The Andaman Islands

Andaman Islands, Port Blair
14 x 9 inches, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2019

In November 2018 John Allen Chau, an American missionary, set foot on the northernmost of the Sentinel Islands. His mission didn't last long as he was speared by the indigenous Sentinelese. The Sentinelese inhabit the least visited of the Andaman Islands that are located in the Bay of Bengal east of India. The latest Indian census counted only thirty-nine inhabitants. The Indian government used satellite imagery to count because visits are prohibited. Chau traveled illegally. Since 1700, as far back as recorded history goes on the Andaman Islands, the Sentinelese have only been in contact with the modern world a handful of times, usually very brief as they either flee into the bushes or kill the visitors. The Indian government has decided to leave them alone. The Onge, who inhabit the largest of the Andaman Islands, are related to the Sentinelese but only rarely are in contact with the Sentinelese. The inhabitants of the Andaman Islands are believed to be members of the first wave of migrants out of Africa of our species some 60,000 years ago. The Sentinelese, moreover, are believed to have been completely isolated from contact since 30,000 BCE when they inhabited the island they're still living at today. Not only visiting is prohibited but also photography is not allowed, even from a great distance. There are only a handful of images of the Sentinelese known, all taken from a distance. Their language is unintelligible. There are no sound recordings whatsoever. The related Onge share their territory with Indian settlements and are also left to their own. I was surprised to find a sound recording made by the Indian Institute of Anthropology in 1960. The recording may be the closest analogy to the music of prehistoric men that exists. The recording was made in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and features a chorus of boys and girls performing a turtle hunting song.