The Andaman Islands and their small people are the stories of the land. An ancient tribe in the Andaman Islands of India. What to see and do

Onji are pygmies who by some miracle ended up on the Andaman Islands of the Bay of Bengal, located two hundred kilometers from India. Once upon a time, even pirates did not stick their nose in there, because they were afraid of a warlike tribe. Onji are hunters, fishermen, honey and fruit gatherers. This tribe has never learned how to make fire, so they diligently keep it in the fires, fearing that the flame will go out. There are only a few hundreds of forgotten and abandoned onjis that are on the verge of extinction... A small wooden boat easily glides along the surface of the bay towards the island of Small Andaman, which is actually the largest island in the archipelago. These are the possessions of the onji, one of the four main ethnic Negro groups of the archipelago. There are also tribes of large Andamanese, Zharavas and Santinels living here.
Behind the capital Andaman Islands Port Blair. The waters of the bay near the capital of the Andaman Islands, the city of Port Blair, are very muddy due to the many streams that carry land into the bay. On the coast of Port Blair, sitting in his boat, a guide named Raju was waiting for us. More recently, the British colonialists exterminated the onju, but the current Indian authorities are loyal to the tribe, and Raju works as a guide. The Andaman Islands are still a virgin paradise. There are almost no strangers here - tourists and other curious people. This is just a fabulous place! Imagine jungle covered hills descending to golden beaches surrounded by coral reefs. And the cleanest, almost transparent sea! For a long time, the presence of warlike tribes on the islands of the archipelago made it a natural reserve. True, quite recently the Indian authorities, in whose subordination the archipelago is located, slightly opened the doors for entrepreneurs: the deforestation of the forest wealth of the islands began, and the first signs of the tourism business appeared. The Indian government has already set up a colony of workers who work in a police-guarded lumber mill. Aborigines, in fact, live on a reservation.
The bow of the boat hit Sandy shore. The natives who met us were completely naked except for a narrow leather loincloth. Dark one and a half meter figures resembled figurines come to life. Onji met us without hostility - after all, we were brought by Raju, who immediately spoke to them about something in a language similar to iridescent birdsong. However, the fact that they all held wooden spears with metal tips in their hands was somewhat alarming.
We already knew that for the Onji and three other tribes of the Andaman archipelago, there is still practically no civilization. They do not even engage in agriculture, preferring to eat only what nature gives them: berries, fruits, fish, game, wild boar meat. Traces of the time when this tribe occupied all the islands of the archipelago were hardly found by scientists and date back to 200 BC. The natives of this piece of land in the Indian Ocean have survived to this day practically the same outwardly, with the same way of life and customs as their distant ancestors had - African tribes that have become Asian. For onji there is no concept of time as such. It is divided into two categories - the rainy season and the non-rainy season. The rest of the time doesn't matter.
An onji approached our group with four huge coconuts in his hands, and everyone set off on their way towards the village. It was pleasant to go, because the climate in these places is warm and humid, with an air temperature of about thirty degrees. Well, why not a resort! The coastal sand, set off by dense lush vegetation, also amazed with its pristine purity. There was an amazing silence, only a slight sound of the surf reminded of the reality of what was happening.
Soon the huts on stilts appeared in our field of view - eight small ones and one larger one - arranged in a circle. All of them were covered with palm leaves. The walls of the huts were made of branches fitted together, fastened with palm ropes. Dogs lay with their tongues out next to the huts. Seeing from afar that our whole honest company does not bring any food, except for four coconuts, smart animals showed no interest in us. Coming closer, we saw that wicker baskets were hanging on the walls of the huts, intended for hunting and fishing trophies, as well as fruits. In the shade of the trees, the women baked cakes, which the onji eat with a stew of edible roots and bulbs seasoned with shellfish and turtle eggs.
At the entrance of one of the huts, a boy was shaving a man with a real razor blade, which appeared here from nowhere. Of course, this razor is more preferable for onji than, for example, a specially sharpened piece of glass. However, onges, like almost all Negroes, generally love everything metal. For the natives, there is nothing more attractive than a saw or a knife. The villagers proudly showed us metal buckets and utensils. All this was donated to them by visiting scientists.
But how did the onji end up in these places? In 1907, the British colonizer Alfred Radcliffe-Brown brought 70 hair samples from the Andaman Islands from the Negroes who lived there. 82 years later, young scientist Erika Nagelberg isolated DNA from them. The result confirmed the morphological similarity of hair to pygmies. South Africa. Thus, it was once again proved that the first settlers on the Anda man were Africans. They came here... by land. If you look at the map, you can clearly see the circle formed by the Nicobar and Andaman Islands, which are a logical continuation of Java and Sumatra in the south and Burma in the north with mountain range with a hole in the center. Andamans are located in this "failure". The ocean level was once lower where it is today. Bay of Biscay was the mainland. This is confirmed by similar vegetation on the islands and the current nearby land.
