The Andaman Islands and their small people are the stories of the land. People from the Stone Age. Real negritos live in the Andaman Islands

Among lovers beach holiday only one word is associated with India - "". What can I say, we spent almost a month in India, after that most of our friends, acquaintances and strangers, asked us only about Goa. But we will not talk about Goa, we will talk about the "Indian Maldives" - Andaman Islands. This archipelago is not at all as hyped as the Maldives, Seychelles, etc., but this is only a plus - here you will not find Ukrainian or Russian " beach tourists". To be honest, here is how we made our choice to fly to the Andamans:

We saw that there are cheap tickets from India to the Andaman Islands (at that time we had already purchased tickets from Warsaw to).
Typed "Andaman Islands" in Google search, selected "Search by photo".
Bought tickets.

Just repeat the second point and you will understand why we chose the Andaman Islands, which we have never regretted. The Andaman Islands were ours last place destination in India, this is where we were going to spend our last 3.5 days in India. And that was the biggest mistake. You can live there for months and that's not enough! But this was not the worst, the worst thing was that the airlines shifted flights not in our favor and 3.5 days turned into 2.5 days! A month has passed, and we still scold ourselves for this mistake. So spontaneously we did the itinerary in India that after all the bookings we noticed how little time we had set aside for Andaman. Don't repeat our mistakes!

How to get to the Andaman Islands?

Ferry from Chennai or Kolkata
Spicejet, Jet Airways, Air India

The ferry is intended for local residents who are ready to spend several days in the water in terrible conditions, along with mice and cockroaches, so for tourists and travelers, the only option is air. You can fly from anywhere in India, but, in any case, you will have to transfer or stop in Chennai or Calcutta.

If you check now the prices for flights from Mumbai or New Delhi to Port Blair (the only airport on the Andamans), you will be pleasantly surprised. We gave a little over 100 euros for the air flight New Delhi - Port Blair - Mumbai. And all thanks to the fact that the airline Spicejet held a sale, in which we were lucky. Therefore, our advice is to always keep an eye on the sales of various airlines.

It is in Port Blair that the only airport is located that accepts all tourists. The airport is only open from morning to afternoon, when all flights take place. Upon arrival, you need to obtain a permit (permit) to stay on the Andamans. It's simple - immediately after getting off the plane you will be invited to a special counter, where you will fill out a form and receive your permit and a stamp in your passport (when you leave Andaman, you will also be given an exit stamp). This permit is required for buying ferry tickets, booking accommodation, etc., do not lose it under any circumstances.

There is nothing to do in Port Blair itself, there is neither to swim nor to relax. Port Blair is waypoint to Havelock Island. Everyone rests there, of course, there are also other islands - for example, the Nile, but all tourists choose Havelock. We met with the Poles who were on the Nile Island, and so, they said that the coast there is rocky, you can’t swim much.

After arriving in Port Blair, everyone immediately goes to the ferry to Havelock. The last ferry departs at 2 or 3 pm, so if you miss it, you will have to spend the night in a guest house and take the ferry to Havelock in the morning. Prices for guest houses in Port Blair range from 400 to 700 rupees.

How to get to Havelock Island?

Helicopter. Unfortunately, we do not have information on prices, but this method is 100% possible, since it was offered to us.
Ferry. We, like other vacationers, traveled by ferry. There is a state ferry and there are private traders. It is problematic to buy tickets for the state ferry - all locals use it, so tickets must be bought at least a day before departure (in our time, everything was sold out in the next 2 days). Tickets are sold immediately at the station. A state ferry ticket costs about 400 rupees, the conditions, as you can deduct from the Internet, are not very good.
The best situation with private traders, we sailed with Makruzz. Ticket price - 900 rupees, 5 hours on the way, good conditions. You can only buy a ticket at their office, so immediately after leaving the airport, take a taxi or tuk-tuk to their office (all drivers know where it is). For reference, a taxi at the airport ticket office to the station costs 110 rupees.

There are also other private traders, we don’t remember their names, but at the airport information center they will tell you everything and tell you.

