This is an accepted version of this page
 Group of Andamanese inc. 1903 or earlier | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 548 (2010–11) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 IndiaAndaman Islands | |
| Languages | |
| Great Andamanese languages Ongan languages (Onge,Jarawa) Sentinelese[note 1] Hindi (as second language by some) | |
| Religion | |
| Andamanese animism |
TheAndamanese are the variousindigenous peoples of theAndaman Islands, part ofIndia'sAndaman and Nicobar Islands, theunion territory in the southeastern part of theBay of Bengal. The Andamanese are a designatedScheduled Tribe in India's constitution.[7][8]
The Andamanese peoples are among the various groups consideredNegrito, owing to their dark skin and diminutive stature. All Andamanese traditionally lived ahunter-gatherer lifestyle, and appear to have lived in substantial isolation for thousands of years.[9] It is suggested that the Andamanese settled in the Andaman Islands around thelatest glacial maximum, around 26,000 years ago.[10][11]
The Andamanese peoples included theGreat Andamanese andJarawas of theGreat Andaman archipelago, theJangil of Rutland Island, theOnge ofLittle Andaman, and theSentinelese ofNorth Sentinel Island.[12] Among the Andamanese, a division of two groups can be made. One is more open to contact with civilization and the other is hostile and resistant to communicate with the outer world.[13]
At the end of the 18th century, when they first came into sustained contact with outsiders, an estimated 7,000 Andamanese remained. In the next century, they experienced a massive population decline due to epidemics of outsidediseases and loss of territory. Today, only roughly over 500 Andamanese remain, with the Jangil being extinct. Only the Jarawa and the Sentinelese maintain a steadfast independence, refusing most attempts at contact by outsiders.
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Venetian explorerMarco Polo wrote of the Andamanese in 1294, inThe Travels of Marco Polo:[14]
The people are without a king and are Idolaters, and no better than wild beasts. And I assure you all the men of this Island of Angamanain have heads like dogs, and teeth and eyes likewise; in fact, in the face they are all just like big mastiff dogs! They have a quantity of spices; but they are a most cruel generation, and eat everybody that they can catch, if not of their own race. They live on flesh and rice and milk, and have fruits different from any of ours.
The oldest archaeological evidence for the habitation of the islands dates to the1st millennium BC. Genetic evidence suggests that the indigenous Andamanese peoples share a common origin, and that the islands were settled sometime after 26,000 years ago, possibly at the end of theLast Glacial Period, when sea levels were much lower reducing the distance between the Andaman Islands and the Asian mainland,[15] with genetic estimates suggesting that the two main linguistic groups (Great Andamanese and Onge/Jarawa) diverged around 16,000 years ago.[16]
It was previously assumed that the Andaman ancestors were part of the initialGreat Coastal Migration (South-Eurasians or Australasians) that was the first expansion of humanity out of Africa, via the Arabian peninsula, along the coastal regions of theSouth Asia towardsInsular Southeast Asia, andOceania.[17][18] The Andamanese were considered to be a pristine example of a hypothesizedNegrito population, which showed similar physical characteristics, and was supposed to have existed throughout southeast Asia. The existence of a specific Negrito-population is nowadays doubted. Their commonalities could be the result of evolutionary convergence and/or a shared history.[19][20] Recent genetic studies conclusively demonstrate Negrito groups do not share a common origin to the exclusion of other Asians.[21]
The Andamanese'sprotective isolation changed with the establishment of a British colonial presence on the islands. Lacking immunity against commoninfectious diseases of the Eurasian mainland, the large Jarawa habitats on the southeastern regions of South Andaman Island experienced a massive population decline due to disease within four years of the establishment of a colonial presence on the island in 1789.[22] Epidemics ofpneumonia, measles andinfluenza spread rapidly and exacted heavy tolls, as did alcoholism.[22] In the 19th century, ameasles epidemic killed 50% of the Andamanese population.[23] By 1875, the Andamanese were already "perilously close to extinction". In 1888, theBritish government set in place a policy of "organized gift giving" that continued in varying forms until the islands, as part of theBritish Raj, gainedindependence from theBritish Empire.[24]
Tensions between the colonial administration and the Andamanese increased due to British officials introducingalcohol andopium to the Andamanese.[25] During mid-19th century, theBritish government in India establishedpenal colonies on the islands and an increasing number ofIndian andKaren arrived, both as settlers and prisoners.[citation needed]
In 1867, the British launched theAndaman Islands expedition in order to rescueshipwrecked sailors from theAssam Valley on the Andamanese islands. The expedition was attacked by theOnge people upon their approach to the islands and were forced to withdraw. FourVictoria Crosses were awarded to members of the expedition.[26][27][28]
In 1923, the British ornithologist and anthropologistFrank Finn, who visited the islands in the 1890s while working for theIndian Museum, described the Andamanese as "The World's Most Primitive People", writing:[29]
I used to envy thepigmies their simple costume, which in the case of the ladies was a wisp and a waistband, and in that of the men, nothing at all. Their interests are looked after by an English Civil Servant, who has to see that no one sells them drink, or interferes with them in any way; but even this officer-in-charge, as he is styled, dares not go among them where he is not known, and considerable tact is required in getting an introduction to the local chief.
