The Sentinelese Tribe: The Isolated Island

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The Sentinelese Tribe: The Isolated Island

Aerial view of North Sentinel Island, Andaman from a Boeing 737.

The Sentinelese Tribe: The Isolated Island

Have you ever wondered if there is a tribe on our globe that the modern world has secluded? Or do they speak a language that only their community members understand? Let us take you on a journey to uncover this infamous tribe still surviving and thriving in today’s modern-day world.

Aerial view of North Sentinel Island, Andaman
Aerial view of North Sentinel Island, Andaman

One of the Andaman Islands is North Sentinel Island, considered one of the world’s outlawed islands. A beach and an island covered in lush foliage. People have lived there for thousands of years and have refused any interaction with outsiders. As a result, nothing is known about this mysterious tribe of individuals who staunchly defend their decision to remain secluded.

This article will provide a plethora of details about what this tribe is and other interesting facts about them.

What Exactly Are the Sentinelese?

The Sentinelese are an isolated Indian tribe that dwells on North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal. It is estimated that there were 7,900 islanders when the British attempted to occupy them in the 18th century, but about 150 plus individuals are still living now.

Indian rules forbid anybody from entering their area since the tribe is especially susceptible to sickness due to a lack of immunizations.

Unlike the other tribes in Andaman, the Sentinelese are known to be hostile to strangers, and no one is permitted to get closer than three miles to the island.

Based on the News, these individuals are the descendants of the first humans to leave Africa and have been living in isolation on the island for more than ten thousand years. These individuals eat using primitive means. They hunt with arrows and bows and eat mud crabs and shellfish.

This tribe does not even know how to start a fire, according to the Welfare of Primitive Tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. They make a living through metalwork and farming. When the National Geographic Society visited the island in 1974, they discovered that the tribespeople had scavenged metals to make weaponry and tools.

The Sentinelese people speak their language, and no one understands it. This tribe’s physical characteristics are believed to resemble those of the neighboring Jarawa tribe.

Is It Forbidden to Visit This Location?

The Indian government forbids visitors from visiting North Sentinel Island. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Act of 1956 designated the island as a tribal reserve and isolation region, banning tourists from visiting the island or trying to interact with the natives there without consent from Indian authorities.

This regulation was enacted to safeguard the inhabitants of North Sentinel Island from coming into touch with contemporary illnesses against which they have not developed immunity since some nearby tribes have suffered devastating consequences in the past as a result of similar incidents.

The Indian Navy is patrolling the whole region to ensure that no visitors or contacts with the residents on the island are made without authorization from the appropriate authorities.

The Sentinelese Are the Ancestors of Africa’s First Human Populations.

The inhabitants of North Sentinel Island have been there for roughly 60,000 years. They are supposed to be the ancestors of Africa’s original human inhabitants and among the first to leave the continent.

The specifics of how they arrived at North Sentinel Island are unknown. Scholars and experts suggest that because water levels were much lower during ancient times, they may have been able to travel on foot through vast regions to where the present-day islands are based.

The Sentinelese Tribe’s Reaction to Modern World Problems

The Sentinelese are one of the world’s remaining isolated hunter-gatherer tribes; climate change, garbage, technology, and other factors threaten their existence on Earth. They require more than simply a law and a border.

What Are the Historical Events That Made This Island More Prominent?

The Sentinelese, a small indigenous tribe on North Sentinel Island of India, has driven media coverage for allegedly killing John Allen Chau, an American missionary. He was on a religious mission and wrote in his journal about how these tribal people were unaware of God’s presence.

It was neither the tribe’s first contact with outsiders nor the first time they’d killed an invader.

1.   An Indian Commercial Shipwrecked Near the Island In 1867

An Indian commerce ship, The Nineveh, was destroyed near North Sentinel, on a reef, in the summer of 1867. There were 86 passengers and 20 crew members that made it to land. According to survivor stories, they were assaulted by Sentinelese tribal members on their 3rd day on the island.

The tribespeople were entirely naked, with red-painted noses and short hair, and made weird noises. The surviving crew members used sticks and stones to repel the Sentinelese. Eventually, British Royal Navy, which held the Andaman Islands as a penal colony, rescued them.

2.   A British Navy Officer Abducted Six Tribal Members In 1880

India was contemplated as one of Britain’s critical colonial colonies in the late 1800s. British officers governed several populations in the region, sometimes forcefully.

3.   In 1896, A Convict Escaped to The Island but Did Not Survive

In 1896, a Hindu inmate fled on a handmade raft from the Great Andaman Island’s British penal colony and landed on North Sentinel. According to The American Scholar, a search team discovered his corpse a few days later.

4.   Two Indian Fishermen Got Killed In 2006 While Harvesting Crabs Off the Island.

When Sunder Raj and Pandit Tiwari’s boat drifted to the island while gathering crabs nearby in 2006, they killed them.

Aerial view of North Sentinel Island, Andaman from a Boeing 737.
Aerial view of North Sentinel Island, Andaman from a Boeing 737.

Although the Sentinelese buried the corpses, the Indian Coast Guard finally recovered one after being attacked with arrows.

Wrapping Up

The Sentinelese are an uncontacted people living on North Sentinal Island, one of the Andaman Islands of the Indian Ocean. They vehemently oppose any interaction with outsiders. As a result, they murdered two Indian fishermen, and the recent murder of John Allen Chau sparked outrage.

The tribe has said unequivocally that they do not wish to be contacted. It is a wise decision. Neighboring tribes were killed once the British invaded neighboring islands, and they lacked protection from common illnesses like flu and measles, which would wipe off their population.

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