Sentinelese

The Sentinelese are a tribe of Indigenous people found on North Sentinel Island in the Andaman Islands of Southeast Asia. Little is known about the habits of this group as they violently protect their privacy on their small island. As such, they are commonly regarded as one of the last uncontacted tribes in the world.

The Sentinelese have had very limited and restricted interactions with modern civilization during the past century. The Indian government, under whose political authority North Sentinel Island falls, has ensured the tribe’s rights are protected by establishing an exclusion zone of five nautical miles (9.3 kilometers) around the island. The zone is considered off-limits to all outsiders. However, despite such efforts, several encounters with the Sentinelese have had tragic endings. These include the deaths of two fishermen who tried to land on the island in 2006 and the death of an American missionary named John Chau who sought to teach the tribe about Christianity in 2018.

Background

Sentinelese and North Sentinel Island are the official Indian names for both the tribe and their home; it is unknown what names they give to themselves or their island. North Sentinel is located in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. It lies 22 miles (35.4 kilometers) west of South Andaman Island. An unoccupied sister island called South Sentinel Island is located 37 miles (59.5 kilometers) to the south. Both islands are officially designated as part of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory, though they are closer to the nations of Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia. Due to their strategic location, India had three military installations throughout the islands as of 2019. As a result, the two neighboring archipelagos may only be visited by non-Indians with the permission of the government.

North Sentinel Island has a total land area of about 23 square miles (60 square kilometers) and is largely surrounded by a series of reefs close to the island’s shores. A thin beach composed of white sand encircles most of the island, though it lacks any natural harbors. It is roughly shaped like a pork chop and rises slightly to a height of about 400 feet (122 meters) at its center. Aside from the beach, the entire island is forested, which helps obscure the Sentinelese from aircraft flying overhead.

In 2004, like much of the Andaman Islands, North Sentinel’s topography was dramatically affected by the category 9.1 Great Indian Earthquake and the resulting tsunami that originated only a few hundred miles to the south. North Sentinel Island was lifted in some locations by as much as 7 feet (2.1 meters) by the tectonic force of the earthquake. Several coral reefs surrounding the island were lifted permanently above the waterline, ultimately killing them. The massive damage led to concerns among the international community about the status of the Sentinelese. The helicopters that flew over the island in the days after the earthquake were met with the typical waves of hostile arrows, leading observers to believe the Sentinelese had been spared mass fatalities. Other tribes in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands had demonstrated an ancestral memory of previous tsunamis and knew to head for higher ground once the ocean retreated. Some sociologists have speculated that the Sentinelese may have had a similar understanding of the potential effects of tsunamis. Nonetheless, several of North Sentinel Island’s shallow lagoons where the Sentinelese were known to fish were badly damaged, and it was uncertain what effect this had on their society.

Overview

As with most aspects of the Sentinelese, it is uncertain how many there are. Various estimates place their numbers at between fifty and two hundred, though these numbers are based almost exclusively on the presumed capacity of the island. Attempts to fly over the island have been greeted by the tribespeople firing arrows to keep planes and helicopters away.

The Sentinelese are likely related to other Indigenous tribes in the Andaman Islands based on their physical similarities and cultural practices observed during the few episodes of safe contact with the tribe. If they are related to other Indigenous Andamanese tribes, then they are members of the Negrito peoples found in Malaysia and the Philippines. The ancestry of the Negritos is unclear, but modern studies suggest an ancient lineage that may ultimately be traced back to an Austronesia origin.

Historically, only a few established contacts have been made with the Sentinelese, with many of these the result of shipwrecks. Virtually any attempt to land on North Sentinel Island has been met with tremendous hostility. The first recorded face-to-face contact with the Sentinelese came in 1867, when an Indian ship hit one of North Sentinel’s reefs. The ship’s passengers were forced to return to the wreck after they were chased off the island.

In the 1880s, the British made several attempts at contact with the Sentinelese during India’s colonial period. The colonial officer leading the visits tried to establish friendly contact by bringing members of the Onge tribe, who live nearby on South Andaman Island. However, the Onge were unable to understand the Sentinelese language. In 1880, six members of the Sentinelese—two older adults and four children—were captured and brought to South Andaman Island. However, the pair of adults quickly sickened and died, and the children were abruptly returned to North Sentinel Island with a collection of presents that the British hoped would soften the hostile stance of the Sentinelese. Further attempts at contact continued to be unsuccessful. When presented with small numbers of visitors, the Sentinelese would seek to chase them by firing arrows and waving spears. In the face of large numbers, they would hide in their island’s jungles.

One of the few known peaceful encounters between the Sentinelese and outsiders came during the 1990s when a group of Indian anthropologists landed safely and communicated with unarmed Sentinelese from a distance. These encounters continued with mild success until 1994, when the Indian government decided to unilaterally end all further attempts at contact and respect the apparent wishes of the Sentinelese. A naval ship was stationed to ensure their safety from poachers and anyone else who might seek to exploit them.

Further encounters, like that with Chau, have ended in tragedy for visitors, with officials typically unable and unwilling to retrieve the bodies. In 2023, National Geographic released the documentary called The Mission, which describes Chau's life and his fatal attempt to contact the Sentinelese. The film reignited discussions about the ethics of contacting isolated tribes and the importance of respecting their desire for isolation.

Bibliography

Hughes, Tristan. “The Man Who Spent Decades Befriending Isolated Sentinelese Tribe.” BBC, 27 Nov. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46350130. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.

Mukerjee, Madhusree. The Land of Naked People: Encounters with Stone Age Islanders. Houghton Mifflin, 2003.

Priyadarshini, Subhra. "The Man Who Reached the World’s Most Isolated Tribe." Nature, 24 Dec. 2024, www.nature.com/articles/d44151-024-00213-5. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.

Raman, Sunil. “The Strategic Importance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.” The Diplomat, 3 Jan. 2016, thediplomat.com/2016/01/the-strategic-importance-of-andaman-and-nicobar-islands. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.

Schultz, Kai, et al. “Sentinelese Tribe That Killed American Has a History of Guarding Its Isolation.” The New York Times, 22 Nov. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/world/asia/andaman-sentinelese-missionary.html. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.

“The Sentinelese.” Survival International, survivalinternational.org/tribes/sentinelese. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.

Smith, Kiona N. “Everything We Know about the Isolated Sentinelese People of North Sentinel Island.” Forbes, 30 Nov. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2018/11/30/everything-we-know-about-the-isolated-sentinelese-people-of-north-sentinel-island. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.

Zakeer, Fehmida. “Meet the First Woman to Contact One of the World’s Most Isolated Tribes.” National Geographic, 7 Dec. 2018, www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2018/12/first-woman-chattopadhyay-contact-sentinelese-andaman. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.