Many people probably believe that the Sakai hasextinced but in fact they are still live in the South of Thailand in Phatthalung and Yala. The latter province is where tourists can experience the lives of Sakai people.
Sakai Village in Yala province is located at Moo 3, Ban Rae Sub-district about 80 kilometers away from the center of Yala. To get at this village towards in Betong District at the right side of the route. There is an entrance to the Sakai Village where tribal people commonly known as “Ngo Sakai”.
The Sakai lives by hunting and gathering. They’re close to the nature and experts in herbal plants who seek and sell herbs for living. They are also good at using darts and a unique weapon called “KrabongTood” for hunting and protection.
Their dwellings were originally made of bamboo with thatch roof. But recently the Department of Social Work has developed the village by segregating the Sakai in one area and introduced rubber planting as their occupation. The Department also asked the Princess Mother for the naming of the group with the family name of “Si Than To”. Nowadays, the Sakai lives in both traditional and modern way of urban culture. Only a few of the Sakai left the village and some has moved to other areas.
Cultural tourism has been a very interesting trend of travelling. To experience the way of life of people from another culture is exciting for us to understand their lifestyle. Therefore, those who have a chance to visit Yala, don’t forget to include Sakai Village in your tour plan unless you want to miss the highlight of the province.
Herbal medicine of Sakai tea is widely accepted and known in the popular herbal medicine group from the distribution of herbs. Nowadays, herbal medicines are rare because the forest began to run out with smiling face and good mood all the time. There are 100 kinds of original herbal medicines but now they cannot be found and there are about 25 types of tribal names are very good to sales including hemorrhoids, iron tablets, Antipyretics, drugs for children, birth control pills, and more. The Sakai tribe is in the urban society for their living.