In the 1940s, the Jarawa were attacked byimperial Japanese forces for their hostility. This Japanese attack was criticized as awar crime by many observers.[30]
In 1974, a film crew and anthropologistTriloknath Pandit attempted friendly contact by leaving a tethered pig, some pots and pans, some fruit, and toys on the beach at North Sentinel Island. One of the islanders shot the film director in the thigh with an arrow. The following year, European visitors were repulsed with arrows.[31][32][33]
On 2 August 1981, the Hong Kong freighter shipPrimrose grounded on the North Sentinel Island reef. A few days later, crewmen on the immobile vessel observed that small black men were carrying spears and arrows and building boats on the beach. The captain of the Primrose radioed for an urgent airdrop of firearms so the crew could defend themselves, but did not receive them. Heavy seas kept the islanders away from the ship. After a week, the crew were rescued by an Indian navy helicopter.[34]
On 4 January 1991, Triloknath Pandit made the first known friendly contact with the Sentinelese.[33]
Until 1996, the Jarawa met most visitors with flying arrows. From time to time, they attacked and killed poachers on the lands reserved to them by the Indian government. They also killed some workers building theAndaman Trunk Road (ATR), which traverses Jarawa lands. One of the earliest peaceful contacts with the Jarawa occurred in 1996. Settlers found a teenaged Jarawa boy named Enmei near Kadamtala town. The boy was immobilized with a broken foot. They took Enmei to a hospital, where he received good care. Over several weeks, Enmei learned a few words of Hindi before returning to his jungle home. The following year, Jarawa individuals and small groups began appearing along roadsides and occasionally venturing into settlements to steal food. The ATR may have interfered with traditional Jarawa food sources.[35][36][37]
On 17 November 2018, aUnited Statesmissionary,John Allen Chau, was killed when he tried to introduceChristianity to theSentinelese tribe. The Sentinelese have been protected from contact with the outside world. Trips to the Island are prohibited byIndian law.[38] Chau was brought near the island by local fishermen, who were later arrested during the investigation into his death.[39] Indian authorities attempted to retrieve Chau's remains without success.[40]
The four major groups of Andamanese are:
By the end of the eighteenth century, there were an estimated 5,000 Great Andamanese living onGreat Andaman. Altogether they comprised ten distinct tribes with different languages. The population quickly dwindled to 600 in 1901 and to 19 by 1961.[46] It has increased slowly after that, following their move to a reservation onStrait Island. As of 2010, the population was 52, representing a mix of the former tribes.[41]
The Jarawa originally inhabited southeasternJarawa Island and have migrated to the west coast of Great Andaman in the wake of the Great Andamanese. The Onge once lived throughoutLittle Andaman and now are confined to two reservations on the island. TheJangil, who originally inhabitedRutland Island, were extinct by 1931;[47] the last individual was sighted in 1907.[30] Only theSentinelese are still living in their original homeland onNorth Sentinel Island, largely undisturbed, and have fiercely resisted all attempts at contact.
TheAndamanese languages are considered to be the fifth language family of India, following theIndo-European,Dravidian,Austroasiatic, andSino-Tibetan.[48]
While some connections have been tentatively proposed with other language families, such asAustronesian,[49] or the controversialIndo-Pacific family, the consensus view is currently that Andamanese languages form a separate language family – or rather, two unrelated linguistic families:Greater Andamanese[50] andOngan.
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Until contact, the Andamanese were stricthunter-gatherers. They did not practicecultivation, and lived off hunting indigenouspigs, fishing, and gathering. Their only weapons were thebow,adzes, and woodenharpoons. The Andamanese knew of no method formaking fire in the nineteenth century.[51]: 229 They instead carefully preserved embers[51]: 229 in hollowed-out trees from fires caused by lightning strikes.