Havelock Island

Here we are finally in heaven. Immediately from the station we take a tuk-tuk and ask him to take us to a good / cheap (it all depends on what interests you) bungalow. We lived in the off season (end of April) and paid 500 rupees per night in a bungalow, although at first the owner wanted 1000 rupees. Do not forget - this is India, you should always bargain here. Even in season, 700-800 rupees is considered an adequate price, but by no means 1000.

There are seven beaches on Havelock, everyone lives on luxurious beaches (1-6) with luxurious palm trees, white sand and clear water, and go swimming on beach number 7. You can get to it on a rented bike or by bus. The bus schedule can be found in any cafe. Personally, we liked the beach where we lived more - although it was very shallow there, it was possible to enjoy all the delights of the sea climate here. Island number 7 has the best conditions for swimming, but the beach itself is not so beautiful.

Prices are about the same as in Goa. The problem with the Internet is from the mob. only AirTel operates here, there is no free wi-fi here, there are special cafes where an hour of Internet costs $5.

You can eat anywhere: everywhere is tasty and cheap, fruits are also extremely cheap. But the best thing about Havelock is Elephanta Beach. It is not difficult to get to it - first you need to take a bus (or bike) that goes to beach number 7 and ask the driver to stop at Elephant Beach. From the stop you have to go through the forest to the beach, the time is about 20-30 minutes, it is impossible to get lost, the whole road is marked. They say that it is here that you can meet elephants that bathe. Unfortunately, we did not manage to see them, but we liked the beach itself.

Again - white sand, palm trees and crystal pure water. Perhaps this perfect place for swimming - the water level changes gradually, there is no rapid descent, the water is so clear that you can see absolutely the entire bottom, many go diving there - besides the crystal water, it is also quite interesting sea world, cute little fish swim near the shore. If you are in Havelock, this beach is a must-see!

Series of articles "The Disappearing Tribes of South Asia"

Marina Bakanova

Andamans are considered a completely separate, unique branch of the Australoid-Negroid race, which, however, separated from it so long ago that they currently act as an ethnotype of the pra-race.

More recently, the indigenous inhabitants of the Andaman Islands were considered the descendants of slaves transported by the Portuguese, whose ship was wrecked. At present, a clear and undoubted genetic connection has been established between the Andamans and the indigenous population of Australia, the Semangs and Aeta of Indonesia, and partly with the Munga tribes of India. However, even these connections are recognized by researchers as very ancient. Linguistic analysis also confirms them - several Papuan dialects are recognized as related to the Andaman languages - however, the separation of languages \u200b\u200boccurred, apparently, several tens of millennia ago.

The territories of Hindustan were settled by hominids more than 2 million years ago. The appearance of a modern type of man occurred 70-50 thousand years ago - they were people from East Africa, which, during the next glaciation, were able to overcome the water barrier of the Red Sea and enter Asia Minor, spreading from there to Europe to the west and India and China to the east. They belonged to the Pra-Negroid-Australoid race and were at a level of development corresponding to the Upper Paleolithic or initial stage Mesolithic.

Gradually under the influence of changing climatic conditions and pressure from neighboring tribes, they move from the western part of Hindustan to the east and then to Indochina and Australia, reaching almost simultaneously modern Sri Lanka and Australia about 40 thousand years ago. This was probably facilitated by the ice age, which exposed " land bridges"or significantly reduced the depth and width of the inter-island straits, which made achievable nearest islands for primitive watercraft. There is partial confirmation that in the same period, people of the Negroid-Australoid race also originally reached North America through the Bering Isthmus, which connected Kamchatka and Alaska against the background of a general decrease in the level of the World Ocean.

Of course, modern ethnographic data is not enough to be 100% sure, but it is quite likely that the Australians are the descendants of a tribe that migrated at once, a wave that passed from Africa throughout South and South-East Asia not staying anywhere for long. However, small independent tribes periodically broke away from this wave, which settled in modern Hindustan, Indochina, and the islands of Polynesia. There is a possibility that one of the breakaway tribes, as already mentioned above, chose the northern path of movement and reached the shores of North America.

