Sentinelese people

Sentinelese

Total population
Approx. 250 (median estimate) 2001 Census: 39 (official, but incomplete, count)
Regions with significant populations
Exclusively on North Sentinel Island (India)
Languages
Sentinelese language, unclassified, but generally assumed to be one of the Andamanese languages
Religion
Unknown
Related ethnic groups
Unknown, most likely other indigenous Andamanese peoples, such as the Onge

The Sentinelese (also Sentineli, Senteneli, Sentenelese, North Sentinel Islanders) are one of the Andamanese indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal. They inhabit North Sentinel Island which lies westward off the southern tip of the Great Andaman archipelago. They are noted for vigorously resisting attempts at contact by outsiders. The Sentinelese maintain an essentially hunter-gatherer society, obtaining their subsistence through hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants; there is no evidence of either agricultural practices or use of fire technology.^{[citation needed]}

Population

The present population of the Sentinelese is not known with any great degree of accuracy, and estimates have been produced ranging from a low of fewer than 40, through a median of around 250, and up to a maximum of 500. In the 2001 Census of India, officials recorded 39 individuals^[1] (21 males and 18 females); however, out of necessity this survey was conducted from a distance^[2] and almost certainly does not represent an accurate figure for the population who range over the 72 km² (17,800 acres) island. Any medium- or long-term impact on the Sentinelese population arising from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resulting tsunami remains unknown, other than the confirmation obtained that they had survived the immediate aftermath.^[3]

On previous visits, groups of some 20–40 individuals were encountered, and habitations of 40–60 individuals were found on two occasions; the latter probably is a better approximation of group size as some individuals are almost certainly hiding out of sight any time the Sentinelese are encountered by outsiders; this would suggest that some 2–6 groups occupy the island. The rule of thumb population density of 1.5 km² (370 acres)/individual in comparable hunter-gatherer societies indicates that one such group could live off the land alone, but a significant amount of food is derived from the sea, and the groups encountered at any one time could only have come from a rather small part of the island. There appear to be slightly more males than females. At any given time, about half of the couples seemed to have dependent children or the women were pregnant.

Characteristics

The Sentinelese and other indigenous Andamanese peoples are frequently described as negritos, a term which has been applied to various widely separated peoples in Southeast Asia, such as the Semang of the Malay archipelago and the Aeta of the Philippines, as well as to other peoples as far afield as Australia (notably former populations of Tasmania). The defining characteristics of these "negrito" peoples (who are not a monophyletic group) include a comparatively short stature, dark skin and "peppercorn" hair, qualities also found commonly across the continent of Africa. No close contacts have been established, but the author Heinrich Harrer described one male as being 1.6 m/5,4 ft tall and apparently left handed.^[4]

Culture

Most of what is known about Sentinelese material culture is based on observations during contact attempts in the late 20th century.

The Sentinelese maintain an essentially hunter-gatherer society, obtaining their subsistence through hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants; there is no evidence of any agricultural practices.^{[citation needed]}

Their dwellings are either shelter-type huts with no side walls and a floor sometimes laid out with leaves, which provide enough space for a nuclear family of 3 or 4 and their belongings, or larger communal dwellings which may be some dozen square metres and are more elaborately constructed, with raised floors and partitioned family quarters.^{[citation needed]}

Advanced metalwork is unknown, as raw materials on the island are found to be extremely rare. However, it has been observed that they have made adroit use of metal objects which have washed up or been left behind on their shores, having some ability at cold smithing and sharpening iron and incorporating it into weapons and other items. For example, in the late 1980s two international container ships ran aground on the island's external coral reefs, and the Sentinelese retrieved several items of iron from the vessels.^[5]

Their weaponry consists of javelins, and a flatbow with high accuracy against human-sized targets up to nearly 100 metres.^{[citation needed]} At least 3 varieties of arrows, apparently for fishing and hunting, and untipped ones for shooting warning shots, have been documented.^{[citation needed]} Fishing arrows have a number of forward-pointing prongs, and hunting arrows have ovoid arrowheads, with bodkin-type tips for both purposes, the latter two as well as their associated barbs below the tip made from iron. The arrows are over one metre (3 ft) long. The harpoon- or javelin-type arrows are nearly half as long again, about the same length as the bows (over 5 ft), and can also be thrown or used for stabbing, but the latter probably only rarely.^{[citation needed]}

For procuring large fish, a harpoon is used which is similar in design to the fishing arrows, but nearly 2.5 metres (8 ft) long. Knives are also known, but it is unclear to what extent the Sentinelese fashion them themselves.^{[citation needed]}

Known tools include adzes, pounding and smithing stones, and various finely or coarsely woven baskets for small-grained or larger goods as well as bamboo and wooden containers. Fires are maintained as embers inside dwellings, possibly assisted by resin torches. There exist fishing nets and basic outrigger canoes used for fishing and collecting shellfish from the lagoon but not for open-sea excursions.^{[citation needed]}