The men wore girdles made of hibiscus fiber which carried useful tools and weapons for when they went hunting. The women on the other hand wore a tribal dress containing leaves that were held by a belt. A majority of them had painted bodies as well. They usually slept on leaves or mats and had either permanent or temporary habitation among the tribes. All habitations were man made.[52]
Some of the tribe members were credited with having supernatural powers. They were called oko-pai-ad, which meant dreamer. They were thought to have an influence on the members of the tribe and would bring misfortune to those who did not believe in their abilities. Traditional knowledge practitioners were the ones who helped with healthcare. The medicine that was used to cure illnesses were herbal most of the time. Various types of medicinal plants were used by the islanders. 77 total traditional knowledge practitioners were identified and 132 medicinal plants were used.[53][54] The members of the tribes found various ways to use leaves in their everyday lives including clothing, medicine, and to sleep on.[citation needed]
AnthropologistA.R. Radcliffe Brown argued that the Andamanese had no government and made decisions by groupconsensus.[55]
The native Andamanese religion and belief system is a form ofanimism.Ancestor worship is an important element in the religious traditions of the Andaman islands.[56] Andamanese Mythology held that humans emerged from split bamboo, whereas the women were fashioned from clay.[57] One version found byAlfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown held that the first man died and went to heaven, a pleasurable world, but this blissful period ended due to breaking a food taboo, specifically eating the forbidden vegetables in thePuluga's garden.[58] Thus Catastrophe ensued, and eventually the people grew overpopulated and didn't followPuluga's laws, and hence there was aGreat Flood that left four survivors, who lost their fire.[59][60]
Both male and female Andamanese average below 5 feet tall, with very dark skin. Their hair is described as "peppercorn", growing in curled tufts with skin visible in between; this trait is shared with theKhoi people of Southern Africa. Similarly to other Negrito groups, the face is typically broad, with prominent cheek bones and a straight, broad nose. Andamanese women sometimes havesteatopygia, where substantial levels of fat accumulate in the buttocks.[61]
Dental characteristics also group the Andamanese between Negrito and East-Asian samples.[62]
When comparing dental morphology the focus is on overall size and tooth shape. To measure the size and shape, Penrose's size and shape statistic is used. To calculate tooth size, the sum of the tooth area is taken. Factor analysis is applied to tooth size to achieve tooth shape. Results have shown that the dental morphology of Andaman Islanders resembles that of tribal populations of South Asia (Adivasi) the most, followed by Philippine Negrito groups, contemporary Southeast Asians, and East Asians. The tooth size of the Andamanese was found to be most similar to that ofHan Chinese andJapanese.[63]
Genetic analysis, both of nuclear DNA[17][64] andmitochondrial DNA,[65] provide information about the origins of the Andamanese. Genetic studies agree that Great Andamanese as well as Onge and Jawara, share a common origin and descend from a "deeply branching East Asian lineage",[66] but are highly divergent from other Asian populations.[15][21]
The Andamanese show a very small genetic variation, which is indicative of populations that have experienced apopulation bottleneck and then developed in isolation for a long period.
Anallele has been discovered among the Jarawas that is found nowhere else in the world. Blood samples of 116 Jarawas were collected and tested for Duffy blood group and malarial parasite infectivity. Results showed a total absence of bothFya and Fyb antigens in two areas (Kadamtala and R.K Nallah) and low prevalence of both Fya antigen in another two areas (Jirkatang and Tirur). There was an absence of malarial parasitePlasmodium vivax infection thoughPlasmodium falciparum infection was present in 27·59% of cases. A very high frequency of Fy (a–b–) in the Jarawa tribe from all the four jungle areas of Andaman Islands along with total absence ofP. vivax infections suggests the selective advantage offered to Fy (a–b–) individuals againstP. vivax infection.[67]
Genetic studies have revealed that the Andamanese people display affinity to the indigenous South Asian hunter-gatherers, often termed "Ancient Ancestral South Indians" (AASI), as well as toAustralasian populations (AA), such asMelanesians, and contemporaryEast/Southeast Asian peoples (ESEA). While the Andamanese are occasionally used as an imperfect proxy for the AASI component, they are genetically closer to the 'Basal East Asian'Tianyuan man.[68][69][70]
