Ethnolinguistic map of the precolonial Andaman Islands

The Andaman Islands are a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal, and are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India. Port Blair is the chief community on the islands, and the administrative center of the Union Territory. The Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands form separate administrative districts within the Union Territory. The population of the Andamans was 314,239 in 2001. Download high resolution version (1209x2216, 597 KB)Ethnolinguistic map of the precolonial Andaman islands, from E. H. Mans Dictionary of the South Andaman Language, 1923 (he died in 1929, so its out of copyright, as far as I know) This image has been released into the public domain... Download high resolution version (1209x2216, 597 KB)Ethnolinguistic map of the precolonial Andaman islands, from E. H. Mans Dictionary of the South Andaman Language, 1923 (he died in 1929, so its out of copyright, as far as I know) This image has been released into the public domain... The Bay of Bengal is a sea that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. ... Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a union territory of India. ... A union territory is an administrative division of India. ... Port Blair is the largest town in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India. ... Map of Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean, and are part of India. ...

Physical Geography

There are 204 islands. They are located 950 km from the mouth of the Hooghly River, 193 km from Cape Negrais in Myanmar, the nearest point of the mainland, and 547 km from the northern extremity of Sumatra. The length of the island chain is 352 km and its greatest width is 51 km. The total land area of the Andamans is 6408 km². The Hoogli River (alternatively spelled Hooghly) is a distributary of the Ganges River in India. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the largest part of Indonesia. ...

The five chief islands over a distance of 251 km, are known collectively as Great Andaman. These are from north to south, North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Baratang and Rutland Island. Four narrow straits part these islands, Austin Strait, between North and Middle Andaman, Homfray's Strait between Middle Andaman and Baratang, and the north extremity of South Andaman, Middle (or Andaman) Strait between Baratang and South Andaman and Macpherson Strait between South Andaman and Rutland Island. Of these only the last is navigable by ocean-going vessels. Great Andaman is the main archipelago of the Andaman Islands of India. ... North Andaman Island is the northernmost island of Great Andaman, and also the largest of the Andaman Islands, with an area of 2,781 km². The island is also home to the highest point in the archipelago, Saddle Peak at over 700 metres. ... Middle Andaman Island is the central island of the Great Andaman archipelago, with a total area of 1,536 km². The island is home to many of the Jarawa people and was inundated by the tsunami resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. ... South Andaman Island is the southernmost island of Great Andaman and is home to the majority of the Andaman Islands population. ... Rutland Island is an island located across the Macpherson Strait from Port Blair on South Andaman Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. ...

Satellite photo of the Andaman Islands

Together with the chief islands are, on the extreme north, Landfall Islands, separated by the navigable Cleugh Passage; Interview Island, separated by the navigable Interview Passage, off the West coast of the Middle Andaman; the Labyrinth Island off the southwest coast of the South Andaman, through which is the navigable Elphinstone Passage; Ritchie's (or the Andaman) Archipelago off the East coast of South Andaman and Baratang, separated by the wide and safe Diligent Strait and intersected by Kwangtung Strait and the Tadma Juru (Strait). Little Andaman, roughly 42 km. by 26, forms the southern extremity of the whole group and lies 50 km. South of Rutland Island across the Manners Strait, the main shipping route between the Andamans and the Madras coast. Besides these are a great number of islets lying off the shores of the main islands. Download high resolution version (1400x2000, 260 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1400x2000, 260 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Ritchie’s Archipelago is an undisputed eco-tourism hub in Andaman District. ... Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu a former province of British India, with its capital at the Indian city of Madras (now Chennai): see Madras Presidency a type of fabric which first originated there. ...

The principal outlying islands include the North Sentinel, a dangerous island of about 73 km², lying about 29 km. off the west coast of the South Andaman. About 29 km. west of the Andamans are the dangerous Western Banks and Dalrymple Bank, rising to within a few fathoms of the surface of the sea and forming, with the two Sentinel Islands, the tops of a line of submarine hills parallel to the Andamans. North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. ... The Sentinel Islands are part of the Andaman Islands chain. ...

Andamans is the only place in India with an active volcano. The marine volcano Barren Island, 114 km northeast of Port Blair, 351 m high, became active again in 1991 after being quiescent for almost two centuries. The isolated extinct volcano of Narcondam, rising 710 m. out of the sea, is 114 km east of North Andaman. Plans are afoot to make volcano tourism popular. Also 64 km to the east is the Invisible Bank, with one rock just awash, and 55 km. southeast of Narcondam is a submarine hill rising to 689 m below the surface of the sea. Narcondam, Barren Island and the Invisible Bank, a great danger of these seas, are in a line almost parallel to the Andamans inclining towards them from north to south. There are several places known as Barren Island around the world. ...

Topography

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, unlike the Lakshadweep-Chagos chain, are high volcanic islands, arising from a submerged mountain chain that follows the southward extension of the continental shelf.

Extensive fringing reefs exist here, as well as a 320 kilometers-long barrier reef on the west coast. Much of the wildlife on these islands is endemic, including 112 species of endemic birds. While poorly known scientifically, these reefs may prove to be the most diverse and best preserved in the Indian Ocean.

The islands forming Great Andaman consist of a mass of hills enclosing very narrow valleys, the whole covered by dense tropical jungle. The hills rise to a considerable elevation: the chief heights being in the North Andaman, Saddle Peak (732 m); in the Middle Andaman, Mount Diavolo behind Cuthbert Bay (511 m); in the South Andaman, Koiob (459 m), Mount Harriet (364 m) and the Cholunga range (324 m); and in Rutland Island, Ford's Peak (433 m). Little Andaman is practically flat. There are no rivers and few perennial streams in the islands. The whole of the Andamans and the outlying islands were completely surveyed topographically by the Indian Survey Department under Colonel Hobday in 1883-1886, and the surrounding seas were charted by Commander Carpenter in 1888-1889. 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1889 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Harbours

The coasts of the Andamans are deeply indented, giving existence to a number of safe harbours, which are often surrounded by mangrove swamps. The chief harbours are (starting northwards from Port Blair, the great harbour of South Andaman) on the East coast: Port Meadows, Colebrooke Passage, Elphinstone Harbour (Homfray's Strait), Stewart Sound and Port Cornwallis. The last three are very large. On the West coast: Temple Sound, Interview Passage, Port Anson or Kwangtung Harbour (large), Port Campbell (large), Port Mouat and Macpherson Strait. There are many other safe anchorages about the coast, notably Shoal Bay and Kotara Anchorage in South Andaman; Cadell Bay and the Turtle Islands in North Andaman; and Outram Harbour and Kwangtung Strait in the archipelago.

Geology

The Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands to the south form part of a range of submarine mountains, 1130 km long, running from Cape Negrais in the Arakan Yoma range of Burma, to Achin Head in Sumatra. This range separates the Bay of Bengal from the Andaman Sea, and it contains much that is geologically characteristic of the Arakan Yoma. The older rocks are early Tertiary or late Cretaceous. The newer rocks are in Ritchie's Archipelago chiefly, and contain fossils of radiolarians and foraminifera. There is coral along the coasts everywhere, and the Sentinel Islands are composed of the newer rocks with a superstructure of coral. A theory of a still continuing subsidence of the islands was formed by Kurz in 1866 and confirmed by Oldham in 1884. Signs of its continuance are found on the east coast in several places. Map of Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean, and are part of India. ... 1866 is a common year starting on Monday. ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ...

Climate

The climate of the Andamans themselves may be described as normal for tropical islands of similar latitude. It is always warm, but with sea-breezes; very hot when the sun is northing; irregular rainfall, but usually dry during the north-east, and very wet during the south-west monsoon. Not only does the rainfall at one place vary from year to year, but there is an extraordinary difference for places quite close to one another. The Islands are barely affected by the often disastrous cyclones that come up the Bay of Bengala cyclone, though they are within the influence of practically every one. The Andamans thus were once of great importance for monitoring weather in the region for the benefit of the Indian mainland and ships at sea in the Indian Ocean. A meteorological station was established at Port Blair in 1868. 1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Flora

A section of the Forest Department of India was established in the Andamans in 1883, and in the neighbourhood of Port Blair 400 km² were set apart for regular forest operations to be carried on by convict labour. The chief timber of indigenous growth is padouk (Pterocarpus dalbergioides) used for buildings, boats, furniture, fine joinery and all purposes to which teak, mahogany, hickory, oak and ash are applied. This tree was widespread and formed a valuable export to European markets. Other first-class timbers are koko (Albizzia lebbek), white chuglam Terminalia bialata), black chugiam (Myristica irya), marble or zebra wood (Diospyros kurzii) and satin-wood (Murraya exotica), which differs from the satin-wood of Ceylon (Chloroxylon swietenia.) All of these timbers are used for furniture and similar fine purposes, but many are now endangered. In addition there are a number of second- and third-class timbers, which are used locally and for export to Calcutta. Gangaw (Messua ferrea) the Assam iron-wood, is suitable for railway sleepers; and didu (Bombax insigne) is used for tea-boxes and packing-cases. 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Species Including: Pterocarpus dalbergioides (Andaman Padouk) Pterocarpus indicus (Narra) Pterocarpusangolensis (Muninga) Pterocarpus macrocarpus (Burmese rosewood) Pterocarpus soyauxii (African Padouk) Pterocarpus satalinus (Red Sandelwood) Padauk (or padouk) is an Indonesian collective name for a group of fragrant timbers and trees from the genus Pterocarpus, found in the tropics of Southeast Asia...

Among the introduced flora are tea, Siberian coffee, cocoa, Ceará rubber (which has not done well), Manila hemp, teak, cocoanut and a number of ornamental trees, fruit-trees, vegetables and garden plants. Tea is grown in considerable quantities and the cultivation was once under a department of the penal settlement. The general character of the forests is Burmese with an admixture of Malay types. Great mangrove swamps supply unlimited fire-wood of the best quality. The great peculiarity of Andaman flora is that, with the exception of the Cocos islands, no cocoanut palms are found in the archipelago.

Fauna

The endemic bird species include Nicobar megapode (Megapodius nicobariensis), Nicobar green imperial pigeon (Ducula aenea nicobarica), and the Nicobar emerald dove (Chancophaps indica augusta). The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porusus) nests in the region, as do Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), and Olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea).

Marine mammals include Dugong (Dugong dugon), Finless porpoise (Neophocaena hocaenoides), and Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris). Rich fish and invertebrate faunas exist on the reefs; fish families include Labridae, Pomacentridae, Scaridae, and Blenniidae. Nine species of seagrass are also present. Binomial name Dugong dugon (Müller, 1776) The Dugong (Dugong dugon) is the smallest member of the order Sirenia (which also includes the manatees and Stellers Sea Cow). ... Whales are the largest species of exclusively aquatic placental mammals, members of the order Cetacea, which also includes dolphins and porpoises. ...

Fish are very numerous and many species are endemic to the Andaman seas. Turtles are abundant and supply the Calcutta market. Of imported animals, cattle, goats, asses and dogs thrive well, ponies and horses indifferently, and sheep badly, though some success has been achieved in breeding them.

History

It is uncertain whether any of the names of the islands given by Ptolemy ought to be attached to the Andamans; yet it is probable that his name itself is traceable in the Alexandrian geographer. Andaman first appears distinctly in the Arab notices of the 9th century, already quoted. But it seems possible that the tradition of marine nomenclature had never perished; that the Agathou daimonos nesos was really a misunderstanding of some form like Agdaman, while Nesoi Baroussai survived as Lanka Balus, the name applied by the Arabs to the Nicobar Islands. The islands are briefly noticed by Marco Polo, who may have seen them without visiting, under the name Angamanain, seemingly an Arabic dual, "the two Angamans", with the exaggerated picture of the natives as dog-faced anthropophagi. Claudius Ptolemaeus, given contemporary German styling, in a 16th century engraved book frontispiece Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος; c. ... ( 8th century - 9th century - 10th century - other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Reign of Charlemagne, and concurrent (and controversially labeled) Carolingian Renaissance in western Europe Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The... Map of Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean, and are part of India. ... Marco Polo, after a painting in Badia, Rome Marco Polo (15 September 1254 - 8 January 1324) was a Venetian trader and explorer who, together with his father and uncle, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China (which he called Cathay) and visited the Great... The anthropophagi (cannibals) are creatures from English folklore with no heads and a mouth in their chests. ...

Another notice occurs in the story of Nicolo Conti (c. 1440), who explains the name to mean Island of Gold, and speaks of a lake with peculiar virtues as existing in it. The name is probably derived from the Malay Handuman, coming from the ancient Hanuman (monkey god). Later travellers repeat the stories, too well founded, of the "ferocious hostility" of the people; of whom we may instance Cesare Federici (1569), whose narrative is given in Ramusio, vol. iii. (only in the later editions), and in Purchas. A good deal is also told of them in the vulgar and gossiping but useful work of Captain A. Hamilton (1727). The Malay language, also known locally as Bahasa Melayu, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people who are native to the Malay peninsula, southern Thailand, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands, and parts of the coast of Borneo. ... Events January 11 - First recorded lottery in England. ... Events June 11 - George, Prince of Wales becomes King George II of Great Britain. ...

In 1788-1789 the government of Bengal sought to establish in the Andamans a penal colony, associated with a harbour of refuge. Two officers, Colebrooke of the Bengal Engineers, and Blair of the sea service, were sent to survey and report. In the sequel the settlement was established by Captain Blair, in September 1789, on Chatham Island, in the southeast bay of the Great Andaman, now called Port Blair, but then Port Cornwallis. There was much sickness, and after two years, urged by Admiral Cornwallis, the government transferred the colony to the northeast part of Great Andaman, where a naval arsenal was to be established. With the colony the name also of Port Cornwallis was transferred to this new locality. The scheme did ill; and in 1796 the government put an end to it, owing to the great mortality and the embarrassments of maintenance. The settlers were finally removed in May 1796. 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1796 was a leap year starting on Friday. ... 1796 was a leap year starting on Friday. ...

In 1824 Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet carrying the army to the first Burmese war. In 1839, Dr Helfer, a German savant employed by the Indian government, having landed in the islands, was attacked and killed. In 1844 the troop-ships Briton and Runnymede were driven ashore here, almost close together. The natives showed hostility, killing all stragglers. Outrages on shipwrecked crews continued so rife that the question of occupation had to be taken up again; and in 1855 a project was formed for such a settlement, embracing a convict establishment. This was interrupted by the Indian Mutiny of 1857, but as soon as the neck of that revolt was broken, it became more urgent than ever to provide such a resource, on account of the great number of prisoners falling into British hands. Lord Canning, therefore, in November 1857, sent a commission, headed by Dr F. Mouat, to examine and report. The commission reported favourably, selecting as a site Blair's original Port Cornwallis, but pointing out and avoiding the vicinity of a salt swamp which seemed to have been pernicious to the old colony. To avoid confusion, the name of Port Blair was given to the new settlement. 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... An engraving titled Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their mutiny against British rule gives a contemporary view of events from the British perspective. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

For some time sickness and mortality were excessively large, but the reclamation of swamp and clearance of jungle on an extensive scale by Colonel Henry Man when in charge (1868-1870), had a most beneficial effect, and the health of the settlement has since been notable. The Andaman colony obtained a tragical notoriety from the murder of the viceroy, the earl of Mayo, by a Muslim convict, when on a visit to the settlement on February 8, 1872. In the same year the two groups, Andaman and Nicobar, the occupation of the latter also having been forced on the British government (in 1869) by the continuance of outrage upon vessels, were united under a chief commissioner residing at Port Blair. Land reclamation is either of two distinct practices. ... 1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Andaman islands were later occupied by Japan during World War II. The islands were nominally put under the authority of the Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Netaji visited the islands during the war, and renamed them as Shaheed (Martyr) & Swaraj (Self-rule). General Loganathan of the Indian National Army , was Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands which had been annexed to the Provisional Government. After the end of the war they briefly returned to British control, before becoming part of the newly independent state of India. German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind (literally translated from Urdu) meant the Provisional Government of Free India. ... Netaji - Subhash Chandra Bose Subhash Chandra Bose (January 23, 1897–August 18, 1945) also known as Netaji, was a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule. ... The Indian National Army was an auxiliary force to the Imperial Japanese Army in its southern mainland campaign during the Second World War. ...

On 26 December 2004 the coast of the Andaman Islands was devastated by a 10 metre high tsunami following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The tsunami that struck Malé in the Maldives on December 26, 2004. ... The December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hits Thailand The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) on December 26, 2004. ...

Demographics

The population of the Andaman Islands has increased rapidly, from roughly 2000 in 1901 to 157,821 in 1981, 241,453 in 1991, and 314,239 in 2001. These increases are mostly attributable to migration from the Indian mainland. It is estimated that less than ten percent of the population of the Andaman Islands is indigenous Andamanese including in 2005, only 99 Onge, 250 Sentinelese, 39 Andamanese and 350 Jarawas. North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. ... The Andamanese are a group of peoples, aboriginal inhabitants of the Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. ... The Jarawa are an isolated people native to the Andaman Islands of the Bay of Bengal, south of India. ...

The Andamanese

A century ago, the indigenous Andamanese lived mostly by hunting, gathering, fishing, and some agriculture, which are still the primary way of life of the Jarawa, Önge, and Sentinelese peoples of the southern part of the archipelago. The indigenous Andamanese are slightly built, dark-skinned, with tightly-curled hair, and physically resemble the Semang of the Malay Peninsula and the Aeta of the Philippines. The Andamanese, Semang, and Aeta are probably descendants of a people who were more widespread in Southeast Asia before they were displaced or assimilated by the ancestors of today's Austronesian-speakers. The Semang are the Pygmy-sized Negritos of the Malay peninsula. ... The Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Melayu) is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. ... The Aeta are an indigenous people who live in the northern part of the Philippines on the island of Luzon. ... The Austronesian languages are a family of languages widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. ...

Their antiquity is attested by the remains found in their kitchen-middens. These are of great age, and rise sometimes to a height exceeding 5 metres. The fossil shells, pottery and primitive stone implements, found alike at the base and at the surface of these middens, show that the habits of the islanders have varied little since the remote past, and lead to the belief that the Andamans were settled by their present inhabitants some time during the Pleistocene period, and certainly no later than the Neolithic age. The Andamans may have been linked 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. ( A report in the journal "Science" [Vol 308, Issue 5724, 996, 13 May 2005] by Thangaraj et al. identifies M31 and M32 mtDNA types among indigenous Andaman islanders which show that these populations became genetically isolated about 50,000 to 70,000 years ago, apparently after their initial migration from Africa). A midden, or kitchen midden, is a dump for domestic waste. ... The Pleistocene Epoch is part of the geologic timescale, usually dated as 1. ... The Neolithic, (Greek neos=new, lithos=stone, or New Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ...

The indigenous Andamanese spoke several related languages, the Andamanese languages, a distinct language family unrelated to languages found outside the islands. Of the 13 languages spoken at the beginning of the century, nine are now extinct. The extinct languages were spoken on Great Andaman, and the Great Andamanese now mostly speak Hindi. The Jarawa, Önge, and Sentinelese mostly speak their own languages, and limit their contact with outsiders. Ethnolinguistic map of the precolonial Andaman Islands (drawn 1902) The Andamanese languages form a language family spoken in the Andaman Islands, a India. ... Most languages are known to belong to language families (families hereforth). ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken in most states in northern and central India. ... Jarawa can mean either of two groups of people: The Jarawa, an isolated people native to the Andaman Islands. ... North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. ...

The earliest European notice of the Andaman Islanders is in a remarkable collection of early Arab notes on India and China from the year 851 which influenced the view of this people until modern times. The traditional charge of cannibalism has been very persistent; but it is entirely denied by the islanders themselves, and is now and probably always has been untrue. Of their massacres of shipwrecked crews, there is no doubt, but that the policy of conciliation has secured a friendly reception for shipwrecked crews at any port of the islands. Events Vikings plunder London Charles the Bald, Louis the German and Lothar meet in Meersen Oldest known mention of the Andaman Islands Garcia Iñiguez succeeds his father Iñigo Arista as king of Navarra Deaths Irmengarde, wife of emperor Lothar March 7 - Nominoe, Duke of Brittany Ebo - or Ebbo... Cannibalism in Brazil in 1557 as described by Hans Staden. ...

The historic population of the islands is difficult to estimate, but it has probably always been small. The estimated total at a census taken in 1901 was only 2,000. Though all descended from one stock, there are twelve distinct tribes of the Andamanese, each with its own clearly-defined locality, its own distinct variety of the one fundamental language and to a certain extent its own separate habits. Every tribe is divided into fairly well defined septs. The tribal feeling may be expressed as friendly within the tribe, courteous to other Andamanese if known, hostile to every stranger, Andamanese or other. 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Tribal peoples in India comprise a substantial minority of the population of India. ...

The Andaman languages are extremely interesting from the philological standpoint. They are agglutinative in nature, show hardly any signs of syntactical growth though every indication of long etymological growth, give expression to only the most direct and the simplest thought, and are purely colloquial and wanting in the modifications always necessary for communication by writing. The sense is largely eked out by manner and action. Mincopie is the first word in Colebrooke's vocabulary for "Andaman Island, or native country", and the term - though probably a mishearing on Colebrooke's part for Mongebe ("I am an Onge", i.e. a member of the Onge tribe) - has thus become a persistent book-name for the people. An agglutinative language is a language in which the words are formed by joining morphemes together. ...

Another division of the natives is into Aryauto or long-shore-men, and the Eremtaga or jungle-dwellers. The habits and capacities of these two differ, owing to surroundings, irrespectively of tribe. Yet again the Andamanese can be grouped according to certain salient characteristics: the forms of the bows and arrows, of the canoes, of ornaments and utensils, of tattooing and of language. This article is about the tattoo, a design in ink or some other pigment, usually decorative or symbolic, placed permanently under the skin. ...

The average height of males is 149 cm; of females, 137cm. The only artificial deformity is a depression of the skull, chiefly among one of the southern tribes, caused by the pressure of a strap used for carrying loads.

The women's heads are shaved entirely and the men's into fantastic patterns. Yellow and red ochre mixed with grease are coarsely smeared over the bodies, grey in coarse patterns and white in fine patterns resembling tattoo marks. Tattooing is of two distinct varieties. In the south the body is slightly cut by women with small flakes of glass or quartz in zigzag or lineal patterns downwards. In the north it is deeply cut by men with pig-arrows in lines across the body. Red ochre and yellow ochre (pronounced OAK-ur, from the Greek ochros, yellow) are pigments made from naturally tinted clay. ...

The male is said to reach adulthood when about fifteen years of age, typically marries when about twenty-six, and lives onto sixty or sixty-five if he reaches old age. Except as to the marrying age, these figures fairly apply to women. Before marriage, free intercourse between the sexes is the rule, though certain conventional precautions are taken to prevent it. Marriages rarely produce more than three children and often none at all. Divorce is rare, unfaithfulness after marriage uncommon and incest virtually unknown.

By preference the Andamanese are exogamous as regards sept and endogamous as regards tribe.

There is no idea of government, but in each sept there is a head, who has attained that position by degrees on account of some tacitly admitted superiority and commands a limited respect and some obedience. The young are deferential to their elders. Offences are punished by the aggrieved party. Property is communal and theft is only recognized as to things of absolute necessity, such as arrows, pork and fire. Fire is the one thing they are really careful about, not knowing how to renew it. A very rude barter exists between tribes of the same group in regard to articles not locally obtainable.

The religion consists of beliefs in spirits of the wood, the sea, disease and ancestors, and of avoidance of acts traditionally displeasing to them. There is neither worship nor propitiation. An anthropomorphic deity, Puluga, is the cause of all things, but it is not necessary to propitiate him. There is an idea that the "soul" will go somewhere after death, but there is no heaven nor hell, nor idea of a corporeal resurrection. There is much faith in dreams, and in the utterances of certain "wise men", who practise an embryonic magic and witchcraft.

The great amusement of the Andamanese is a formal night dance, but they are also fond of games. The bows differ altogether with each group, but the same two kinds of arrows are in general use: (1) long and ordinary for fishing and other purposes; (2) short with a detachable head fastened to the shaft by a thong, which quickly brings pigs up short when shot in the thick jungle. Bark provides material for string, while baskets and mats are neatly and stoutly made from canes and buckets out of bamboo and wood.

None of the tribes ever ventures out of sight of land, and they have no idea of steering by sun or stars. Their canoes are simply hollowed out of trunks with the adze and in no other way, and it is the smaller ones that are outrigged; they do not last long and are not good sea-boats. The story of raids on Car Nicobar, out of sight across a stormy and sea-rippled channel, must be discredited.

Honour is shown to an adult when he dies by wrapping him in a cloth and placing him on a platform in a tree instead of burying him. At such a time the encampment is deserted for three months.

Penal Settlement

The point of enduring interest as regards the Andamans is the penal system, the object of which is to turn the life-sentence and few long-sentence convicts, who alone are sent to the settlement, into honest, self-respecting men and women, by leading them along a continuous course of practice in self-help and self-restraint, and by offering them every inducement to take advantage of that practice. After ten years' graduated labour the convict is given a ticket-of-leave and becomes self-supporting. He can farm, keep cattle, and marry or send for his family, but he cannot leave the settlement or be idle. With approved conduct, however, he may be absolutely released after twenty to twenty-five years in the settlement; and throughout that time, though possessing no civil rights, a quasi-judicial procedure controls all punishments inflicted upon him, and he is as secure of obtaining justice as if free. There is an unlimited variety of work for the labouring convicts, and some of the establishments are on a large scale. Very few experts are employed in supervision; practically everything is directed by the officials, who themselves have first to learn each trade. Under the chief commissioner, who is the supreme head of the settlement, are a deputy and a staff of assistant superintendents and overseers, almost all Europeans, and sub-overseers, who are natives of India. All the petty supervising establishments are composed of convicts.

The garrison consists of 140 British and 300 Indian troops, with a few local European volunteers. The police are organized as a military battalion 643 strong. The number of convicts has somewhat diminished of late years and in 1901 stood at 11,947. The total population of the settlement, consisting of convicts, their guards, the supervising, clerical and departmental staff, with the families of the latter, also a certain number of ex-convicts and trading settlers and their families, numbered 16,106. The labouring convicts are distributed among four jails and nineteen stations; the self-supporters in thirty-eight villages. The elementary education of the convicts' children is compulsory. There are four hospitals, each under a resident medical officer, under the general supervision of a senior officer of the Indian medical service, and medical aid is given free to the whole population. The net annual cost of the settlement to the government is about six pounds per convict. The harbour of Port Blair is well supplied with buoys and harbour lights, and is crossed by ferries at fixed intervals, while there are several launches for hauling local traffic. On Ross Island there is a lighthouse visible for 19 miles. A complete system of signalling by night and day on the Morse system is worked by the police. Local posts are frequent, but there is no telegraph and the mails are irregular. 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The above accounts, written while Britain still controlled India, may leave the impression that these settlements were a model of progressive penal reform. Indian accounts, however, paint a different picture. From the time of its development in 1858 under the direction of James Pattison Walker, and in response to the mutiny and rebellion of the previous year, the settlement was first and foremost a repository for political prisoners. The Cellular Jail at Port Blair when completed in 1910 included 698 cells designed to better accommodate solitary confinement; each cell measured 4.5 by 2.7 metres with a single ventilation window 3 metres above the floor. The Viper Chain Gang Jail on Viper Island was reserved for troublemakers, and was also the site of hangings. In the 20th century it became a convenient place to house India's freedom fighters, and it was here that on December 30, 1943 during Japanese occupation, that Subhas Chandra Bose first raised the flag of Indian independence. The penal colony was closed on August 15, 1947 when India gained its freedom. It has since served as a museum to the freedom fighters. 1858 is a common year starting on Friday. ... 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Netaji poster in Thiruvananthapuram Subhas Chandra Bose (January 23, 1897 - August 18, 1945) also known as Netaji, was a Orissa born and Bengal based Indian leader of the movement to win independence from British rule. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

External links

• Photos from Andaman Islands 100 photos taken by an Andaman's lover
• Snaps of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Snaps of Andaman Islands taken by Mahendra Pratap Singh, S/o Shri R.P.Singh
• The Andaman Association, Lonely Islands: The Andamanese