Thailand: Muslim fishing village, Saiburi, southern Thailand. The small centre of Saiburi is the capital of Saiburi District, located about 94 km (60 miles) southeast of Pattani in southern Thailand. It is also called Selindung Bayu or ‘wind shelter’ by the local Malay Muslim fishing population and is perhaps the most important fishing harbour outside Pattani itself in Pattani Province.
Along mainly the east coast of peninsular Thailand, from Ko Samui southward, colorful, painted fishing boats have been built and decorated by Muslim fishermen for hundreds of years. The finest examples of this now declining industry originate in the boatyards of Saiburi District, Pattani Province. Originally sailboats, korlae are now run with engines by local fishermen. Among the characters commonly depicted on the superbly detailed hull designs are the singha lion, the gagasura horned bird, the payanak sea serpent, and the garuda bird that is both the symbol of the Thai Kingdom and the mythical mount of the Hindu God Vishnu. Strange subject matter, perhaps, for a group of predominantly Muslim fishermen, but this is very much a cultural cross-over zone, where Thai Buddhism meets Malay Islam, and the resulting mix shows clearly in traditional korlae designs.
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Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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