Probably the first population explosion in history was experienced by Western Asia about 30 thousand years ago. In this region, optimal for human existence, the improvement of hunting tools began and, as a result, suffered a sharp decrease in the number of large mammals, along with an increase in the total number of people. It was the surplus of food that led to a sharp jump in demography and the beginning of a wide settlement of people of the Anterior Asian type (probably Proto-Indo-Europeans). Part of the population was forced out to the west and began to re-populate Europe (at least its southern part), part apparently could return to Africa - to its north coast while others moved east. It is possible that these prehistoric migrations were driven not by demographic pressures, but by the movement of ever-decreasing large animal populations. Finally, the hypothesis that ancient man, like our contemporaries moved in search of a new, unknown, i.e. he was driven by a purely cognitive interest.

In Hindustan, the Proto-Indo-Europeans encountered an autochthonous Negroid-Australoid population - gradually partially mixing with it and forming a Dravidian racial subtype, and partially displacing it in the direction of the southeast. Settlement from Western Asia more than southbound than in the northern (European) is associated with the fact that about 26-20 thousand years ago there was an era of the ice age.

Also related to this period is the fact that the Andaman Islands at that time were much closer to India than they are now. Since they actually represent the protruding peaks of the underwater mountain range, which stretches from Hindustan towards Myanmar and Indonesia, and which, during the glaciation and the associated shallowing of the ocean by 100-130m, was much more exposed than now. Modern Northern part The ridge, now underwater, at that time was a group of islands, about 30-50 km short of Hindustan. It was quite within the power of the ancient tribes to overcome this distance, even on conciliatory swimming facilities.

The gradual displacement of the Negroid-Australoid population by new arrivals created a tense situation. Part of the tribes of modern southeast india and Bangladesh shifted along the route beaten by the proto-Australians to the islands of Polynesia, some were apparently simply exterminated. Probably, the proto-Andamans also underwent almost complete extermination, since it was pure madness to try to cross a rather large strip of ocean on primitive swimming facilities, not only for fishermen (who apparently had been here periodically before), but also for women with children. Most likely, this event took place already at the end of the ice age somewhere between the 22nd-21st century BC.

Some of the proto-Andamans were apparently assimilated by other Negroid-Australoid tribes who came from the west.

Literally after 1-2 millennia, southeastern Hindustan experienced a new wave of demographic pressure - this time from the east. The proto-Mongoloid tribes, having also risen one step higher in their development, began to settle in Southeast Asia and gradually moving west cut the previously single branch of the Negroid-Australoids, dividing the natives of Polynesia and Australia from the autochthonous population of South Asia. Also, they probably created the second (and by no means the last) wave of immigrants in North America, which occurred a little later than the movement in the South Asian direction. The proto-Andamans of the second wave (who later formed the population of large northern islands) - already with a more ethnically mixed population of several Negroid-Australoid tribes, turned out to be squeezed in a vise between immigrants from the east and from the west.

It was at this time (and the tribal memory is very tenacious and probably the stories about the resettlement of part of the tribe to the "southern land" in unfavorable times have been preserved) it was apparently decided to resettle the remnants (to this moment already more mixed) tribe there too. This second wave of settlers was already at a slightly higher level of development, although it is likely that some of the skills were lost. This period of migration to the Andaman Islands probably occurred at the end of the ice age and the beginning of the melting of glaciers around 19-18 thousand BC. It is quite possible that this group of settlers had to spend much more time on the high seas. long time than the pioneers, since the land had already begun to give way to the ocean.

The same group of immigrants was much more numerous, active and active. Appearing from the north, they began to push the first arrivals until they drove them from all the more or less large and significant islands of the archipelago to the very south. Further displacement was interrupted by the time of the “great water” (the first historical mention of the Andamanese about themselves) - or, more simply, a warming period that raised the water level in the ocean to the modern one and finally divided the islands of the archipelago. It is precisely the moment that, since the time of the division of the islands, the displacement of the small peoples of the archipelago ceased and they began a quiet independent life, confirms the fact that the settlers of the second wave had to travel by sea for quite a long time and they no longer risked embarking on long sea voyages, leaving their former tribesmen to live calmly on the outlying islands. Andamanese are still the classic inhabitants of the forest, they have never been unique civilization did not dare to settle in coastal areas.

