You may have heard of an American man, an evangelical missionary John Allen Chau — who tried to establish illegal contact Sentinelese In 2018, he was killed by a man from a tribe living in the Andaman Islands off the coast of India. He wanted to convert them to Christianity, but he got more than he expected. He was killed by a tribe that had thwarted all attempts to contact the outside world for centuries. Anyone who has tried to circumvent their wishes has met a tragic end.

their house, North Sentinel IslandThe island is a speck in the vast ocean, a sanctuary surrounded by a ring of coral reefs and protected with an iron will by its inhabitants. The Sentinelese have chosen the path of radical self-preservation. There are no absolute theories about their origins, but they are believed to be descendants of early African migrants who settled on the island about 60,000 years ago. Since then, they have built up their own language, practices and strong defense mechanisms; in 2006, two fishermen were killed for encroaching on their territory, and others have also been killed by flying arrows and bows.

Little is known about their culture, language or even their exact population. They are believed to be hunter-gatherers who live in harmony with their environment. What we do know is thanks to Indian anthropologist TN Pandit, who spent years trying to befriend them. He first set out in 1967 as part of an expedition group to visit North Sentinel Island, where the tribe lives alone. The group would take a select few items with them on their trips to make contact. In 1991, the tribe visited him and his team, who gifted them coconuts, but there has been no contact with the tribe since then, and the island has been declared off-limits to all travellers. Although the Sentinelese are a peaceful people, the death of the American intruder was a rare incident. “We must respect their wish to be left alone,” Pandit said in an interview with the BBC.

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While their isolation is an example of their resilience, it also makes them incredibly vulnerable. The threat of diseases, deforestation and climate change is enormous. Yet, the reality of a tribe living so far away from the cacophony of modern life is both surprising and awe-inspiring. The spirit of this community, which has chosen to shape its own destiny on its own terms, is worth cherishing.

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