The village began to prepare for tomorrow's hunting and fishing. For hunting, the natives use two-meter wooden spears with metal tips, which are also used as harpoons or spears for fishing from a catamaran. Men put traps on wild pigs - ordinary pits, carefully disguised from above. If game and wild pigs can be hunted all year round, then the most suitable period for catching fish is the period from December to May, when the time of the so-called "earthly" winds comes, and the fish comes very close to the coast. Yes, and the storm is not so strong, although the onji catamarans, made of two hollowed tree trunks, interconnected by two wooden crossbars, can withstand a real storm in the Indian Ocean.
While the hunters and fishermen prepared their gear, the women of the village began to decorate each other. They applied peculiar clay masks to their bodies, which not only made them irresistible, but also protected them from insects.
Suddenly the sky darkened. Raju pointed to a bej - a monsoon cloud - and invited us to a large rounded hut, which is intended for meetings, and also serves as a good shelter from heavy rains. The dogs followed us in. It is curious that this large hut is located in the northeastern part of the village, taking into account the cyclones in the Andamans, which are directed first to the northeast, and then turn around and pass over the islands. But there is also a strong western wind in these places, which the natives call Biliku.
According to the onji, Biliku is not a very good and not very pleasant god. The natives also call Cyclone Biliku the “evil wind” and compare it with a formidable husband. Bilik's actions, unlike, for example, the wind-god Tarai, are absolutely unpredictable. Small detail: Biliku is feminine in the north and masculine in the south. Onji also believe that the ocean is one of the strongest and most powerful spirits.
We hid from Biliku's wrath in a hut, dry and quite comfortable even during a downpour. Taking advantage of the bad weather, Raju began to tell his fellow tribesmen about our recent trip and visit to the North Santinel island with an area of ​​47 square kilometers, located to the west of Port Blair. On the eve of that trip, Raju informed us that we would be welcome guests there only with gifts. I had to acquire two piglets and metal tools for a gift to the people of the Zharavas tribe living on Santinel. When we sailed to this small island, Raju immediately laid out the gifts he had brought on the beach. It was evident that our guide was doing all this somehow uncertainly. The natives were watching us closely. They noticed our boat from afar. Two of them, armed with bows and long arrows, hid behind a tree. The others came closer. It turned out that the Santineli tribe lives on this island along with the Zharavas. Two of the people of this tribe were just hiding behind a tree and, apparently, were not very happy about our appearance on the island.
Both zharavas and santinels were completely naked, except for bright wide belts that served as bags and "safes". First of all, they killed the piglets we brought. The Zharavas seemed to us somehow excited and cheerful.
However, things soon changed dramatically. When the natives realized that we were preparing to sail, various objects flew at us. Perhaps we did not suffer the fate of Captain Cook only because Raju was with us. What if he didn't exist? Zharavasov and santineli, and onzhi can be understood. After all, there are a handful of them left on these islands, and they must always be on the alert, remembering the previous invasions of their territory by the colonialists. Therefore, throwing various objects at us, although not particularly zealous, they threatened not us, but all whites. The natives remembered their history.
India was a British colony for a long time, which, of course, many Indians did not want to put up with. For the recalcitrant, the British created hard labor in the Andaman Islands.
It was a disaster for the natives. Syphilis appeared on almost all 265 islands of the archipelago. The local population began to die out. Some tribes have completely disappeared, the number of others has sharply decreased.
Before the white man appeared on these marvelous beautiful islands, the local population in a dozen tribes numbered about five thousand people. According to the 1901 census, it was sharply reduced: there were 625 large Andamanese, 468 Onji, 420 Zharavas and 117 Santinels. By the end of the 20th century, there were only 28 large Andamanese left. Onji remained no more than a hundred.
The rain ended when Raju told another legend about a fierce struggle between the beasts. During this narration, some women, while listening to Raju, were smoking pipes made from crab claws stuffed with dry palm leaves.
Some screams brought us back to reality: it turned out that a woman was giving birth in the same hut. One of the elderly onji began to play the role of a midwife. She put palm leaves heated over the fire on the belly of the woman in labor. The husband supported the head of the future mother, lying right on the branches. After an hour of screams and enormous efforts of the midwife and young parents, a newborn girl appeared from under the leaves. She was brighter than her parents. How will her fate turn out? Tribal infant mortality due to lack of medical care very large.
There is no carelessness and cheerfulness in the onji tribe. They constantly think about something, they are more silent than they speak. Feeling not very comfortable among these anxious people, one of us decided to take a dip.
The water turned out to be very warm. A lot of fish swam near the corals. Suddenly one of them with black-white-yellow stripes, called klodi, let out a cry that looked like a bark, and rushed headlong away. Apparently she didn't like the stranger either...
Galina Ostyakova,
GLORY ORLOV