Part of the Negroid-Australoid tribes that remained on the subcontinent probably partially mixed with the newly arrived Proto-Mongoloids, which, however, was very fleeting (by historical standards), since the retreating glaciers liberated vast uninhabited expanses of Siberia, and through it the transition to the American continent. So - the proto-Mongoloids, having settled in Indochina and in eastern India, stopped the pressure. And the descendants of the Negroid-Australoids with a small part of the Mongoloid blood subsequently formed the modern peoples of the Munda group.

So, since the time of the "great water" Andamanese remain cut off from the outside world. The memories of the people who went south were lost or transformed into stories about the settlement of the islands of Polynesia (these, unlike the Andaman Islands, remained fairly easy to reach). Separated by a water barrier more than a thousand miles from the mainland, they (as well as the Tasmanians) begin their completely independent path into the future.

And although Ptolemy also mentioned the presence of the Andaman Islands and even expressed ideas that there should be a population on them, the Andamans remained unknown to the world until the 19th century, which became possible solely due to the "forest" nature of the life of the Andamanese. The islands until a certain point - the beginning of the mass migration of the British and Indians - were simply considered uninhabited.

The Andamans are a unique group of tribes that have kept the style of life of the people of the Stone Age practically intact. Even the skill of making fire by some tribes was lost until the appearance of Europeans on the islands.

Short stature ( average height about 140 cm), extremely dark skin color, curly hair - external signs of an ethnic group, according to which some scientists assumed they belonged to the pygmies. As it turned out as a result of genetic analyzes, these two groups of undersized nations have nothing in common with each other. Similar signs were formed as a result of similar living conditions - in the evergreen jungle. Although it can be assumed with fairly strong certainty that short stature or a genetic propensity for it was formed back in the days of the tribes living on the territory of Hindustan, since there were impenetrable jungles on the peninsula at that time and memories of " tall people” was not preserved in the memory of the people.

Surprisingly, the world of the Andaman Islands, which is not rich in extraordinary events, has made it possible to preserve a unique tribal memory of the events of the distant past. This is how the Andamanese remember the existence of large mammals, including those already extinct, although none of the large animals now live on the islands and did not live before. Moreover, they remember them not only by their names, but can describe both their appearance and habits. The Andamanese themselves refer to these traditions as "narrated by the ancestors". Also in the tribal legends, very correct information about the time of the "Big Water" - the end ice age, when the unified land of Andaman was divided into many islands and they finally lost their already unreliable connection with the mainland.

So, at the time of the conquest of the islands, the British counted 12 tribes here with a total number of about 5,000 people. Potentially, the nature of Andaman could feed a larger population, so it remains a mystery to this day how the population was regulated, whether it was artificially regulated or associated with difficult living conditions, when mortality, including infant mortality, was very high.

At present, the number of Andamanese has declined catastrophically. Almost the entire population of Greater Anadaman died out as a result of introduced diseases, to which the descendants of the inhabitants of the Paleolithic had no immunity. All northern tribes: Aka-Kari, Aka-Kora, Aka-Boa, Aka-Jeru, Aka-Bea and others united into one tribe, living compactly on a small island and numbering no more than 50 members. Formally, they are already dead.

Slightly more fortunate was the Jarawa tribe, one of the southern tribes. It was probably the most developed, active and aggressive tribe, which was initially pushed back from the Great Anadaman to the south, but at some historical moment managed to regain territories in the north, and during the advent of Europeans it turned out to be more resistant to introduced diseases and more open to cooperation and adoption of a new way of life. Their settlement area even increased in the absence of the indigenous tribes of Greater Andaman, they also partially left the jungle and began to settle on the coast. The number of this tribe has about 300 people, and there are good chance that it is gradually starting to grow, since in recent decades the Indian authorities have begun to intensively protect the Andamanese from unnecessary contacts, including tourist ones.

Another tribe - the Onge, also from the Small Andaman tribes, is in the stage of a fairly stable balance of numbers. Although this nation survived to a lesser extent than the Jarawa, only about 100 people, nevertheless - being on the isolated very south island archipelago, they have every chance of rebirth.

The similarity (genetic and cultural) of the Jarawa and the Onge suggests that a few thousand years ago it was one tribe that inhabited the very south of the archipelago, but part of it left to return those lost in the distant past. northern lands, and having successfully conquered part of the territory of the Great Andaman, she settled them. Some remained in the south. Over time, these tribes acquired some differences, however, not cardinal ones, and this is what gave at least some historical information about the culture and history of the Andamanese. Both tribes, the Onge and the Jarawa, now belong to the southern tribes.