Phylogenetic data suggests that an early initial eastern lineage trifurcated, and gave rise to Australasians (Oceanians), the AASI, Andamanese, as well as East/Southeast Asians,[71][72] although Papuans may have also received some geneflow from an earlier group (xOoA), around 2%,[73] next to additional archaic admixture in theSahul region.[74][75] Concerning the use of Andamanese as proxy for AASI ancestry, Yelmen et al. (2019) deduced that the non West Eurasian component, termedS-component, extracted from South Asian samples would serve as a much better proxy for AASI ancestry, especially those extracted fromIrula samples, than the Andamanese.[68] Overall, the Malaysian Negritos (Semang), such as theManiq people,Jahai people, andBatek people, are the closest modern living relatives of the Andamanese people.[76][77][78][15]
When compared with ancient DNA samples, Andamanese peoples are closest to the pre-NeolithicHoabinhians in Mainland Southeast Asia (covered by two samples from Malaysia and Laos), and display high genetic affinity to theTianyuan man in Northern China, with both being basal to contemporary East Asians, forming a "deep Asian" ancestral lineage. Deep Asian ancestry (Tianyuan/Onge) contributed to thePeopling of Southeast Asia.[79][80][69][70]
The maleY-chromosome in humans is inherited exclusively through paternal descent. All sampled males of Onges (23/23) and Jarawas (4/4) belong toa sublineage of D-M174(D1a3).[83][84][85][86] However, male Great Andamanese do not appear to carry these clades. A low resolution study suggests that they belong to haplogroupsK,L,O andP1 (P-M45).[83]
A 2017 study by Mondal et al. finds that the Y-chromosome of theRiang people (a Tibeto-Burmese population), sublineage D1a3 (D-M174*) and the Andamanese D1a3 (*D-Y34637) have their nearest related lineages inEast Asia, splitting about 23,000 years ago from an East Asian-related population. The Jarawa and Onge shared this D1a3 lineage with each other within the last ~7,000 years, suggesting a bottleneck event. They further suggest that: “This strongly suggests that haplogroup D does not indicate a separate ancestry for Andamanese populations. Rather, haplogroup D was part of the standing variation carried by the OOA expansion, and later lost from most of the populations except in Andaman and partially in Japan and Tibet”. Other haplogroups found among Andamanese include haplogroupP, andL-M20.[87]
Several studies (Hammer et al. 2006, Shinoda 2008, Matsumoto 2009, Cabrera et al. 2018) suggest that the paternal haplogroup D-M174 originated somewhere inCentral Asia. According to Hammer et al., haplogroup D-M174 originated between Tibet and the Altai mountains. He suggests that there were multiple waves into Eastern Eurasia.[88] In a 2019 study by Haber et al. showed that Haplogroup D-M174 originated in Central Asia and evolved as it migrated to different directions of the continent. One group of population migrated to Siberia, others to Japan and Tibet, and another group migrated to the Andaman islands.[89]
Bulbeck (2013) shows the Andamanese maternal mtDNA is entirelymitochondrial Haplogroup M.[63] Haplogroup M (mtDNA) is a descendant ofhaplogroup L3, typically found in Eurasia and parts of Africa. The mtDNA M is found in allOnge and most of theGreat Andamanese samples.[90] Analysis of mtDNA, which is inherited exclusively by maternal descent, confirms the above results.[65] Haplogroup M is however also the single most common mtDNA haplogroup inAsia, where it represents 60% of all maternal lineages.[91][92] Haplogroup M is also relatively common inNortheast Africa ofSomalis,Oromo at over 20%.[93][94] Also in theTuareg in Mali and Burkina Faso at 18.42%.[95]
Unlike some Negrito populations of Southeast Asia, Andaman Islanders have not been found to haveDenisovan ancestry.[96] However, they are estimated, like all other non-African populations, to possess approximately 1-2%Neanderthal ancestry.[97] A 2019 study concluded that all Asian and Australo-Papuan populations, including Andaman Islanders, also share between 2.6 and 3.4% of the genetic profile of a previously unknown hominin that was genetically roughly equidistant to Denisovans and Neanderthals.[98][97]
The first batch could identify 31 Sentinelese. The second batch could count altogether 39 Sentinelese consisting of male and female adults, children and infants. During both the contacts the enumeration team tried to communicate with them through some Jarawa words and gestures, but, Sentinelese could not understand those verbal words.
... the population of south-east Asia prior to 6000 years ago was composed largely of groups of hunter-gatherers very similar to modern Negritos ... So, both the Y-chromosome and the mtDNA paint a clear picture of a coastal leap from Africa to south-east Asia, and onward to Australia ... DNA has given us a glimpse of the voyage, which almost certainly followed a coastal route va India ...
