Besides the Jarawa, three other tribes live in the Andaman islands: the
Great Andamanese, the Onge and the Sentinelese. These three tribes,
like their neighbours the Jarawa, are thought to have travelled to the
Andaman islands from Africa up to 60,000 years ago. As the languages of
the four tribes are mutually unintelligible, it is likely that once
they reached the islands they had little contact with each other.
However, their ways of life are similar – all hunt and gather in the
forest, and fish in the coastal waters. The tribes, though, have fared
very differently since their islands were first colonised by the
British 150 years ago:
Great Andamanese
ëI think what happened to us is going to happen to the Jarawa too.' Lichu, Great Andamanese woman.
Of the four tribes, colonisation proved most disastrous for the Great
Andamanese. When the British arrived they were a people of more than
5,000; today, only 41 survive. Hundreds of Great Andamanese were killed
in conflicts with British settlers, as the tribe defended their
territory from invasion. The British then changed their tactics and set
up an ëAndaman Home' where they kept captured Andamanese. Many more of
the tribe died from disease and abuse in the home, and of 150 babies
born there, none survived beyond the age of two. In 1970, the remaining
Great Andamanese were moved to the tiny Strait Island by the Indian
authorities, where they are now totally dependent on the government for
food, shelter and clothing. Abuse of alcohol, often supplied with the
compliance of government officials, is rife among the surviving Great
Andamanese.
Onge
ëI don't think I'll be able to marry as there are no Onge girls to
marry any more. My people could die out because soon there will be no
more babies.' Young Onge man, Dugong Creek.
The Onge were also decimated following contact with the British and the
Indians, their population falling from 670 people in 1900 to around 100
today. The Indian government tried to force the Onge to work on a
plantation on their island of Little Andaman, but this was
unsuccessful. Today the Onge, like the Great Andamanese, are largely
dependent on government rations. Little Andaman is now also home to
Indian settlers, and much of the island has been deforested. Being able
to hunt wild pigs is essential to the Onge, as according to their
customs men cannot marry until they have killed one. Now, however, the
Onge complain that outsiders are hunting all their pigs; this is
contributing to an already low birth rate among the Onge. Survival is
campaigning for their land to be protected from outsiders.
Sentinelese
The Sentinelese live on their own small island, North Sentinel, and
continue to resist all contact with outsiders, attacking anyone who
comes near. They live in long communal huts with several hearths, and
like the Onge, they use outrigger canoes to travel the seas around
their island. They are thought to number between 50 and 200 people. The
Indian government has made several unsuccessful attempts to establish
friendly contact with the tribe. Contacting the Sentinelese would
almost certainly have tragic consequences, as their isolation makes
them very vulnerable to diseases to which they have no immunity. Since
the coastal waters around the Jarawa reserve have been so heavily used
by poachers, these illegal fishermen are now turning their attention to
the waters surrounding North Sentinel. Survival is urging the
administration of the Andaman Islands to make no further attempt to
contact the Sentinelese, and to put a stop to the poaching around their
island.