The purpose of this work is, first of all, to give an idea of ​​the most characteristic features of the traditional culture of the tribes, a culture so bright and original that its description cannot be generalized. Each, even the smallest tribe, has its own iconic symbols in a costume, its own interweaving of consanguineous and communal principles, its own methods of worshiping numerous local spirits and gods, its own rules for marriage, etc. Let's try to enter this wonderful world, to see the infinite variety of these human communities hidden for millennia, lost in the mountain forests, which are rapidly losing their priceless treasures for the ethnographer, and we will understand that the population of India is not only Bengalis, Rajasthani, Tamils ​​and other multi-million peoples whose language and literature are now studied at universities all over the world, but also a whole host of small forest ethnic groups, striking with the uniqueness of their cultural traditions which should be, if not saved (this is not always possible in our rapidly changing world), then at least studied.

The main arrays of the tribal population, as already noted, are located in mountainous areas India. We will name the main ones, although individual representatives of Adivasis can be found outside their territories. First of all, this is Central India, where the largest tribal population lives. The main languages ​​spoken there by representatives of local tribes are Munda and Dravidian. Adivasi Central India make up about 75% of the total tribal population. The largest among these peoples are the Gonds, Santals, Munda, Oraons, Ho and some others. Another tribal complex is the North-East. Here, after the formation of independent India, a number of tribal states and union territories (Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal, Mizoram, etc.) arose, in which the Adivasis constitute the absolute majority of the population. They speak mainly in Tibeto-Burmese languages, with the exception of one people - the Khasi, the main (along with the Tibeto-Burmese garo) subject of the state of Meghalaya. The Khasi speak one of the Monkhmer languages ​​of Austroasiatic language family. The specificity of the northeastern ethnic region is that, due to its border position, it is a kind of bridge between Indian civilization and culture. South-East Asia. Finally, the third tribal region belongs to the mountains of South India (mountains Nilgiri, Annamalai, etc.), the Dravidian-speaking tribes of this region are at the earliest level of development (some are still at the pre-agricultural stage). Individual tribes can be found in different corners India, in particular, the Andaman Islands, whose natives - the remnants of the once numerous Negro race - deserve special attention.

We want to emphasize once again that although Adivasis in government documents act as a whole, in life they are extremely diverse - both in languages ​​and in race (anthropological types related to the Negro-Australoid and South Mongoloid races predominate), and in religious affiliation (tribal cults are often combined with elements of popular Hinduism, many Adivasis are Christianized), and by level of development.