... to Myanmar by a land bridge during the ice ages, and it is possible that the ancestors of the Andamanese reached the islands without crossing the sea ... The latest figure in 2005 is 50 in all ...
As I have suggested previously, it is probable that some disease was introduced among the coastal groups by Lieutenant Colebrooke and Blair's first settlement in 1789, resulting in a marked reduction of their population. The four years that the British occupied their initial site on the south-east of South Andaman were sufficient to have decimated the coastal populations of the groups referred to as Jarawa by the Aka-bea-da.
By 1875, when these peoples were perilously close to extinction, the Andaman cultures came under scientific scrutiny ... In 1888, 'friendly relations' were established with Ongees through organized gift giving contacts ... As recently as 1985—92, government contacts have been initiated with Jarawas and Sentinelese through gift-giving, a contact procedure much like that carried out during British rule.
Contact with whites, and the British in particular, has virtually destroyed them. Illness, alcohol, and the will of the colonials all played their part; the British governor of the time mentions in his diary that he received instructions to destroy them with alcohol and opium. He succeeded completely with one group. The others reacted violently.
In 1927 Egon Freiherr von Eickstedt, a German anthropologist, found that around 100 Great Andamanese survived, 'in dirty, half-closed huts, which primarily contain cheap European household effects'.
Snippet: "Immediately afterwards in another visit to Little Andaman to trace the sailors of a ship named 'Assam Valley' wrecked on its coast, Homfray's party was attacked by a large group of Onges."
... The Aka-Kol tribe of Middle Andaman became extinct by 1921. The Oko-Juwoi of Middle Andaman and the Aka-Bea of South Andaman and Rutland Island were extinct by 1931. The Akar-Bale of Ritchie's Archipelago, the Aka-Kede of Middle Andaman and the A-Pucikwar of South Andaman Island soon followed. By 1951, the census counted a total of only 23 Greater Andamanese and 10 Sentinelese. That means that just ten men, twelve women and one child remained of the Aka-Kora, Aka-Cari and Aka-Jeru tribes of Greater Andaman and only ten natives of North Sentinel Island ...
The 37 persons said to be of Great Andamanese extraction in 1995 were in fact all of mixed Burmese/Indian/Andamanese ancestry
The Great Andamanese population was large till 1858 when it started declining ... In 1901, their number was reduced to only 600 and in 1961 to a mere 19.
... The Aka-Kol tribe of Middle Andaman became extinct by 1921. The Oko-Juwoi of Middle Andaman and the Aka-Bea of South Andaman and Rutland Island were extinct by 1931. The Akar-Bale of Ritchie's Archipelago, the Aka-Kede of Middle Andaman and the A-Pucikwar of South Andaman Island soon followed. By 1951, the census counted a total of only 23 Greater Andamanese and 10 Sentinelese. That means that just ten men, twelve women and one child remained of the Aka-Kora, Aka-Cari and Aka-Jeru tribes of Greater Andaman and only ten natives of North Sentinel Island ...
Récemment encore les Indigènes des îles Andaman ne savaient pas allumer le feu, et le conservaient dans des caches, qu'ils rallumaient à l'occasion avec des brandons empruntés aux peuples voisins.
... the Negrito populations of Andaman Islands have remained in isolation ... the Andamanese are more closely related to other Asians than to modern day Africans ... the Nicobarese exhibiting a close affinity with geographically proximate Indo-Mongoloid populations of Northeast India ...
A single major migration of modern humans into the continents of Asia and Sahul was strongly supported by earlier studies using mitochondrial DNA, the non-recombining portion of Y chromosomes, and autosomal SNP data [42–45]. Ancestral Ancient South Indians with no West Eurasian relatedness, East Asians, Onge (Andamanese hunter–gatherers) and Papuans all derive in a short evolutionary time from the eastward dispersal of an out-of-Africa population [46,47]
Taken together with a lower bound of the final settlement of Sahul at 37 ka [...], it is reasonable to describe Papuans as either an almost even mixture between East Asians and a lineage basal to West and East Asians occurred sometimes between 45 and 38 ka, or as a sister lineage of East Asians with or without a minor basal OoA or xOoA contribution. We here chose to parsimoniously describe Papuans as a simple sister group of Tianyuan, cautioning that this may be just one out of six equifinal possibilities.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)... As haplogroup M, except for the African sub-clade M1, is not notably present in regions west of the Indian subcontinent, while it covers the majority of Indian mtDNA variation ...