Food consists primarily of plantstuffs gathered in the forest, coconuts which are frequently found on the beaches as flotsam, pigs and, presumably, other wildlife (which apart from sea turtles is limited to some smaller birds and invertebrates). Wild honey is known to be collected and the Sentinelese use a kind of rake to pull down branches to gather fruit or nuts, such as sapodilla and pandanus.^{[citation needed]}

Language and social practices

On March 29, 1970, a research party of Indian anthropologists, which included T. N. Pandit,^[6] found themselves cornered on the reef flats between North Sentinel and Constance Island. An eyewitness recorded the following from his vantage point on a boat lying off the beach:

Quite a few discarded their weapons and gestured to us to throw the fish. The women came out of the shade to watch our antics... A few men came and picked up the fish. They appeared to be gratified, but there did not seem to be much softening to their hostile attitude... They all began shouting some incomprehensible words. We shouted back and gestured to indicate that we wanted to be friends. The tension did not ease. At this moment, a strange thing happened — a woman paired off with a warrior and sat on the sand in a passionate embrace. This act was being repeated by other women, each claiming a warrior for herself, a sort of community mating, as it were. Thus did the militant group diminish. This continued for quite some time and when the tempo of this frenzied dance of desire abated, the couples retired into the shade of the jungle. However, some warriors were still on guard. We got close to the shore and threw some more fish which were immediately retrieved by a few youngsters. It was well past noon and we headed back to the ship...^[7]

Contemporary situation

Their island is nominally part of and administered by the Indian Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands; however, in practice, the Sentinelese exercise complete autonomy over their affairs, and the involvement of the Indian authorities is restricted to occasional monitoring, even more infrequent and brief visits, and generally discouraging any access or approaches to the island. It is therefore de facto autonomous.

From 1967 on, the Indian authorities in Port Blair embarked on a limited program of attempts at contacting the Sentinelese, under the auspices of the Director of Tribal Welfare and anthropologist T. N. Pandit. These "Contact Expeditions" consisted of a series of planned visits which would progressively leave "gifts", such as coconuts, on the shores, in an attempt to coax the Sentinelese from their hostile reception of outsiders. For a while, these seemed to have some limited success; however, the program was discontinued in the late 1990s following a series of hostile encounters resulting in several deaths in a similar program practised with the Jarawa people of South and Middle Andaman Islands and because of the danger of introducing diseases.

In 2006, Sentinelese archers killed two fishermen who were fishing illegally within range of the island, and drove off, with a hail of arrows, the helicopter that was sent to retrieve their bodies.^[8] To this date, their bodies remain unrecovered, although the downdraught from the helicopter's rotors at the time exposed the two fishermen, who had been buried in shallow graves by the Sentinelese.

See also

• Uncontacted peoples

Notes

1. ^ Indian Census
2. ^ as noted in description text on 29 April 2005 image, North Sentinel Island, European Space Agency
3. ^ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0125_050125_tsunami_island.html
4. ^ Harrer, Heinrich (1977). Berlijn, Ullstein. ed. Die letzten Fünfhundert: Expedition zu den Zwergvölkern auf den Andamanen. ISBN 3-550-06574-4. 
5. ^ Master Plan 1991-2021 for Welfare of Primitive Tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sec. II Ch. 21. Dept. of Tribal Welfare, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Administration; as reproduced in Andaman Book
6. ^ Noted researcher on the Andamanese and later to become Director of the Anthropological Survey of India
7. ^ Quotation reproduced in Chapter 12, The Andamanese (Weber n.d.). The original attribution for the quote is not provided.
8. ^ "Stone Age tribe kills fishermen" The Sydney Morning Herald

References

• Goodheart, Adam (2000). "The Last Island of the Savages" (reproduced online by the Andaman Association). The American Scholar 69 (4): 13–44. http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/goodheart/rep-goodheart.htm. 
• Pandit, T. N. (1990). The Sentinelese. Kolkata: Seagull Books. ISBN 81-7046-081-6. 
• Weber, George (n.d.). "The Andamanese". The Lonely Islands. The Andaman Association. http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/text-group-BodyChapters.htm. Retrieved 2007‑02‑07. 

External links

• Video of friendly contact with the Sentinelese
• "The Last Island of the Savages", in-depth article by Adam Goodheart
• Another article from the same site
• Brief factsheet about the indigenous people of the Andaman Islands, by the Andaman & Nicobar Administration
• Administration in India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands has finally decided upon a policy of minimal interference
• "The most isolated tribe in the world?". Uncontacted tribes. Survival International. http://www.survival-international.org/campaigns/uncontactedtribes/mostisolated. 
• Article from The Guardian