India’s Jarawa Tribe

A

The Jarawa, indigenous hunter-gatherers that lives in the jungles of India’s Andaman Islands, are arguably the most isolated people on earth. They have inhabited the Andaman Islands for several thousand years, likely originating from the now-extinct Jangil tribe. Their name, given to them by other Andamanese tribes, means ‘strangers,’ and this undoubtedly harkens to their intentional isolation from even other Andamanese Islands groups. At one time, the Jarawa were thought to number into the thousands. There are currently around 400 of them surviving today.

B

Jarawa people live in bands of 40 to 50 people in huts 1-meter high by 2-meters square called chaddhas. Their bands are further delineated by nuclear families centred around monogamous marriages between a man and a woman. Married in adolescence, Jarawa parents raise their children until they are 6 or 7 years old, and then the children leave their parents’ home to live with other children and families in the community. The kids continue in this way until they get married, and the cycle repeats. The elderly are cared for by all families in the band, and are prone to move from hut to hut as they please.

C

In terms of livelihood, the Jarawa are hunter-gatherers in the truest sense. They hunt prey native to the islands such as wild boar, lizards and turtles with bows and arrows, and search in coral-fringed reefs for crabs and fish, including striped catfish-eel and the toothed pony fish. The men in the band take care of the hunting, while both men and women participate in fishing. For hunting, men prepare bows from chooi wood that doesn’t grow on Jarawa territory and requires travelling long distances to find. The same bows and arrows are used to hunt large fish, an activity that women aren’t allowed to participate in. However, women do fish with hand nets to collect mollusks and other shells. Another source of nutrients for the Jarawa is gathering fruits, wild roots, tubers and honey. The collection of honey is done by first chewing on the sap of a bee-repellent plant. Then the collector sprays the juice of the sap at a hive with his or her mouth to disperse the bees. This allows the collector to cut down and take the hive without getting stung. Because of their well-rounded diet and in-depth knowledge of more than 150 plant and 350 animal species, the Jarawa enjoy optimal health and relative longevity.

D

Traditionally, the clothing of the Jarawa tribe is as simple as their hunting tools. Both males and females go completely naked except for ornaments. Typical ornaments include head bands, necklaces, armlets, and waist bands made from palm leaves and shells. But a thick, bark chest guard called a tohe is worn by men when hunting to protect them from attacks aimed at the stomach, heart, or lungs.

E

Until recently, the Jarawa only had contact with other Andamanese societies, and were notably hostile and even violent with outsiders. They have been known to attack neighbouring groups or wandering tribes. Their first contact with settler populations—or more accurately with British and Indian anthropologists—was in 1997. From 1998 onwards, the Jarawa have increasingly made contact with the outside world, walking into settled ports without their weapons. This has been to some degree forced upon them with the construction of the Great Andaman Trunk Road by the Indian government, which runs directly through their territory and brings both locals and tourists to the area in throngs each year.

F

This influx of outsiders has been largely disadvantageous to the Jarawa. Diseases that their bodies do not have the immunity to fight have decimated a large portion of their population. It should be noted, however, that this began even prior to the 1990s. Before the 19^th century, the tribe was located in the southeast part of South Andaman Island. But after British colonisation of the region, many of the Jarawa homelands were affected by disease, alcoholism, and British-sponsored destruction, forcing the Jarawa to move west to avoid the fate of other Andamanese cultures. But even in spite of the move, the diseases brought by the foreigners killed off hundreds of Jarawa people.

G

Thanks to advocacy work both internationally and locally, the Supreme Court of India made a decision in 2001 to protect the Jarawa from further encroachment and contact, even by tourists, and prohibiting the Indian government from resettling them. It also made it illegal to poach on or commercially exploit Jarawa territory. Unfortunately, many fear that these legal measures came too late to save the once-isolated tribe from eventual extinction.