We would like to start with pre-agricultural hunter-gatherers. These include, as already noted, the Andaman aborigines and a number of tribes of South India. Such groups, as a rule, are very small in number and have survived only in certain regions of the globe. In addition, in recent decades there has been a rapid transformation and, one must admit, degradation. Some peoples (Andamanese) are on the verge of extinction. It is all the more important to describe, as far as possible, the still surviving groups that have come down to us from distant primitive times.

So, India is not only the world of large ethnic groups, but also the land of numerous tribes, whose habitats also serve as markers on the map of India. The Bhotiya, Rajas, Lepchas, Rabhas, and Zaskaris live in the region near the Himalayas. In Central India - gonds, oraons, santals, saora, in south india- Toda, Badaga, Kuramba, Kota, in the west of India - Bhils, Sahariya, Rabari, in the northeast - Garo, Naga, Mizo and others, on the islands in the Bay of Bengal - Onga, etc. About many of these and some other tribes And will be discussed in this book.

Chapter 1

We begin our story with the earliest tribes, the Andamanese, the indigenous people of the Andaman Islands, who are usually regarded as the remnants of one of the oldest human communities. They were able to convey to our time (naturally, not completely in its original form) the earliest forms social organization and cultures recorded by the sources. Andamans were opened to the eyes of amazed observers and scientists, in fact, only in the middle of the 19th century, when, after the Sepoy uprising, the English masters of India turned to these no man's islands in search of a place to organize hard labor.

The Andaman archipelago includes a number of islands, which are combined into two large inhabited complexes - the Big and Small Andamans. The islands turned out to be inhabited - about 5 thousand islanders, among whom scientists identified the boundaries of twelve tribes, were found in the forests of the two main islands. "Great Andamans" - under this name the tribes of Great Andaman were known (these are about ten tribes). Alas, they were, because at present they have already ceased to exist. On Little Andaman, except onge, the natives of this island, whose representatives are still preserved, live jarawa And Sentinelese. Andaman aborigines- onge - negritos, the remnant of the ancient negritos race, which in antiquity, before separation island world from the Asian mainland, was distributed over the vast territory of Southeast Asia, and in modern times was represented only by small groups - Malay semangs and Filipino and this.

It is clear what a sensation it was to discover on the Andamans another group of the once great race, moreover, the least exposed to extraneous influences due not only to the geographical isolation of their islands from the rest of the world, but also to the complex of fear that generations of sailors had in relation to the natives, as well as non-entry islands into the political framework of any country. Andamanese are very dark in skin color, curly-haired, extremely undersized (men - 145 cm, women - 138 cm), with infantile, as anthropologists note, facial features, with steatopygia clearly manifested in women. The purely Asian character of their anthropological appearance is emphasized. The researchers are of particular interest in the fact that no mixtures almost violated the purity of their appearance - this is a truly unique case.

In addition, it is necessary (primarily for the ecologist) to note their organic incorporation into their natural environment - for thousands of years they lived exclusively on what nature itself "prepared" for them, without disturbing the balance with this environment and bringing the same methods to our time. ensuring its existence. This is an amazing example of a long and complete preservation of the balance between nature and man, which is explained by the vastness and richness of the forest expanses of the islands with a small number and small population growth.

Ultimate adaptation to their environment is the main condition for the survival of aborigines in difficult conditions of separation from the civilized world. This adaptation is physiological (skin elasticity, immunity to malaria, amazing visual acuity), psychological (complete accommodation to the gloomy forest wilds that inspire fear in all aliens) and, most importantly, economic. The depth of the latter is indicated, in particular, by the presence of two main groups - forest ( eremtag) and coastal ( ariotto) Andamanese. The knowledge of the sea Andamanese in the field of sea hunting, fish species, their ability to swim and dive, make boats and various fishing gear are amazing. The forest inhabitants are just as remarkable for their excellent knowledge of zoology and botany, the ability to understand the habits of animals and the properties of plants. All Andamanese are well aware of what season to hunt for giant tortoises or wild boars, when which plant blooms and what it has medicinal properties, which gives the most juicy and tasty fruits. Yes, these forest isolates, standing at the level of development of people of the Stone Age, live in their own special natural world in which they feel confident and which for millennia was their only ecological environment, since they had no other types of ecological environment (such as social, ethnic) until their encounter with the new settlers who destroyed their established world.

