North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands, which includes South Sentinel Island, in the Bay of Bengal. It is home to the Sentinelese who, often violently, reject any contact with the outside world, and are among the last people worldwide to remain virtually untouched by modern civilization. As such only limited information about the island is known.It doesn’t matter whether you are friend or enemy, whether you arrive at the island shores on purpose or by accident, the locals will greet you the same way – with spears and arrows.
What happened Aftr the Aftermath of the tsunami 2004:
the Gifts of food and clothing are of no importance to them. They were even hostile to rescue missions after the tsunami in 2004In the aftermath of the disastrous tsunami that had hit the Indian Ocean in December 2004, a group of rescuers reached out to the Sentinelese in an Indian Navy helicopter. They wanted to find and help survivors, although chances were slim. They tried dropping food parcels to the ground, but they were met with hostility. A sole Sentinelese warrior emerged from the dense jungle and shot an arrow at the helicopter.
There are several horror stories of how the Sentinelese have treated their guests. People either return from the island terrified and injured, or not at all. In 1896, an escaped convict from the British prisons of The Andamans drifted on to the shores of North Sentinel by accident. A few days later, a search party found his body on a beach, punctured by arrows and with his throat slit.
In 1974, a group went there to make a documentary, and the film’s director took an 8-foot arrow in the thigh. A few of the recordings from that visit were included in the larger documentary, Man in Search of Man.
Surprisingly, there has been only one instance where outsiders did not have to face an aggressive reception. On January 4, 1991, 28 men, women and children approached Mr. Pandit and his group. “That they voluntarily came forward to meet us, it was unbelievable,” he said. “They must have decided that the time had come.”
Unfortunately, the last contact with the islanders in 2006 didn’t go as well. Two fishermen were killed while illegally fishing within the range of the island.
India has sovereignty over North Sentinel, but I doubt these people even know what India is. After several failed attempts to make friendly contact with them,and after all what have been heard about the crimes that happened there, the Indian government has finally backed away. All visits to the island are banned. The Indian Navy has enforced a 3-mile buffer zone to keep tourists, explorers and other meddlers away. Accidental encounters still do occur, and none of them end well.
The only thing that the one can do is wonder how amazing that even in the most drastic conditions, the Sentinelese do not want any help, which is a very curious behavior. How they view outsiders and the world around them?! What they call themselves?! are they aware that we call them ‘Sentinelese’??!! All these questions stay without an answer!!
You can also check our video about Sentinel island :
