The endangered Great Andamanese

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:05:31 +0000

Great Andamanese is a collective term used to describe a tribe or indigenous people settled in most part of the Great Andaman archipelago in the south-eastern Bay of Bengal. The Great Andamanese, along with the Jarawas, Onges and the Sentinelese form the Andamanses tribal people. The identity of the Great Andamanese is mainly made up by their cultural similarity and linguistic semblance. The Great Andamanese originally had ten distinct groups (on basis of distribution from north to south), namely, Aka-Cari, Aka-Kora, Aka-Bo, Aka-Jeru, Aka-Kol, Aka-Kede, Akar-Bale, Aka-Bea, Oko-Juwoi and A-Pucikwar, who had survived on these islands for over thousands of years and undisturbed by external forces. But the effort of the British rulers to influence these tribes resulted in their sharp decimation and many of these groups have even gone extinct. In 1961 their number dwindled down to 19 though it has recovered somewhat today. The Great Andamanese is settled on the Strait Island and is the largest of all the tribes found here.

The Great Andamenese belongs to the Negrito race. The Great Andamanese can be distinguished from other indigenous Andamanese groups in terms of culture, geography and language.

Population

The population of Great Andamanese was around 10,000 in 1789. It further decreased to 24 individuals in the year 1971. But in 1999 their number increased to 41. The government and administration of the Andamans is making big efforts for the survival of these tribal people.

Occupation

The Great Andamanese are mainly dependent on hunting and gathering. Nowadays, they are also imbibing the art of agriculture and cultivation of vegetables. These tribals hunt with bow, adzes and wooden harpoons.

Food

Great Andamanese consume rice, wheat, dal, chapati and such other food items. They are also dependent on fish, dugong, turtle eggs, turtle, crabs, roots, seeds and tubers. They love eating pork and Andaman water monitor lizard.

Language

The Great Andamanese mainly speak languages like Jeru, Khora and Andamani Hindi.

Clothing

Great Andamanese males wear narrow belts or girdles of hibiscus fiber and traditional shell-decorated cincture. They tuck weapons into their belts while setting out for hunting. The females wear branches of leaves cut into stripes and held by belts made of pandanus leaves. These tribals love to make painting on their bodies that guard them from the insects, direct sunlight and cold temperature. They are fond of wearing ornaments made of human bones around their neck and forehead.

Physical features

Great Andamanese are black skinned with broad face and a heavy body. They smear their heads with clay and shave their eyebrows. Males leave a circular patch of hair on the top of the head while shaving off everything around it.