Definitions for "Seafarers"
Seafarers can refer to ethnic groups living by the sea in Southeast Asia, and also other sea living ethnic groups in the world. The Malay peoples of Southeast Asia traced back the forefathers coming as far as Yunnan (now a province of China) some 5000-10000 years ago, they were seafarers that migrated along rivers such as Mekong and Irrawady to the Andaman Sea, South China Sea and various locations in the Malay archipelago, they are known as Orang Laut in the Malay language. In the 15th century, large numbers of Malay Seafarers converted to Islam.