Edible bird-nests
can be found mostly on Mali
Island, in Pulaw Township of the division. Edible
bird-nests are glued together from the vomit of the
swift lets. These birds live in
their nests in the inmost caves of
the rocks. Salone hunt for edible
bird-nests during the months of January to May, at
the risk of their lives.
During winter and summer, Salone natives used to
search for and collect the marine products such as -
fish, squid, mollusc, oyster, sea-slug, coral,
ambergris, and tortoise-eggs. They also search for
honey in the forest of the island. Women also do
their jobs such as - collecting mollusk, taking off
barnacles on the strand and weaving mats. Even the
children have no time for leisure. They have many
activities to be done to become skillful in swimming
and diving in water.
Some Sea Gypsies history, legends
and beliefs.
One of their past
heroes was Bo lone Ni, a patriotic
who sacrificed his life for the
well-being of Salone natives; this
is not a mere legend but it was a
part of the history that had not
been inscribed for the posterity.
His acts were to be regarded as
inimitable' bravery that expressed
the patriotism of a Salone native.
In fact, he was a Salone hero who
fought against the British
exploiting the Salone natives by
misleading them to the use of
intoxicating drugs, to gain their
marine resources.
The British staged a war of
aggression for the first time to our
country and annexed lower Myanmar in
1877. By that time, the Governor of
Taninthayi Division was Sir River
Thompson. The British could not
administer the division easily. They
were confronted with the forceful
resistances by U Mya Lay, Governor
of Myeik, U Shwe Lote, Governor of
Dawei, and Bo Ni, the hero of Dawei.
Once upon a time, the planet Earth,
after its emergence,
created two gods; One was Tuda, the
good god and another was Katoi, the
evil one. Then, Tuda and Katoi
created again Sun and Moon. The
couple, Sun and Moon had three
offspring - the Star, the Ground and
the Sea. Their daily routine works
were to look after the respective
place and to pay homage to the gods,
Tuda and Katoi. Eldest son, the Star
enjoyed wandering about the mountain
ranges and he became strong and
stout day after day. Middle son, the
Ground used to live in the plains
between the mountain ranges and the
seas. He enjoyed himself growing
plants and building houses. Youngest
one, the Sea spent his time swimming
and submerging in the wide expanse
of blue seas, searching for the
marine products.
On the other hand, he studied,
paying great interest, on the
various guiles of blue seas,
strongly attached to the beauty of
it. Studying on the seas, he came to
know that a boat was a necessity in
his life to cross the sea. Thus, he
made a boat that was called Kaban
and had learned to navigate
skillfully.
One day, he failed to pay homage to
two gods because he had forgotten to
do so, concentrating his mind on
studying about the seas. When he
came to notice the two gods he
rushed there. But he had lost the
way because of the evil spirit's
power. Being afraid of the god's
severe punishment, he cried out
bitterly. Then, he could manage to
proceed to the gods only after the
dog barked at the evil spirit away.
Now he was able to go his own way. |
