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David
to wish impossible things
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: the edge of the deep green sea
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Post subject: Uncontacted peoples | |
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Following on from our discussion of migration in another thread, I found this very interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinelese_people
Quote: | The Sentinelese (also Sentineli, Senteneli, Sentenelese, North Sentinel Islanders) are an indigenous people of the Andaman Islands, in the Bay of Bengal. They inhabit North Sentinel Island, which lies westward off the southern tip of the Great Andaman archipelago. They are noted for resisting attempts at contact by outsiders. The Sentinelese maintain an essentially hunter-gatherer society subsisting through hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants. There is no evidence of either agricultural practices or methods of producing fire. Their language remains unclassified. |
These people are really fascinating. It's thought their ancestors have been on this island, separated from the rest of the world, for well over 50,000 years. Remarkably, in all that time they have had almost no contact with settlers, not even the residents of the surrounding Andamanese islands (who themselves are extremely remote).
Nowadays, they're more or less left to do their own thing. India is officially in charge of the island chain, but they have no say in what goes on on this island. Anyone who gets near the island gets chased away with a volley of spears. Even a rescue helicopter (tasked with collecting the bodies of two unfortunate fishermen who got too close to the island) had spears thrown at it.
There are still a few places on Earth that have had little to no contact with the outside world. Quite a few tribes in South America have been isolated for millennia, while closer to home, areas of Papua New Guinea have barely even been explored. There was even a case back in the '80s of an Aboriginal tribe here being discovered for the first time. It all makes me want to study anthropology some day. Does anyone else get excited by this? _________________ "Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence." – Julian Assange |
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Pies4shaw
pies4shaw
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
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No, if none of them can play Liszt, what is the point of their society? |
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Tannin
Can't remember
Joined: 06 Aug 2006 Location: Huon Valley Tasmania
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Post subject: Re: Uncontacted peoples | |
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David wrote: | There are still a few places on Earth that have had little to no contact with the outside world. |
Just so. There is Milwaukee, Denver, Boston, Cincinnati, Knoxville, Des Moines, Chicago, Dallas ... oh, and Canberra, of course. _________________ �Let's eat Grandma.� Commas save lives! |
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David
to wish impossible things
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: the edge of the deep green sea
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Yes, good point. I forgot about Canberra. Though they do have toasters there nowadays, I've heard!
Here's a brief video of an Indian expedition to North Sentinel Island (going by one of the other articles I read, I think they were leaving them coconuts as a peace offering).
http://youtu.be/7yehiEiuFu4 _________________ "Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence." – Julian Assange |
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Pies4shaw
pies4shaw
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
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And Josh Frydenberg. |
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stui magpie
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005 Location: In flagrante delicto
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Interesting Island and people. I thought I posted about them last year but must not have.
You'd think there wouldn't be enough people there to allow for genetic diversity, those buggers would be more inbred than the Carlton cheer squad. _________________ Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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Pies4shaw
pies4shaw
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
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Perhaps that's why they haven't invented fire or tools or the Kawai RX-5, yet. |
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sixpoints
Joined: 27 Sep 2010 Location: Lulie Street
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The Andamans and their southerly neighbours, the Nicobar Islands were a close and direct hit for the 2004 Tsunami.
Interestingly, the two island groups were in such proximity to the earthquake epicentre, that the massive subduction event physically effected both island groups.
The massive crustal movements forced the Andamans a metre or two vertically upwards. This left previously submerged coral reefs now permanently above the water line. They have all since died. But the Nicobars actually sunk by some metres (and thus suffered far more from the ensuing tsunami).
Bizzare.
http://infochangeindia.org/agenda/coastal-communities/the-sinking-of-the-nicobars.html |
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David
to wish impossible things
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: the edge of the deep green sea
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Wokko
Come and take it.
Joined: 04 Oct 2005
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It's like Star Trek's Prime Directive, the one inviolable law of interstellar travel.
No identification of self or mission. No interference with the social development of said planet. No references to space or the fact that there are other worlds or civilizations.
I'm not sure where I stand on this, I'd be more inclined to think if people want to be left alone to traditional life then they have that right, but enforced isolation to me feels wrong. If their land was strategically or economically important would they be left alone? If not then it sounds like an academic theme park rather than altruism is the reason for enforcing primitive life on these people. How far do we 'allow' for traditions to be upheld? Would we allow a hidden Aztec tribe to continue ritual sacrifice for example? Gah, I don't know. Too hard basket. |
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David
to wish impossible things
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: the edge of the deep green sea
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I think I'd be fine with giving the Jarawa effective sovereignty over their land and backing off, which is what the administrators seem to be trying to do for the most part. The thing that seems disturbing is the decision to chase them back into the forest if they try to look for supplies or equipment. Are the Indian authorities protecting a vulnerable group of people, or are they running a zoo? _________________ "Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence." – Julian Assange |
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stui magpie
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005 Location: In flagrante delicto
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It's a hard one. How do you let them out, free to wander and go back in but at the same time try to keep others out of there?
If they, as a group, want to embrace modern society then by all means let them do it. But I understand the general feeling is they want to be left alone and the processes and policies set up are to help them maintain that, with just some contact like the social worker bloke who serves as a conduit.
From reading the article I reckon they've got the balance about right considering the circumstances although I still can't figure out how groups like these and the north sentinel islanders manage to survive with such limited genetic diversity . _________________ Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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ronrat
Joined: 22 May 2006 Location: Thailand
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Quite a few of these tribes in the Amazon and Borneo for example satisfied the genetics by capturing young girls from other tribes and eventually they became mothers. If it happened today who knows? All out tribal war.
Many of the tribes in Fiji would only allow the Chiefs to marry within the family to preserve "the kingly blood". Now it is the opposite. A man must marry outside of his village and the wife moves to his gaff.
I doubt whether the royalty of Europe are much more diversified although Grace and Diana dis a lot to improve that but clearly both should have worn seatbelts. _________________ Annoying opposition supporters since 1967. |
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HAL
Please don't shout at me - I can't help it.
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
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Thanks for telling me your taste in men. |
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