This Woman Anthropologist Made First Friendly Contact With Andaman Tribe

[Judi Lynn]

Madhumala Chattopadhyay recalled that the islanders known for showing hostility towards trespassers had put their guard down seeing a woman being part of the expedition team.

All India | Press Trust of India | Updated: December 05, 2018 18:19 IST



The Sentinelese people are among the tribes that survived the tsunami of 2004 without any help


PORT BLAIR: The protected and reclusive Sentinel tribespeople known for welcoming outsiders by firing arrows on them, had surprisingly displayed warmth to a contact expedition team having a woman among them, recounts the female anthropologist about the trip 27 years ago.
Talking about the successful tour to Sentinel island in 1991, Madhumala Chattopadhyay recalled that the islanders known for showing hostility towards trespassers had put their guard down seeing a woman being part of the expedition team.

The presence of a woman indicated that the contact party meant no harm, Madhumala said speaking to the local media from New Delhi over phone. The anthropologist, now a senior official in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, said they had conducted as many as three contact expeditions in DSS vessel MV Tarmugli.

Killing of a US national John Allen Chau, 27, last month in course of his illegal trip to the North Sentinel island, reignited peoples interest about the handful of aboriginals as per the 2011 census. North Sentinel island has been declared no go area by a law. Information pouring in after the death of the American national revealed that very few trips had been made to the island, about 102 km from capital Port Blair, in the past.

The Sentinelese people are among the tribes that survived the tsunami of 2004 without any help from the outside world. The last time the world heard about the Sentinel islanders was in 2006 when two fishermen were killed by the primitive natives after their boat had strayed towards the island.

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https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/woman-anthropologist-madhumala-chattopadhyay-made-first-friendly-contact-with-andamans-sentinelese-t-1958313