So, the main occupations of the Andamanese are the gathering of finished forest products, hunting, catching fish and marine animals - what is commonly defined as a "non-productive economy". The fact that the Andamanese never made the transition to a settled productive economy - forestry farming, is due in no small part to the exceptional natural generosity of the islands, which did not create incentives for technological development. I would like to mention one more important point: Andamanese did not go beyond their local geography, collecting everything necessary for life exclusively in their tribal territory. By the way, it was this very moment, after a collision with the outside world, that did them a disservice, preventing them from settling down in new areas of the same forest where they were pushed back by the settlers.

ALL PHOTOS

The last tribes of the Paleolithic, as it turned out last night, escaped from the earthquake in Asia - fears that they were completely exterminated by the raging tsunami have subsided.

Officials in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands announced that all five primitive tribes had been discovered. Some of them migrated to higher parts of the archipelagos, writes The Times of London (translation on the site Inopressa.ru).

"Great andaman tribes in perfect order,” said Lieutenant Governor Ram Kapse, “there are no casualties.”

It is believed that less than a thousand representatives of various tribes live in forests with lush tropical vegetation and on the coral coast of the islands, among which are 100 people from the Onge tribe, 250 people from the hostile Sentinel tribe, 48 people from the almost extinct "great Andaman" tribe, 350 representatives of the tribe jarawa and 250 shompen hunter-gatherers.

Indian coast guard ships delivered food to the tribes on the islands affected by the tsunami. At the same time, from the helicopters, other groups of aborigines were noticed hiding in the depths of the forests. The worst fears, fortunately, turned out to be groundless.

Late on Thursday evening, three Navy patrol boats combed the area for signs of life in the Nicobar Islands, home to shompenis. Semi-nomadic hunting tribes fishing and gathering, live in a cautious neighborhood with Indian settlers, 1600 km from the very big island archipelago inhabited by Indians. Now some members of the Shompen tribe have established relationships with the Indian authorities and supply the beads, honey, coconuts and betels that they collect, and the Indian government sells all this on their behalf.

Eyewitnesses were shocked by the destruction of the islanders' zone, which begins at the 35th kilometer, where the demarcation line is located between the mangrove forests inhabited by the natives and the territory occupied by Indian settlers.

"Beyond the 35th kilometer, bridges and dams were washed away, houses were razed to the ground. We saw bodies scattered along the streets," says Rajendra Zhamwal, head of the Navy in Camppell Bay.

Some members of the Shompen tribe, who resemble in Mongoloid features members of the larger Nicobar tribes living to the north, have been completely cut off from the outside world since their ancestors first arrived here about 60 thousand years ago.

A Coast Guard helicopter pilot spotted Sentinel tribes from the air on northern Sentinel Island. When the pilot tried to drop food bags on them, the islanders, he says, started throwing rocks at the helicopter.

"There is debate about whether to leave them to their own devices or try to assimilate them," Vasudeva Rao, deputy chief of police in Port Blair, told The Times, "but they are considered to be very aggressive."

Members of the Great Andaman Tribe - the first islanders to fight the British when they arrived in the Andaman Islands in the 19th century to build a prison - are also safe.

Wayne Harrigan, a 46-year-old traveler from Australia, returned from the small Andaman Islands and raised optimism about the fate of the Onge tribe, who were isolated on the island's high ground until Indian Navy and Coast Guard vessels arrived to rescue them.

Dr. Pronob Sarkar, an Aboriginal tribal expert based in Port Blair who works for the island's indigenous relief organization, says Indian authorities care little about Aboriginal people, whose primitive tribal identity places them at the bottom of the caste system.

According to the Dean of the Faculty of Anthropology at the University of Delhi Kalla, among the tribes settled in the Andaman Islands, there are Negrito people who are considered the most ancient inhabitants of the planet. Negrito is a generalized designation for people of the Negrito type of the Melanesian race, Asian and Australian pygmies, their average height- less than 150 cm. Negritos, which means "little blacks", the Spaniards called them.