And the most original group is the Sentinelese from the island of the same name. Complete isolates and so-called "non-contact tribes". Their island is the westernmost in the archipelago and is far enough away from the main group of islands. There are facts indicating that there were still contacts with the Sentinelese, but extremely rarely and, as a rule, ended sadly for the contactees on both sides. Several people from the island were taken into slavery or killed, and aliens were also killed. Until now, even outsiders who accidentally got on the island are killed (there is a possibility that they are taken to the jungle without the right to return). The total population is unknown. However, it is certain that they survived the devastating tsunami of 2004 safely. The fruits left on the shore were taken away at night after the flood.

By the way - the rest of the Andamanese were not affected by the tsunami. A few days before it began, they “without explaining anything to anyone” left for a hill. All the victims of the tsunami that suffered the Andaman Islands were among the newcomer Indian population.

Thus, at the moment there are about 500 people belonging to different Andaman tribes.

By the way, the greater resistance of the Jaravs to European diseases and the greater tendency to progress and activity can be explained by the inclusion of “fresh genes” at some stage in the development of the tribe. Perhaps at the expense of Arabs or Europeans who were shipwrecked near the lands of the tribe. Which, not being able to return to their homeland, were included in its composition and left viable offspring. At the same time, there were an extremely limited number of them (from 1 to 3 people), which did not have any cultural impact on the tribe.

And the non-contact of the Sentinelese is quite understandable from the point of view of the culture of "taboo" on communication with outsiders, which arose as a result of the first bloody contacts. Or is there another hypothesis? Namely, the Sentinelese originally belonged to some other Andaman tribe and were expelled (or moved themselves) to a tiny island uninhabited before, in view of ideological and cultural differences or as violators of the laws of the tribe, and it was strictly forbidden for them to return. Having built their own tribe with their own culture and laws, they, nevertheless, preserved in the tribal memory the ban on returning and on contact with other people so that this particular commandment became above all for them. However, such resettlement could take place only in the very distant past, several millennia ago, since it takes a very long time to form a culture, especially in a primitive society.

There was another tribe, also from the Little Andaman, from the island of Rutland, which completely died out by 1924 and about which there is practically no information.

In fact, the representatives of the Jarawa tribe are now the most accessible for study, but they cannot give complete information about the life and culture of the Andamanese, because with each new generation it loses its unique look and culture. It is possible that in the next century, even despite the efforts of the Indian authorities and the policy of non-intervention, the Andamanese will cease to exist.

Andamanese languages are also unique. Strictly speaking, this is an absolutely separate family of languages, which has a very distant relationship with part of the Papuan languages and the Kusunda and Nihali languages of India. However, even this very distant relationship only emphasizes that the Andamanese languages \u200b\u200bwere separated from the rest many millennia ago. The languages are divided into northern and southern Andamanese, which in turn are divided into several more groups. Most Andamanese languages are currently "dead".

The life of the Andamanese in the 21st century is almost similar to the life of their ancestors who came to the islands tens of millennia ago. Their main occupations are hunting and gathering. At the moment, all Andamanese can be divided into coastal and forest (the latter are more conservative). Forest Andamanese live by hunting wild animals, mainly wild pigs, and collect grains and roots of edible plants, fruits, and honey. Coastal also engaged in fishing and catching sea turtles.

The main hunting tools are a bow and a harpoon, the only tamed animal is a dog. Moreover, taming did not take place on the islands, the Pro-Andamans brought the dogs here together with their families, utensils and other household items during the “great migration”. Moreover, now it is not known whether it was brought by both groups of immigrants or came only with the second wave.

All tribes periodically move to new territory, while - coastal more often change their place of residence. The forest Andamanese have buildings of a collective type, when the whole tribe lives in one common house, rectangular in shape with a gable roof covered with palm leaves. Coastal tribes already use separate family-type houses, round with a conical roof.

The children live with their families. Boys, starting from the age of 10, live separately in the company of other unmarried boys in men's homes. Girls stay at their parents' house until marriage.

