shirt for the 2009–10 season and continued his good form from the previous season, starting on both flanks.

He made a total of 87 league and cup appearances for Wycombe scoring nine goals.

Blackpool[link]

Phillips signed for Premier League club Blackpool on 31 August 2010 in an original £350,000 deal that could rise to £700,000.^[8] His first game was a friendly to open the new Zemgele Olympic Centre in Jelgava, Latvia against Latvian Higher League side FK Jelgava on 3 September.^[9] Manager Ian Holloway later revealed that he had been tracking Phillips for "a long time", saying of him, "Young Matty looked really exciting at times. He was skipping past people like they weren't there and now I've got to get him in our shape and working within it. He is definitely one for not only the long-term future but the immediate future. I am getting quite excited about what he might be able to produce."^[10]

He scored in his first Reserves game, a 1–1 draw with West Bromwich Albion at Bloomfield Road on 15 September in the club's first ever Premier Reserve League home fixture.^[11]

His first team debut came on 25 September in the 2–1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers. Phillips came on as a substitute in the 84th minute, making an instant impact, scoring his first ever Premier League goal just seconds later.^[12][13] After the match Ian Holloway praised Phillips saying, "I thought he was terrific. He's only 19 and he's someone who I think will have a good future. He played in a different role and smacked one in like that. Hopefully there is a lot, lot more to come from that boy because he has got some bits and pieces that would grace any level of football."^[14] Of his debut and goal Phillips said: "I've dreamt of playing in the Premier League since I was a kid, so to play Premier League football is one thing, but to go out there and make a mark on it is another, so I'm delighted."^[15] He made his full-debut against Aston Villa at Villa Park, a performance which led manager Ian Holloway to describe him as "at times un-markable".^[14]

With first-team opportunities proving limited Phillips agreed a months loan to Sheffield United in October 2011,^[16] making his début in the Steel City Derby a few days later. Phillips had a major impact in his month spell, scoring six goals in six appearances for the South Yorkshire club before returning to Bloomfield Road.^[17] On Boxing Day he scored a hat-trick for Blackpool in their 3–1 victory at Barnsley.^[18] He scored another hat-trick two weeks later, against Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup Third Round.^[19] In January 2012, Blackpool rejected a bid from Cardiff City, believed to be around £800,000, for the winger.^[20]

Club career statistics[link]

As of 22 April 2012

Notes

a. One play-off appearance included in 2007–08 totals
b. One Football League Trophy appearance included in 2009–10 totals

International career[link]

In May 2010, Phillips was called into the England under-19 squad for the European Championship Elite Qualifying Round matches against the Republic of Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 28 May, and Ukraine, after initially being named as a standby.^[21] On 26 May he made his debut against Republic of Ireland coming on as a 76th minute substitute for Jacob Mellis.^[22] Two days later he made his full debut and scored his first international goal in his next game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[23]

In July 2010, Phillips was named in England's 18-man squad for the European Under-19 Championship. He scored a final-minute equaliser against France to send England through to the semi-finals of the tournament.^[24]

In February 2011, Phillips made his debut for the England under-20s in a 2–1 defeat to France.^[25] In June 2011, he was named in England's 21-man squad for the Under-20 World Cup.^[26] He started all three of England's group stage games and the last-16 game against Nigeria, which they lost 1–0.

On 10 January 2012, it was revealed that Phillips was eligible to play for Scotland and that manager Craig Levein had been monitoring him.^[27] On 20 February 2012, Levein called Phillips up to the Scotland squad to face Slovenia in a friendly;^[28] however, Phillips had to withdraw after suffering a hamstring injury.^[29]

Honours[link]

Wycombe Wanderers

• League Two third-place promotion: 2008–09

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 2011–12 Championship^[30]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Matt Phillips career stats at Soccerbase
• Matt Phillips player profile at blackpoolfc.co.uk
• Matthew Phillips official website
• ESPN Soccernet profile

v t e England squad – 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship 1 Rudd 2 Clyne 3 Briggs 4 James (c) 5 Caulker 6 Baker 7 Mellis 8 Parrett 9 Noble 10 Delfouneso 11 Nouble 12 Bostock 13 Nicholls 14 Cruise 15 Brown 16 Thompson 17 Phillips 18 Donaldson Coach: Noel Blake

v t e England squad – 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup 1 Butland 2 Adams 3 Baker 4 Berahino 5 Brown 6 Gordon 7 Hurst 8 Knott 9 Lowe (c) 10 McManaman 11 Morris 12 Ngoo 13 Nicholls 14 Noble 15 Parrett 16 Phillips 17 Smith 18 Taft 19 Wabara 20 Wallace 21 Alnwick Coach: Eastick