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© Salomé/Survival |
The first authoritative reports are now coming in on the fate of the
five isolated tribes of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, hit hard by
the Asian quake disaster. All appear to have survived. The more
numerous Nicobarese tribe, however, has suffered huge loss of life.
The 270 Jarawa, who lived in complete isolation until recently,
appear to have escaped unharmed. They almost certainly were living in
the forest when the tsunami struck.
Most of the Onge, who live in two government-built settlements, fled
to high ground as the sea level fell, and so survived. They are
currently being supported by a neighbouring community in a school
house. Their awareness of the ocean and its movements has been
accumulated over 60,000 years of inhabiting the islands. The Onge had
already suffered a disastrous fall in their population, from 672 in
1901 to barely 100 today.
Reports from overflights of Sentinel Island, home of the most
isolated of all the tribes, the Sentinelese, indicate that many have
been seen on the beaches. The Sentinelese fired arrows at the
helicopter overhead. However, confident assertions by the authorities
that all the Sentinelese have been accounted for are premature, as
no-one has any idea of their population (estimates range from 50 – 250), and landing on the island is impossible.
No reliable reports have yet been received on the fate of the 41
Great Andamanese, but early indications are that they have survived
more or less intact.
Similarly, there has been no reliable information on the fate of the
380-strong Shompen, an isolated tribe of Great Nicobar Island. It is
hoped that, like the Jarawa, the fact that this hunter-gatherer people
live primarily in the forests rather that on the coast will have helped
them survive.
The sixth tribe of the islands, the 30,000-strong Nicobarese, have
suffered much more. All 12 villages on one island, Car Nicobar, have
been washed away, and many are feared dead. Unlike the other tribes,
the Nicobarese are not hunter-gatherers but horticulturalists. They
have largely converted to Christianity, and are much more assimilated
than the other Andaman and Nicobar tribes.
Background: The Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese and Great Andamanese are
thought to have travelled to the Andaman Islands from Africa up to
60,000 years ago. The fact that the languages of the four tribes are
mutually unintelligible indicate that they lived isolated lives on
reaching the islands. However, their ways of life are similar – all are
nomadic hunter-gatherers living from the forest and by fishing in the
coastal waters. They have suffered terribly since the islands were
colonized, first by the British, and later by India.
Survival's Andamans campaigner, Sophie Grig, who has visited the
islands and is in close touch with contacts there, is available for
interview. Tel 020 7687 8735 (office), or send an email.
