Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ISLAND INDIGENES
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands' indigenous peoples constitute 12% of the population and, in most cases, their
numbers are decreasing. The Onge, Sentinelese, Andamanese and Jawara are all of Negrito ethnicity, who share a
strong resemblance to people from Africa. Tragically, numerous groups have become extinct over the past cen-
tury. In February 2010 the last survivor of the Bo tribe passed away, bringing an end to both the language and
65,000 years of ancestry.
Onge
Two-thirds of Little Andaman's Onge Island was taken over by the Forest Department and 'settled' in 1977. The
100 or so remaining members of the Onge tribe live in a 25-sq-km reserve covering Dugong Creek and South
Bay. Anthropologists say the Onge population has declined due to demoralisation through loss of territory.
Sentinelese
The Sentinelese, unlike the other tribes in these islands, have consistently repelled outside contact. For years, con-
tact parties arrived on the beaches of North Sentinel Island, the last redoubt of the Sentinelese, with gifts of
coconuts, bananas, pigs and red plastic buckets, only to be showered with arrows, although some encounters have
been a little less hostile. About 150 Sentinelese remain.
Andamanese
As they now number only about 50, it seems impossible the Andamanese can escape extinction. There were
around 7000 Andamanese in the mid-19th century, but friendliness to colonisers was their undoing, and by 1971
all but 19 of the population had been swept away by measles, syphilis and influenza epidemics. They've been re-
settled on tiny Strait Island.
Jarawa
The 350 remaining Jarawa occupy the 639-sq-km reserve on South and Middle Andaman Islands. In 1953 the
chief commissioner requested that an armed sea plane bomb Jarawa settlements and their territory has been con-
sistently disrupted by the Andaman Trunk Rd, forest clearance and settler and tourist encroachment. In 2012, a
video went viral showing an exchange between Jarawa and tourists, whereby a policeman orders them to dance in
exchange for food. This resulted in a government inquest that saw to the end of the so-called 'human safari' tours.
Most Jarawa remain hostile to contact.
Shompen
Only about 250 Shompen remain in the forests on Great Nicobar. Semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers who live along
the riverbanks, they have resisted integration and avoid areas occupied by Indian immigrants.
Nicobarese
The 30,000 Nicobarese are the only indigenous people whose numbers are not decreasing. The majority have
converted to Christianity and been partly assimilated into contemporary Indian society. Living in village units led
by a head man, they farm pigs and cultivate coconuts, yams and bananas. The Nicobarese, who probably descen-
ded from people of Malaysia and Myanmar, inhabit a number of islands in the Nicobar group, centred on Car
Nicobar, the region worst affected by the 2004 tsunami - with an estimated one fifth of the population killed or
missing.
Diving & Snorkelling
