Thailand: Korlae fishing boat, Narathiwat, southern Thailand

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.

Narathiwat is one of the few points where the Thai and Malay Worlds meet and mingle with that of the Overseas Chinese. This has resulted in an intriguingly complex social system, where Thai-speaking Buddhists control the bureaucracy, ethnic Chinese manage the urban economy, and Malay-speaking Muslims farm the countryside and fish the seas.

Narathiwat is a quiet, secluded little town of around 40,000 people - one of the smallest provincial capitals in Thailand - with a character all of its own. Many of the buildings are wooden structures, clustered along two parallel streets by the bank of the Bang Nara River.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia