US tourist’s body could be lost in battle to preserve isolated Andaman tribe | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

US tourist’s body could be lost in battle to preserve isolated Andaman tribe

Agence France-Presse | ByAgence France-Presse
Nov 25, 2018 11:40 AM IST

The American tourist died last week after making several attempts to reach the Sentinelese to preach Christianity -- knowing it was illegal to go within three miles (five kilometres) of the island.

The body of American missionary-adventurer John Allen Chau may never be recovered from the lost island where he fell in a volley of arrows fired by a reclusive tribe whose existence is threatened by the modern world, say experts.

An American self-styled adventurer and Christian missionary, John Allen Chau, has been killed and buried by a tribe of hunter-gatherers on a remote island in the Indian Ocean.(REUTERS)
An American self-styled adventurer and Christian missionary, John Allen Chau, has been killed and buried by a tribe of hunter-gatherers on a remote island in the Indian Ocean.(REUTERS)

The menace to the Sentinelese from Chau’s one-man invasion is such that tribal rights specialists say no murder charges will ever be laid and Chau’s body will have to stay hidden to protect what is probably the world’s last pre-neolithic tribe.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Government authorities -- who do not dare enforce their rule over North Sentinel island -- have not sent police ashore to question the tribe who have been greeting outsiders with hostility for centuries.

Police sent a boat near North Sentinel for the second time since the killing on Friday.

“Due precautions were taken by the team to ensure that this particularly vulnerable tribal group are not disturbed and distressed during this exercise,” said a police statement.

Fears that 21st century diseases as mild as the common cold could kill off the tribe, or that experiencing electricity and the internet would devastate their lifestyle, have left them in a guarded bubble that Chau sought to burst with his “Jesus loves you” message.

The American died last week after making several attempts to reach the Sentinelese to preach Christianity -- knowing it was illegal to go within three miles (five kilometres) of the island.

Double dilemma

Pankaj Sekhsaria, a tribal rights expert and author on the Andaman and Nicobar islands, said it would be “a futile exercise” to try to retrieve Chau’s body.

“I don’t think it is a good idea to go anywhere near (North Sentinel) because it will create conflict with the community there,” he told AFP.

“I don’t believe there is any safe way to retrieve the body without putting both the Sentinelese and those attempting it at risk,” added Sophie Grig, senior researcher for Survival International which campaigns for such isolated groups.

Anup Kapoor, an anthropology professor at the University of Delhi, said that anyone wanting to open a dialogue with the Sentinelese had to show they were “on the same level.”

“Don’t wear anything,” he recommended. “Only then you can hope to have some sort of interaction.”

Kapoor once had contacts with the Onge, another Andamans tribe, adding: “It was only after I took off my clothes, except my underwear.”

The lack of knowledge of the Sentinelese, believed to be the last surviving descendants of the first humans to arrive in Asia -- and who 13th century adventurer Marco Polo called “brutish and savage” -- is the main handicap.

“We have no clue about their communication systems, their history and culture, how can we go anywhere near them,” said Kapoor.

“What we know is that they have been killed and persecuted historically by the British and the Japanese. They hate anyone in uniform. If they see someone in uniform, they will kill him on the spot.

“Let them be the way they are. Leave them in peace in the ecosystem they are in. Do not disturb them because that will only make them more aggressive.”

No timeline

Police in the Indian Ocean paradise are now wrestling with a double dilemma: how to answer the prayers of Chau’s family and maintain the privacy around North Sentinel that is essential for the tribe’s survival.

Andamans police chief Dependra Pathak has said no timeline can be given for finding a body.

And Sekhsaria warned Indian authorities may now have to strengthen surveillance around North Sentinel to prevent a Chau copycat.

“The administration is seized of the matter, they are already thinking about the surveillance,” he said without giving detail.

Indian outsiders have had a rough reception when going to North Sentinel. Arrows were fired at a helicopter that checked on the tribe after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Two fishermen who strayed too close in 2006 were killed.

Police are talking with anthropologists and tribal welfare experts about the best way to establish contact.

The Anthropological Survey of India has had previous rudimentary contact.

“When we went there, nothing happened,” said the survey’s Andaman chief C. Raghu. “Our seniors visited the island and they came back. It is because we are experts and know the pulse of the people.

“It’s not just the risk of disease. You also have to think of how to handle yourself, what to say and what to share with them. To them, whoever gets there is from the outside, new world.”

Unveiling Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!

Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Arvind Kejriwal News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On