The organization of society is quite simple. Andamanese live in small groups of up to 30 people. There are some semblances of the position of leaders, although often the people referred to by Europeans as "leader" performed completely different functions. Inter-tribal and inter-clan contacts are very weak. There is no single tribal structure, just as there is no private property. It is possible that before the arrival of Europeans, the social structure was more developed, since it allowed different tribes not to mix and live in isolation from each other, even in the same or neighboring territories. Private property, as such, does not exist either. There are no similar concepts in any of the Andamanese languages, which can be regarded as the complete absence of a stage of private property in the development of the Andamanese in principle.

Intimate relationships before marriage are very common. At present, they most likely wear just a traditional version, and in the era of prosperity of the Andamanese, they were a biological necessity that made it possible to determine the ability of a girl to become pregnant and bear children. Similar customs are recorded in other primitive tribes, and a girl who was able to become pregnant and give birth to a healthy child was considered fit for a wife. In principle, such an approach is fully justified, especially in primitive tribes.

However, after the wedding, "connections on the side" were no longer encouraged. And this is also quite justified. Andamanese lived in an isolated society, and isolated from mainland, and the isolation of individual tribes on the islands. The total number of tribes, even in the best of times, was relatively low and they could avoid degeneration only with strict genetic control, avoiding closely related mixing, for which it was necessary to strictly know the father and mother of each member of the tribe. And take this into account when deciding on marriage.

The marriage ceremonies themselves among the Andamanese are very simple. The decision to marry is made by older relatives. On the day of the wedding ceremony, the groom runs away into the forest. His relatives catch him and convince him to return and marry. Returning, he sits on the bride's knees, after which the marriage is considered concluded. It is also possible to remarry after the death of one of the spouses.

Funeral rites are also simple. The deceased is left on a special platform for three months, after which the body or what is left of it (together with the platform) is buried. To a certain extent, this is reminiscent of the customs of Zoroastrianism, in which the body of the deceased was considered not clean and could not be buried, put into fire or water (the bodies of the dead were hung on special towers). Dead children are buried more simply - under the floorboards of the house. What is unique is that the bones of the deceased, cleared of soft tissues, are not considered unclean, they can be dug up and used to create jewelry.

Traditional clothing included only a loincloth made of wood fibers. Some jewelry was welcomed in the form of beads, necklaces, bracelets. Characteristic - the use of clay for face painting (especially in Onge). But the length of the hair and hairstyle in each tribe is different. It is quite possible - this is the preserved custom of identifying members of "one's" tribe, the ability to understand from afar who you might encounter in the jungle.

The foundations of spiritual culture are quite simple. The main spirits are revered Pulugu (in alternative- Biliku) and Tarai, which personify the two main elements that affect the life of the islands - the summer and winter monsoons. The arrival of each of the spirits marks the change of the season. There is also a hero - Tomo, who taught his descendants the craft. It can be assumed that it was a real man, the leader who led the settlers to the Andamans. The rest is classic animism. The basis is the belief in the spirits of nature, and - the souls of dead adults also become the spirits of nature. But there are no souls of children - they return to earth in the form of new children. There are also traces of totemism in religion, the names of animals are given to the ancestors. Shamans and magic play a very important role. Generally, shamans are considered to be able to protect people from the evil spirits of nature.

The main cultural wealth of the Andamanese is dancing. Both children and adults, women and men dance. Moreover, dances are practiced every day. There are no musical instruments and therefore dances are accompanied only by songs. The movements are quite monotonous and the movements are simple. It is possible that dancing has the function of charging or warming up before or after a hard day. Kind of a workout for the muscles.

There is a tradition of exchanging gifts between tribes, but it could not develop into a real barter trade - since each tribe lives in the same conditions and has almost the same household set.

The unique ability of the Andamanese is dowsing - at a very long distance they are able to feel the presence of a living being. Whether this quality came from the distant past and whether it was lost at the time of the creation of civilization by the rest of the peoples of the Earth, or whether it was formed as a new genetic mutation in conditions of isolation - at the moment it is impossible to answer this question accurately. There are only assumptions. Taking into account the fact that abilities for dowsing are manifested (in varying degrees of course) and among other “wild” tribes, then probably in antiquity, in the Paleolithic era, this feeling was universal, which was gradually lost with the development of civilization, simply due to unkindness.

