India: Survival Of Jarawa People

Jarawa Tribes
The Jarawa are one of the four tribes in the Andamans which is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean. The Jarawa are hunters and gatherers and live on two large islands. They number between 200-400 which is a large number when compared to the other tribes in Andaman islands. They are nomadic, living in bands of 40-50 people.

The Jarawa (also Järawa, Jarwa) are one of the Adivasi indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands in India. Their present numbers are estimated at between 250–400 individuals. Since they have largely shunned interactions with outsiders, many particulars of their society, culture and traditions are poorly understood. Their name means "people of the earth" or "hostile people" in Aka-Bea.

Along with other indigenous Andamanese peoples, they have inhabited the islands for at least several thousand years, and most likely a great deal longer. The Andaman Islands have been known to outsiders since antiquity; however, until quite recent times they were infrequently visited, and such contacts were predominantly sporadic and temporary. For the greater portion of their history their only significant contact has been with other Andamanese groups; the experience of such a lengthy period of isolation almost completely lacking in external cultural influences is equalled by few other groups in the world.

There is some indication that the Jarawa regarded the now-extinct Jangil tribe as a parent tribe from which they split centuries or millennia ago, even though the Jarawa outnumbered (and eventually out-survived) the Jangil.The Jangil (also called the Rutland Island Aka Bea) were presumed extinct by 1931.



Their numbers are fast dwindling. An epidemic of measles in 1999 and 2006 wiped away about ten percent of the Jarawa population. Alcoholism, obesity, diabetes, and depression, are other ailments, which are now appearing as the other causes for decrease in their population. Jarawa or Jarwa means "stranger" in the language of the Great Andamanese. They call themselves "Ya-eng-nga" which, means "human being".

History
The ancestors of the Jarawa and the other tribes of the Andaman Islands are thought to have been part of the first successful human migrations out of Africa. Several hundred thousand Indian settlers now live on the islands, vastly outnumbering the tribes.

Location
The Jarawas inhabit the west portion of south Andamans and Middle Andamans. It has three social territorial divisions as, Northern group, Central and Southern Group. The northern group inhabit the Kadamtala adjacent areas called 'Tanmad', the southern group inhabit tirur area called 'Boiab' and the central group inhabit the RK Nallah adjacent areas along the Andaman Truck Road area called 'Thidong'.

The biggest threat to the Jarawa in recent years came from the building of the Great Andaman Trunk Road through their newer western forest homeland in the 1970s.In late 1997, some Jarawa started coming out of their forest to visit nearby settlements for the first time. Within months a serious measles epidemic broke out.[citation needed] Later, in 2006 the Jarawa suffered another outbreak of measles.There were however, no reported deaths.



The impact of the highway, in addition to widespread encroachment, poaching and commercial exploitation of Jarawa lands, caused a lawsuit to be filed with the Calcutta High Court, which has jurisdiction over the islands. The case escalated to the Supreme Court of India as a Public Interest Litigation (or PIL). The Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology, the Bombay Natural History Society and Pune-based Kalpavriksh joined in the petition, resulting in a landmark High Court judgment in 2001, directing the administration to take steps to protect the Jarawa from encroachment and contact, as well as preemptively ruling out any program that involved relocating the Jarawa to a new reservation. Planned extensions of the highway were also prohibited by the court.However, the Light of Andamans editorialised that the changes to the Jarawa were likely irreversible and should have been assessed more thoroughly before the road was built.

Culture
The Jarawas call their hut or settlement as chadda. The jarawas of both sexes go completely naked. But they wear some ornaments. A bark thick chest guard called 'Tohe' is used by the adult male members when they go out for hunting. The other ornaments worn by them are head band, necklace, armlets and waist bands. These are mainly made of palm leaves and shells. With the increased contact with the outsiders the jarwa have began to use cloth items which they call as kangapo. The Jarawa of both sexes decorate their body and face with clay. Their folk songs revolve around their material culture and hunting, fishing and gathering activities.

