Andaman Islands

Andaman Islands, a group of six large and many smaller islands, divided by Duncan Passage, in the Bay of Bengal (lat. 10° to 14° N., long. 95° E.). They were discovered by Peyraud, in 1607, and occupied by the English in 1791, but subsequently abandoned. In 1857, during the mutiny, they were adopted as a penal settlement, and are still used for that purpose. Port Blair on the south island is the seat of government. Lord Mayo, Governor-General of India, was assassinated there by a convict in 1872. Area 3,000 square miles. The Andamanese islanders, often wrongly called "Mincopies," have lately been carefully studied by Mr. E. H. Man, in a series of papers contributed to the Journal of the Anthropological Institute (1882-3). They are a homogeneous people, everywhere presenting the same uniform Negrito type - short stature (4 ft. 8 in. to 5 ft.), short woolly black hair, growing in spiral tufts, very dark, almost black, complexion, softened or undeveloped negro features - and generally resembling the other Negrito groups of the Malay Peninsula (Semangs), and Philippine Islands (Aetas). But the language, of which there are two distinct branches, and seven or eight marked dialects, is entirely distinct from any other known form of speech, though in its morphology offering certain analogies both to the Dravidian of India and to the Australian family. They occupy a very low social state, living almost entirely by the chase and fishing, in small isolated groups of 50 to 80 persons, who wear scarcely any clothing, and form both permanent and temporary encampments of wood huts, varying in size and durability. They have terms only for the first two numerals, though able to count by means of the fingers up to ten. Otherwise their natural intelligence is considerable; they are kind to their women and children, and the cruel, ferocious character formerly attributed to them is shown by Mr. Man to be based on misunderstandings between the natives and strangers landing on their shores. Since the British occupation and the establishment of penal settlements in the archipelago, the Andamanese have been brought more and more into contact with other people, and persons of mixed breed are now often seen in the vicinity of Port Blair. But the pure aborigines appear to bo dying out. One large tribe some years ago numbering about 1,000 is now reduced to little over 300, and the whole indigenous population appears to fall below 4,000.