And there remains practically one main question: why did the Andamanese not evolve? Didn't they switch to horticulture and then private property? In fact, they did not even go so far as to single out a tribal leader - a leader.

Was this due to an abundance of natural resources that provided the tribes with enough food and did not force them to look for new sources of it? Indeed, by the time the Europeans arrived, the nature of the islands could indeed feed a much more saturated population than the 5,000 people present here.

Or was there a conscious rejection of progress? And - with the support of the optimal population, which the island is able to feed without an overstrain of natural forces? Is it possible that the Andamanese are some kind of "ancient dissidents" who consciously abandoned progress and consciously maintain the optimal natural balance and their numbers, according to it?

The last statement is quite possible, since the Andamanese were well aware that they lived in isolation and, with an excess of population, a great famine would break out, since in general there was nowhere else to go. It is also likely that there were several such periods of famine in the history of the tribes of the Andaman Islands, and thanks to which they learned to maintain the optimal size of their population.

We are used to the fact that the black population of our planet was concentrated in Africa. However, short people with dark skin and curly hair, very similar to African pygmies, live not only on the Black Continent. Since ancient times, they have inhabited the Pacific Islands and Australia, where they are called Negritos (from the diminutive form of the word negro - “black”).

Scientists do not know exactly when exactly the Pacific natives settled on many large and small islands and where they came from. The mystery is this: along with black-skinned and curly-haired undersized natives, by the time they were discovered by Europeans, people of a different type also lived on these islands - taller, with relatively fair skin. But although both were at a relatively low stage of development, the black natives were complete savages.

Lots of blacks and curly

On major islands, where the Negritos coexisted with the Polynesians, travelers from Europe were struck by the contrast. The Polynesians, against their background, seemed to be quite developed tribes. Europeans were just surprised that black dwarfs were completely unwilling to adopt the cultural achievements of their neighbors and vehemently defend their way of life. They naively thought that these short people were simply unable to learn from the experience of others.

Today, there is a very strong opinion on this matter. Little black people, along with Indian Veddoids, once populated all of Southeast Asia. They belonged to the first wave of immigrants from Africa, who preserved the culture of their relatives on the Black Continent. Given that the exodus from Africa took place almost 100 thousand years ago, their relatives were in a state of deepest savagery. This level of savagery was preserved by black settlers in its original form. And when more developed waves of immigrants came from the same Africa, the little black people were forced to retreat and retreat. They were forced out of the Asian mainland, and they began to retreat to the south - to lands that later turned into islands. It is believed that then the future islands were connected by land bridges up to Australia.

Black-skinned savages survived their exodus and laid the foundation for many island peoples - Andamanese, Filipinos (Aeta), Semangs, Tapiros, New Caledonians, Melanesians, Australian aborigines and barrines. But even on the islands they were overtaken by new waves of immigrants who stood at a higher level of development. And the black natives had no choice but to retreat again. Only on the islands it was more difficult to do this. And they retreated to islands not yet inhabited or deep into the lands where this trouble caught them. Gradually, the Negritos found themselves either on the most remote and useless islands, or in such inaccessible and wild places, where more civilized neighbors would never want to settle.

These peoples are in such a state even today. I must say, the neighbors have not the most pleasant opinion about them. And there is a reason...

natural born cannibals

You probably read about the Andamanese in your childhood in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of the Four: “They are very ugly. They have a large, irregularly shaped head, tiny, evil eyes, and repulsive features. Their arms and legs are remarkably small. They are so vicious and savage that all the efforts of the British authorities to tame them have always ended in failure. They have always been a storm of castaways. When captured, they usually kill with stone-tipped clubs or poisoned arrows. The massacre, as a rule, ends with a cannibal feast. The main villain of this story is accompanied by an Andamanese native devoted to him.

