One of the Last Uncontacted Tribes in the World
Oh, North Sentinel Island — your perfect secluded tropical paradise in the Bay of Bengal filled with forests, beautiful water, and stunning beaches. The only caveat? The natives might try to kill you with bows and iron-tipped arrows.
The Sentinelese, locals to North Sentinel Island, are known to reject contact with the outside world and remain one of the last uncontacted tribes to this day. They are often violent to outsiders.
In 1956, the Indian government decided to prohibit anyone from traveling to the island, or even getting too close. India enforces this by keeping the island under constant armed patrol.
India’s effort to keep the island secluded is meant to avoid introducing any strain of disease the natives might not be immune to.
One of the first recorded contacts with the Sentinelese happened in 1867, when the Nineveh, and Indian ship, ran ashore the island. The Sentinelese remained quiet for three days before attacking.
The crew of the Nineveh was attacked with bows and arrows but had to resort to sticks and stones to defend themselves. They were eventually rescued by a nearby Royal Navy ship.
Despite this being one of the earliest recorded interactions with the Sentinelese, reports estimate they have been isolated for over 60,000 years.
In 1880, Royal Navy officer Maurice Vidal Portman and a large team, which included trackers from already befriended nearby tribes, landed on the island. The natives fled, except for one elderly couple and four children. Portman captured the six natives and brought them to Port Blair.
The captured Sentinelese became very sick, and the elderly couple died. Portman then decided to return the remaining four children — the potentially devastating repercussions of which remain unknown.
In 1896, a convict attempting to escape captivity from a penal colony on an improvised raft washed ashore North Sentinel Island. His body was found days later filled with arrow holes and a slashed throat.
In 1967, anthropologist Trinok Nath Pandit and his team first landed on the island. Pandit would return many times throughout the following decades, leaving gifts and trying to build their trust.
In 1974, a National Geographic film crew attempted to film a documentary on the island — Man in Search of Man. Pandit accompanied them.
The documentary director got an arrow to his thigh.
They left aluminum cookware as gifts, which seemed to be accepted by the Sentinelese. Another gift the Sentinelese appeared to appreciate was coconuts.
In 1991, two instances of peaceful contact with the Sentinelese had finally taken place.
In January, he islanders approached anthropologist Madhumala Chattopadhyay and her team unarmed, eagerly took their gifts, then retreated.
The same happened in February when Madhumala Chattopadhyay and Pandit visited. This time they showed interest on a rifle in the visitor’s boat, probably as a source of metal.
More recently, in January 2006, two fishermen who were illegally harvesting crabs near the island washed ashore. They did not respond to warnings from other fishermen nearby and were killed by the Sentinelese.
In 2018, American Christian missionary John Allen Chau took it upon himself to Christianize the Sentinelese. He did not try to obtain permission from India; instead, he made his way there by bribing local fishermen.
Chau was aware of the risk and wrote, “I think it’s worthwhile to declare Jesus to these people. Please do not be angry at them or at God if I get killed…Don’t retrieve my body.”
Chau was killed, and his body was later seen being dragged by the Sentinelese. Seven people were arrested for helping Chau get to North Sentinel Island.
Today, the population of North Sentinel Island is most likely between 80 and 150 people, though realistically, it could be anywhere from 15 to 500. It is unknown whether their population is stable.
