NAVIK: THE ISLAND FROM THE PAST: North Sentinel Island

Hello there!

The North Sentinel island is located in the archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. The place has got its fame from the fact that the people here are still living in the Stone Age. Not far than 50 kilometres from the same place is the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Port Blair, which is a developing city. It seems very interesting that under the range of 50 kilometres, there can be two places one being a major city and another being at a Stone Age. The same interest is the reason for the article today.

Vajiramias.com

The island is home to the Sentinelese tribe which moved from Africa to the North Sentinel Island nearly 60,000 years ago and were among the first African people to migrate from Africa. The fact that these people were among the first to migrate, is established upon the basis of two facts:

Turtles are afraid of the island and don't visit there. It has been approved from studies that it takes 10s and 1000s of years for turtles to develop this awareness of hostility from a place. This supports the fact that North Sentinel island is the home to the tribe for a very long time.

worldwildlife.org

During the British rule, the British administration tried to develop communication between Jarawa, Onge tribes and the Sentinelese tribe. They all had similar painting styles and had been there for years. But due to the long period of time elapsed the language gap was developed and both the languages of tribes had nothing in common. This also depicts that they have stayed there on the island for many years.

REMARKS AND VISITS TO THE ISLAND

The island has a lot of remarks from the past. In his own words, the 13th century Explorer Marco Polo said that “They are very cruel and kill and eat every foreigner whom they can land their hands upon.” There have been several attempts intended or accidental to establish contact with the Sentinel people. The first of the contacts include the 1867 shipwreck of Nineveh, an Indian Merchant ship that ran aground on Sentinel island and was attacked by the Sentinelese. They were eventually saved by the British patrol forces. Following this event in 1880, a British administrator, Morris Vidal Portman, brought 4 natives from the Sentinel island to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to study end communication. Soon the elder ones (among the brought people), died due to the exposure to germs and pathogens. Fearful of this, Morris returned the children back to the island. And that was the last time one could do it because after that everything which approached the island was attacked from the Island. After a century passed, in 1977, a ship MV Presely, ran aground and just after four years in 1981 a freight and passenger ferry and operated by Transeuropa Ferries, MV Primrose Struck the island.

Fellowprimo

The crew members of both the Ships were eventually saved. Furthermore, Contacts include the visit of Belgian King leopard III in 1975, who was also attacked by one native resulting him, in fleeing away from the island.

FRIENDLY- INTERACTIONS

thetimes.co.uk

After all these events there has been a proper friendly encounter with the Sentinelese people. In 1991, the Indian government sent many anthropologists and researchers along with doctors and other enthusiasts to the island. They went alongside some people of the Onga tribe. They gifted several coconuts to the Sentinelese people. This was the only friendly interaction that has been done with the Sentinelese people.

THE 2004 TSUNAMI AND THE ISLAND

In 2004, A Tsunami broke out in the treacherous waters of the Indian Ocean. This tsunami caused a series of devastations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A lot of cities were affected causing the loss of properties and assets. The Indian government sent helicopters and drones to the North Sentinel island, to review the conditions and the loss that happened at the Island. It was believed that the tsunami would have wiped out the Sentinelese people. When the helicopter reached above North Sentinel Island, it was attacked by arrows and sticks from the natives revealing the fact that they were alive and active.

Survival International

One of very intriguing discovery that was made in this 2004 helicopter visit came from the arrow which got stuck in the helicopter. the arrow was studied and it was found that The tips of the arrows were now made of iron rather than stone. This depicts the fact that the Sentinelese people have moved towards the Iron Age and have started using Iron as weapons. There was a good deep study and a fact was released that the ships MV Presely and MV Primrose have accidentally provided the Iron to the people which has started the Iron age at the Island. This is actually very interesting.

RECENT INTERACTIONS

Recent interactions have not been good and friendly with these Sentinelese people. In 2006, two drunk fishermen came nearer to Sentinel Island and were attacked and killed by the Sentinelese people. Their bodies were buried by the Sentinelese people which were retrieved by the Indian Government later. But this established the fact that these people are not cannibals.

The New York Times

Recently in 2018, an American missionary John Allen Chau was on an illegal mission to preach Christianity to the Sentinelese who got attacked and most probably killed by the Sentinelese people.

CAN WE GO THERE ?

The answer is very simple and straight forward, No we can’t. The Indian Government has banned all sort of visits and tours to the island. There are several reasons for the same:

•The hostile behaviour of the Sentinelese tribe. The past experience shows how much possessive they are towards any kind of visits. In these kinds of situations, it is better to just leave them alone.

•Disease. It is an established fact that when European went to America more than 90% of American natives were diseased and several were killed by the European germs and pathogens. Since these Sentinelese people haven't been in touch with the world for 10s and 1000s of years, they have not developed the immunity for the germs in the world. Consequently, any pathogen attack due to foreign interactions may result in a total wipeout of the community of Sentinelese people.

•Right to be alone. The Indian Government also have stated that if the Sentinelese people want to live differently and away from this modern world then they must be given the right to do so. For this Indian Naval forces patrol the area for any foreign activities that can disturb the inhabitants of the North Sentinel Island.

It is truly said that the world is full of amazing things. Nobody knows when and where we can spot or find anything. We are very rapidly moving towards a new era every day, and with the new era comes new responsibilities. One of them is taking care of these faraway places.

One must remember what Cheif Seattle said,