Who Are the Andamanese?
The Andamanese are the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, now part of India. Originally comprising multiple distinct groups with mutually unintelligible languages, the Andamanese have been dramatically reduced by colonization, disease, and displacement. The Great Andamanese, once numbering several thousand across multiple tribes, are reduced to approximately 50 individuals today. Other groups include the Onge, Jarawa, and the isolated Sentinelese. The Andamanese languages form their own family with no proven external connections, and genetic studies suggest they descend from very early migrations out of Africa, with possibly 50,000+ years of isolation in the islands.
Ancient Origins
The Andamanese represent one of the most ancient continuous human populations, with genetic studies suggesting separation from other human groups 50,000-70,000 years ago during early migrations out of Africa. Their Negrito phenotype (short stature, dark skin, curly hair) may represent ancestral characteristics retained from early human migrations, though this remains debated. Their languages show no relationship to any other known language family, reflecting long isolation. Before colonial contact, the Andamanese numbered an estimated 5,000-8,000 people across multiple culturally distinct groups, representing a remarkable evolutionary and cultural lineage now largely lost.
Colonial Catastrophe
British colonization from 1858 devastated the Andamanese. The establishment of a penal colony at Port Blair brought violence, land appropriation, and—most destructively—diseases to which the isolated islanders had no immunity. Epidemics of measles, influenza, and syphilis killed thousands. The Great Andamanese, originally 10 distinct tribes, were reduced from perhaps 3,500-5,000 people to only 19 individuals by 1969. Some groups went extinct entirely. The British created "Andaman Homes" where survivors were gathered, accelerating disease spread and cultural loss. This represents one of the most complete demographic collapses in recorded history, reducing a diverse indigenous population to tiny remnants.
Contemporary Andamanese
Today, surviving Andamanese groups face different situations. The Great Andamanese (approximately 50) live on Strait Island in dependency on government support, their original culture largely lost. The Onge (approximately 100) and Jarawa (approximately 400) have maintained more traditional lifestyles in reserved territories, though the Jarawa only ended hostility toward outsiders around 2000. The Sentinelese (estimated 50-200) remain uncontacted on North Sentinel Island, which is protected by Indian law. These remnant populations represent the surviving threads of an ancient human lineage, protected by law but facing uncertain futures as one of humanity's most endangered cultural heritages.
References
- Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. (1922). The Andaman Islanders
- Pandya, V. (1993). Above the Forest: A Study of Andamanese Ethnoanemology
- Sen, S. (2010). Savagery and Colonialism in the Indian Ocean: Power, Pleasure and the Andaman Islanders