It is believed that blacks have a unique innate ability to dowsing - they can, at a considerable distance, like a radar, accurately determine where an animal is located. Perhaps this innate ability helped them to feel the panic among the animals, which, at the approach of the tsunami, rushed away from the coast, and escape themselves.

Today, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands belong to India, from which one can easily conclude that almost the entire population of the islands are Indians, or Hindus, as you like. Many moved here from the mainland, the British, during their rule, overpowered someone by force, the point is that the way of life local population is no different from the life of the inhabitants of India on the mainland.

In 2011, the general population census stopped at 343,125 people. Amazing accuracy. It is worth noting that the general population census in India has suffered a crushing fiasco, too many people do not have permanent place residence and in general any documents. They just wander around, work where they can and sleep where they can. Obviously, on the Andamans, this is stricter. The Indian government zealously guards this untouched corner of virgin nature and does not let anyone in here. This is also evidenced by the fact that to visit the Andaman Islands one Indian visa is not enough, you still need to obtain a special permit.

Most Big City and capital of the Andaman Islands Port Blair. More than 100,000 people live here. Obviously, the city owes its name to Lieutenant Archibald Blair, who heroically killed part of the local population and founded the stronghold of the East India Company on the largest of the islands. As you might have guessed, in honor of its founder, this stronghold now bears the proud name of Port Blair. The city's population is primarily engaged in fishing and shipbuilding. There are no large shipyards in the city, and industrial fishing near the islands is prohibited by the government so as not to harm the fragile ecosystem. That's why most of population is also involved in travel business: making and selling crafts and souvenirs, excursions to the islands, diving, etc. Almost everyone speaks English. Recall that this is the second official language in India.

It is worth noting another feature of the local population, most of the Indians living here are the descendants of revolutionaries and political prisoners. From the end of the 19th century until 1952, the Andaman Islands were used by Britain as a remote place of exile, in other words, a convict camp. Such an analogue of Magadan, only with white sandy beaches And azure sea. Read more about this in the dedicated article. It is clear that the prisoners did not have to enjoy the natural splendor of the islands, the conditions of detention were monstrous and rarely did anyone live to see the end of the term of imprisonment, which usually consisted of 20 years of hard labor for cutting and logging. Today, tourists have the opportunity to visit the Andaman Islands prison. The building has long been re-qualified as an ominous attraction. Despite the hard labor past, the crime rate in the Andaman Islands is very low, robbery attacks are simply unthinkable. However, thefts happen, leaving things unattended is still not worth it.

In addition to the Indians who arrived from the mainland, the Andaman Islands are inhabited by unique tribes of indigenous people. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that, according to scientists, they are direct descendants of the first homo sapiens. In other words, on this moment representatives of these tribes are considered the most ancient inhabitants of our planet. These are representatives of the Negrito group - small, swarthy, warlike guys who managed to sleep through evolution on their paradise island and for 70,000 years of living in the Andamans have not changed much. The number of indigenous tribes at the beginning of the last century was estimated at 5,000 people. Unfortunately, the barbaric colonization of the islands by Britain, and the organization of a hard labor camp here, led to a sharp reduction in the indigenous population and today their number fluctuates between 500-800 people. It is not possible to conduct an accurate census of the population among the natives, since visiting the islands inhabited by them is strictly prohibited. There are several reasons for this: firstly, a clash with civilization can irrevocably change the unique way of life of the most ancient people on the planet, and secondly, it is highly likely that the natives simply pierce uninvited guests with arrows and spears.

The indigenous inhabitants of the Andaman Islands are credited with amazing abilities. For example, they can determine the location of the animal they are interested in at a great distance, through the thickets of the jungle. Roughly speaking, the Negrito hunter knows exactly in which direction to move in order to overtake the prey of interest to him. Also, modern scientists are baffled by the ability of the natives to accurately determine the upcoming weather. So in 2004, the tsunami that hit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands washed away more than 5,000 local residents. Later it turned out that there were no victims among the indigenous people, as they left their villages in advance and left the coast further and higher. Indians living on the islands should have kept a closer eye on their neighbors. If suddenly the Negrito once again gather in the mountains, I would follow their example if I were the Indians.