India's threatened Jarawa tribe is facing a new danger from intruders in its jungle home. International attention has previously focused on the danger to the tribe from the daily human safaris that take tourists through the Jarawa's reserve on India's remote Andaman Islands, a phenomenon exposed by the Observer two years ago. But now a rare interview with a member of the tribe has revealed that they are also under attack from their own neighbours on the islands.

In the first public interview since the Jarawa began to make contact with the outside world, a member of the tribe has come forward to protest about the sexual abuse of young women from the tribe by outsiders. The man, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of those who helped him give his interview, claimed that other Andaman islanders and poachers had started to enter the forest to harass the tribe.

He alleged that the outsiders had introduced alcohol and drugs into the reserve and were sexually abusing girls from the tribe, which numbers about 400 and whose members only started to come out of the jungle 16 years ago.

"The girls say the outside boys press them lots," he said. "They press them using hands and nails, when the girls get angry. They chase them under the influence of alcohol. They fuck the girls. They drink alcohol in the house of girls. They also sleep in Jarawa's house. They chase the girls after smoking marijuana."

The tribesman spoke out days after eight Jarawa girls were allegedly kidnapped by men who landed at Jao Khana in dinghies. Seven men were arrested. That incident followed several other reports of the sexual exploitation of women from the tribe.



'Towa' is most popular tool among the Jarawas which they use in cutting pork in pieces. It has a shape of an arrow with no stick but has a wide breadth of 4-6 inches. They keep Towa in their waist guard known as 'tohe' in jarwa Langauge. Jarawa Language The sun (ehey), moon (taape), sky (pange), stars (chilope) and cloud (ethibithi) have their great role in the Jarawa myths and legends. The full moon is called 'utthutaape' and small moon is called 'poniya tappe'. The high tide is called 'chakte' while low tide is called 'chigia'

Encroachments into their territory is threatening their very existence.Outside intereaction expose them to new diseases for which they seem to have no immunity. Poachers are said to steal their game as well. Sexual exploitation of the Jarawa women has also been reported. Tourism has been a major threat of late for the Jarawas. Indigenous tribes are our heritage to be treasured and it remains our responsibility to help them sustain themselves in environments they have always lived in and not turn them into objects of tourist curiosity.

For starters the Jarawas are no longer hostile to outsiders and have begun shunning their traditional way of life for perks that come from being a tourist attraction. According to eyewitness accounts, the tribesmen who have for generations survived on hunting and fishing now often ask for food and tobacco from tourists passing through their reserve forests.

Also, many of the Jarawas who could only speak their native tongue are now fluent in Hindi, the language spoken by north Indians, many of whom have settled there.

But conservationists are watching these changes with alarm.

It is a well known fact that tobacco and outside food which the tribe is not used to has been introduced by tourists and settlers.

There was a recent incident when two Jarawa tribesmen got into a physical fight with each other before hundreds of onlookers under the influence of alcohol. This is simply unbelievable because there is no history of alcohol consumption among the Jarawa.

According to experts, one of the key reasons for the changes in Jarawa lifestyle has been the construction of the Andaman Trunk Road (ATR), a two-lane highway that connects parts of Middle and South Andaman and passes through the heart of Jarawa territory.

Though the Indian government has never formally allowed outside contact with the Jarawas, critics argue that construction of the trunk road has led to free mixing with the tribe, often with disastrous consequences.



There are instances of Measles and Malaria outbreak among the Jarawa as a result of frequent contact with outsiders and it could well be the beginning of the end for the tribe.

Imagine what happens if a deadly epidemic breaks out among them then the entire race will be simply wiped out.

Occupation
The Jarawas who live in the rainforests hunt wild pigs, monitor lizards, fish and gather fruits and berries. Their lives are synchronised with the environment around them.

But even as debate rages on the future of the trunk road, the Jarawas continue to face other threats.

In 2011, a Jarawa youth was allegedly attacked and seriously injured by poachers from neighbouring Myanmar who often illegally cross the international maritime border to smuggle timber and wildlife from Andaman Islands. There have been similar reports of attacks on Jarawas in the past.