And although, due to the politically correct, it is not customary to talk about the bad customs of the islanders, many negritos still have a great addiction to cannibalism. In any case, even 20 years ago, ethnographers had to take part in special meals of little black natives. In some tribes, it was customary to eat more civilized neighbors, with whom the natives fought short wars. In others, they killed their own compatriots, very often children. Among the natives, there was an initiation rite, which consisted in the fact that a young man entering adulthood had to kill the enemy, cut off his head, boil it and present it as a gift to the elders of the tribe. The gift to the bride looked similar - the same boiled and dried head. Moreover, not a single girl of the tribe would give consent to marriage until the applicant for her hand proved that he was a real man - that is, without cut off enemy heads, there was nothing to hope for.

Cannibalism flourished even where the natives had no neighbors. There, the custom was transformed into eating the flesh of the dead. Often, at first, the dead were bitterly mourned, carried from hut to hut, even buried in the ground, and then exhumed and eaten. They ate, of course, and strangers. If the natives were lucky and a ship was in distress near the islands, the survivors were finished off and their bodies were tied by the legs to a pole stuck in the seabed - so as not to be carried away by the current. The shipwreck was considered by the natives a great holiday, when you can eat plenty of human meat. When there were many dead, the bodies were boiled, smoked and harvested for future use. It must be said that it was not only negritos who sinned with cannibalism. But it was with them that this custom lingered for a very long time. It was fought (and for the most part unsuccessfully) first by the British and Dutch colonizers, and then by local governments. Cannibalism persists today, especially in remote areas. For example, in the Philippines there are mountainous areas where tourists are not allowed.

However, the natives are very reluctant to integrate into modern civilization. They try not to contact their neighbors, live very isolated, cherish their customs and do not allow strangers into their environment. They also have a difficult relationship with local authorities.

One of the Andaman Islands, North Sentinel Island, which is officially part of India, is inhabited by people standing at such a low stage of development that the authorities decided never to visit it and not to send officials there. No one knows what is happening on this island. It is small - only 72 square kilometers and no more than 500 inhabitants. All attempts by officials to land on the island failed
failure - spears were thrown at them and arrows were sent, and 10 years ago, when the natives decided that the fishermen had violated the border of their territory, they killed two people. The Government of India sent a helicopter to the island to deliver the bodies for burial, but the helicopter was attacked by a hail of arrows. And although the pilots assured that they saw the bodies of the unfortunate, laid in shallow graves, this does not mean that the fishermen were buried. It may well be that after a short “exposure”, human meat was taken out of the graves and eaten, especially since the island is very poor in fauna and the natives eat mainly fish and other seafood.

Paradise for ethnographers

Of course, not all Negritos avoid contact with civilization. Some natives managed to "fit" into the framework of modern society. But only partially. The civilization of the Negritos in the Philippines looks like this.

They hunt mainly with spears or bows, drive animals into traps, and gather. Occasionally, primitive agriculture is used - sweet potatoes are sown. The clothing of the natives is minimal - a narrow loincloth or apron (for women). But the whole body is tattooed and decorated with pig hair bracelets. Among the natives, general illiteracy flourishes. Their faith is ordinary - pagan. However, the tribes govern themselves in a special way. They put a Christian mayor at the head of the community, to whom the negritos policemen obey. And the alcalde himself submits to the mayor of the town closest to the tribe. In fact, the alcalde simply reports on the work done, and the tribe lives its own life. At the right age, boys are initiated, and at the right age, they get married. Moreover, since the role of a hunter is more important than the role of a gatherer of roots, girls eat worse and die more often. And with women, negritos have a problem. They are few. So the groom pays for the bride a huge ransom by local standards. Life is spent in a constant struggle with disasters and hunger.

But ethnographers really enjoy visiting the natives. For them, this is a journey into the Stone Age.

Nikolai Kotomkin

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 jealously guards this untouched corner 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, at the 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 into the sea. 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.

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.
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.
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.
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.
Tribe Shompens formally, it is not an inhabitant of the Andaman, but of the Nicobar Islands. It lives on the island of Great Nicobar. Today the tribe has no more than 150 people.

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).

"The great Andamanese tribes are in perfect order," Lieutenant Governor Ram Kapse said, "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 are disputes about whether to leave them to themselves or try to assimilate," said in an interview. The Times Deputy Chief of Police in Port Blair Vasudeva Rao - but they are believed 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 is less than 150 cm. Negritos, which means "little blacks", were called by the Spaniards.

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.