A Challenging Encounter: Making First Contact With the Extremely Reclusive and Hostile Tribe of North Sentinel Island
The tribe’s warriors, brandishing bows and arrows on the island’s shores, demonstrate their defiance of the outside world, 1974. Image credit: Raghubir Singh/Nat Geo Image Collection
Here’s footage of the unsuccessful 1974 expedition, and the hostile reception.
Given these challenges, any attempts at contact with the Sentinelese must be approached with caution and sensitivity. The Indian government has implemented strict regulations to prevent unauthorized contact with the tribe, and has warned against any attempts to approach the island or make contact with the tribe.
But before the ban came into effect, in 1991 the first-ever recorded contact was made with the islanders by a team of Indian anthropologists and government officials. Madhumala Chattopadhyay – an Indian anthropologist who later became famous for her work with the Indigenous peoples of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands – and her colleagues approached the island on a smaller vessel and started making contact with the Sentinelese by tossing coconuts into the water as gifts. A group of armed tribesmen then entered the water to retrieve the coconuts, and this process was repeated until the team ran out of coconuts and had to return to their main ship to resupply.
Here’s footage of the unsuccessful 1974 expedition, and the hostile reception.
Given these challenges, any attempts at contact with the Sentinelese must be approached with caution and sensitivity. The Indian government has implemented strict regulations to prevent unauthorized contact with the tribe, and has warned against any attempts to approach the island or make contact with the tribe.
But before the ban came into effect, in 1991 the first-ever recorded contact was made with the islanders by a team of Indian anthropologists and government officials. Madhumala Chattopadhyay – an Indian anthropologist who later became famous for her work with the Indigenous peoples of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands – and her colleagues approached the island on a smaller vessel and started making contact with the Sentinelese by tossing coconuts into the water as gifts. A group of armed tribesmen then entered the water to retrieve the coconuts, and this process was repeated until the team ran out of coconuts and had to return to their main ship to resupply.
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