Jarawa rights activists also allege that while the foreign poachers are often dealt with seriously by Indian law enforcement officials, the local poaching activity often goes unpunished which has resulted in serious depletion of food reserves of the Jarawas who are solely dependent on the forest for their survival.

Poaching, both foreign and local, remain rife, despite stringent regulations and long prison sentences for those found guilty.

"Local poachers in particular are often not prosecuted. Without the animals the Jarawa will not be able to survive. For tribal people to be able to continue to thrive it is essential that they are secure in their land and able to choose and control who comes into their territory," she said.

But above all, the larger debate remains whether the Jarawas, who are often referred to as primitive and pre-historic people should be allowed to choose for themselves.

"The question is whether the Jarawas can make an informed decision now," said Dutta.

"I feel the best way forward is to let them be and not push them into joining the mainstream," he said.



Food
As nomadic tribes who depend on hunting, fishing and gathering activities, their traditional food articles consist of wild boar, turtles and their eggs, crabs and other shore animals, fruits like jackfruit and honey..

Jarawa Dance
The Jarawas are hetitlehy, with smooth skin, deep curly hair, long and sturdy hands and legs and sturdy bones. They are physically fit for hunting, fishing. The present Jarawa community bears a large portion in the population as reproductive active population of teenagers and young members. The marriage generally occurs between the adolescents. A widow/widower can marry again in the Jarawa community. Though the jarwa are strictly monogamous, subsequent marriages are common. The children after six or seven years do not share the sleeping place with their parents but live with other children and move from one place to another independently till they get married



Tourism Impact
A major problem is the volume of sightseeing tours that are operated by private companies, where tourists view, photograph or otherwise attempt interactions with Jarawas, who are often begging by the highway. These are illegal under Indian law, and in March 2008, the Tourism Department of the Andaman and Nicobar administration issued a fresh warning to tour operators that attempting contact with Jarawas, photographing them, stopping vehicles while transiting through their land or offering them rides were prohibited under the Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956, and would be prosecuted under a strict interpretation of the statute.It has been alleged, however, that these rules are openly being flouted with over 500 tourists being taken to view Jarawas daily by private tour operators, while technically being shown as transiting to legitimate destinations and resulting in continuing daily interaction between the Jarawa and day tourists inside the reserve area.

In 2006, the Indian travel company Barefoot had established a resort 3 km distant from the Jarawa reserve. The development was the subject of a recent court case brought by a small section of Andaman authorities who wanted to stop the resort, and appealed against a Calcutta High Court ruling allowing it to continue.Barefoot won that case.

Some Indian tourism companies bring tourists close to their secluded areas where the natives are tossed food from the caravans. In 2012, a video shot by a tourist showed women encouraged to dance by an off-camera policeman.

At 120km north of capital Port Blair in India’s archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar, Baratang is an important point of transit for travellers looking to cross shallow stretches of sea that separate towns of middle and North Andaman.

In the last 10 years, Baratang has also become popular among tourists for its active mud volcanoes and beautiful limestone caves spread across narrow waterways around the island.

But often it's the lure of meeting the "Jarawa" that brings thousands of Indian and foreign tourists every year to the area.

Till a decade ago the name "Jarawa" evoked only fear. The bow and arrow-wielding tribesmen were known to be extremely hostile to outsiders. The Jarawas would also occasionally attack settlements adjoining their habitation.

Considered one of the most isolated people on earth, the Jarawa are a hunter-gatherer tribe that has lived in the dense forests of Andaman Islands completely cut off from the outside world for thousands of years. But things are changing fast as modern influences creep in.



On 21 January 2013 a Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and H.L. Gokhale passed an interim order banning the tourists from taking trunk road passing through Jarawa area. As a response to this interim order, a petition was filed on behalf of local inhabitants which stated that the Andaman Trunk Road is a very vital road and connects more than 350 villages. The Supreme Court therefore, on 5 March 2013 reversed its interim order, allowing the road to be fully re-opened, but with vehicles only being allowed to travel in large convoys four times a day.