Today, the Andaman Islands are divided by six tribes of indigenous people. Of these, only one tribe succumbed to the influence of civilization and, under pressure from British missionaries, even adopted Christianity. This tribe Nicobarese based mainly on the island carNicobar. The rest of the tribes lead a primitive way of life, engaged exclusively in hunting, gathering and fishing.

1. Tribe Andamanese is currently on the verge of extinction and threatens to disappear as early as this century. Now the tribe has about 40 members and lives on the island of Strait Island.
2. TribeSentinelese one of the most reserved and hostile to strangers. Obviously they have every reason to. They are based on the island of North Sentinel, they do not leave the island and threaten to shoot with arrows anyone who decides to look for a visit. In this regard, little is known about the tribe, their number is estimated at about 200 people, but how many of them are actually hiding in the jungle is unclear.
3. Tribe Onges. The once large tribe occupying several islands today has no more than 95 people and lives on an island with the cute name Little Andaman.
4. Tribe Jarawas inhabits West Coast islands of South & Middle Andaman. They are also characterized by scientists as closed and hostile guys. An attempt to establish contact and make friends with the tribe was unsuccessful: gifts and humanitarian aid were often sent to the sea, and dangerous arrows whistled over the heads of the guests. Today, the tribe has more than 300 people, and the territory of their habitat is closed to the public.
5. Tribe Shompens formally is not an inhabitant of the Andaman, but Nicobar Islands. It lives on the island of Great Nicobar. Today the tribe has no more than 150 people.

Andamanese - indigenous people Andaman Islands (India), a living relic of the Stone Age that has survived to the present. By now, there are only a few hundred left. The Andamanese are believed to be the descendants of the first African migrants who left their home continent 60,000 years ago. Like some other tribes of Southeast Asia, they belong to the so-called negritos type of the Australoid race, the hallmark of which is the extremely low growth of its representatives - no more than 150 cm in adult men; also, the Andamanese are the only group outside of Africa that has female steatopygia.

Some Andamanese tribes have already disappeared (as it is believed due to diseases that came to them from outside), and two of the surviving tribes - the Jarawa and the Sentinelese - were isolated from the outside world until the end of the 20th century.

The Jarawa tribe has long rejected contact with explorers and Indian population South Andaman Island, until the 1970s, only a few photos were taken with representatives of this tribe.


But the researchers were able to find the "key to the heart" of this tribe - free coconuts became the key: explorers' boats sailed from the sea to the Jarawa settlement and immediately threw coconuts into the water. which the Jaravians, of course, picked up.


In such a simple way, the Jarawa, convinced of the safety of their communication with other people, made contact with civilization and soon, without any fear and aggression, they allowed researchers to visit them - here are photo and video evidence of those meetings:

Now the Jarawa have finally abandoned their isolated existence and, without any fear, began to come to the villages of Indian peasants - to beg, and without knowing it, they gradually began to turn into an object of interest for travel companies.

But the inhabitants of the island of North Sentinel turned out to be a tougher nut to crack. It should be noted that the Sentinelese completely control their island with an area of ​​72 sq. km, and do not allow any of the strangers to enter it - to protect their territory, the tribe uses such weapons as a bow and poisoned arrows; so, in the 2000s, they killed several fishermen who landed on their island.

In the past, researchers have repeatedly made attempts to make contact with the Sentinelese - like the Jarawa, they tried to tame them by dropping coconuts from boats.


The Sentinelese picked up coconuts, but did not make further contact, and later reacted rather aggressively to an attempt to descend on their island - for example, in 2001 they even tried to fire arrows at an Indian Coast Guard helicopter. conducted a census of the population of the island.


After some time, the researchers stopped disturbing the Sentinelese and they still live quietly on their own. own island area 72 square kilometers, and the outside world had to come to terms with such amazing island sovereignty.