Language:

The Jarawa language, spoken by the namesake community in the South and Middle Andaman Islands, is a linguistic marvel that serves as a living bridge to the deep history of human migration. Classified within the Ongan family (distinct from the Great Andamanese family), it is most closely related to the Onge language of Little Andaman. In the Andamans, there are two main language groups. One of these groups consists of the languages of the ten tribes of the Great Andaman. Each of these tribes takes its name from its language, the names being Aka-Cgri, Aka-Kora, Aka-Bo, Aka-Jeru, Aka-Kede, Aka-KoU QkQ-hwQi, A Puoikwar Akar Bale and Aka-Bea. The other group consists of the language of the Little Andaman and that of the people of the South Andaman, known as Jarawa. The two groups will be referred to as the Great Andaman Group and the Little Andaman Group. However, the Jarawa, who belong to the Little Andaman Group of Languages, actually inhabit part of the Great Andaman. The justification for using these terms lies in the fact that the Jarawa are evidently immigrants from Little Andaman who, at some point, crossed to Great Andaman, but have retained their own language as well as their characteristic technical culture. 

Social Formations

Pramod Kumar, in his thesis on Descriptive and Typological Study of the Jarawas, writes that the social structure of the Jarawas consists of three units: the nuclear family, the local group or band, and territorial groups. There are three territorial groups. Division into territorial groups is not based on any differences in social, cultural, or linguistic makeup. Rather, it denotes authority over a particular territory and over game-hunting and foraging activities within it. Thus, the Jarawa community has three socially discernible, territorially divided groups. The northern group occupies the western part of the Middle Andaman Islands, while the central and southern groups occupy the western part of the South Andaman. Among Jarawas, the northern, southern and central groups are known as Tanmad, Boiab, and Thidong, respectively. Among non-Jarawas, these groups are known as Kadamatalla Jarawa, Tirur Jarawa and R.K. Nallah Jarawa, respectively.

While no one from another territory can forage or collect honey within a group’s territory without prior permission from the group, movement of Jarawas within and beyond the territory is not restricted. Generally, when members of one group enter the territory of another group, they are treated as guests with rights to the territory; the host group also invites them to forage.

When the guests leave the area, they are offered gifts like honey, boar’s meat, and fish. The

1 Brown, A. R. (1914). Notes on the Languages of the Andaman Islands. Anthropos, 9(1/2), 36–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40444269 unit of social organisation, that is, the nuclear family, consists of a husband, a wife and their children. Children can be from the present marriage or earlier marriages. Apart from the nuclear family, there are two other distinct groups: the bachelors (unmarried young boys aged 6-7 and above) and the maidens (unmarried young girls aged 6-7 and above). Widowers live with the bachelor group while widows stay with the maiden group. Each local group or band is composed of several families and members of bachelor and maiden groups, who camp and move together from one place to another. Most members of these groups are related to one another through consanguineal or affinal ties. The affiliation of members of these local groups is not permanent. Rather, fusion and fission processes operate. It is possible that members of a local group may split into smaller groups and move in different directions. It is also possible that they coalesce again later.

Meanwhile, these small breakaway groups may unite with another group for a short or long period. A territorial group comprises several local groups or bands of the same territory. The territorial division enjoys autonomy. Social interactions between territorial divisions occur regularly through marriage and social visits. Each member of each territory is known to all by their name. The Jarawa community follows certain customs. The most important of them is the ceremony performed upon attaining adolescence. Known as lepa, the ceremony is generally performed when a boy reaches 13 or 14. During lepa, the boy hunts a wild boar on his own (his kin may assist him) and offers the game to his kin and others present. For girls, the opamame ceremony celebrates the attainment of puberty. From the very first day of menarche, her movement is restricted to a small square area surrounded by four posts. A mixture of əlam (a reddish soil), pig fat, and gum extracted from a creeper is applied to her head, neck, and face. During her menstrual period, she does not talk to anyone, does not bathe, and either remains seated or lies down on dewa leaves. Every morning, these leaves are changed. Some food restrictions are also observed: she is not supposed to consume pork meat or honey. She only eats a kind of mollusc and drinks water. After three days, she bathes and porkeats meat, especially pork fat. She also takes small children into her lap and prays for fertility. On that day, all women and girls of that camp assembled, danced, and sang around the girl. She is decorated with floral ornaments. After lepa and opamame, the boy and the girl are renamed.

Religion:

Awdhesh Narayan Sharma, while writing about the Jarawas, writes that they practised the so called initial stage of religion. The Jarawas do not have any beliefs or practices related to supernatural power, the soul, demonology, or shamanism. The Jarawas believe only in Whooea and practice it. The beliefs and practices related to Whooea may be designated as Whooeaism. The Jarawas do not practice any religious activities. They only believe in the Whooea ritual. It was observed that Jarawas represent the simplest form of society; they still look like prehistoric man, except for preparing arrowheads from iron pieces and using large aluminium pots to boil meat, fish, and tubers, etc.

In fact, the iron pieces and big aluminium pots are provided by Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti of the Andaman administration. The story of the so-called total ritual of whooea begins with the death of any parent (father/mother) or senior member of the family/band. The dead body is kept under the shade of a large tree and is covered with leaves, etc. The death ritual is known as “Thanditoob”. After decomposition of the dead body, they collect a small or flat bone (carpal/ metacarpal/clavicle or any small bone) from the skeleton. The chosen or picked bone is known as Oayabee. Then both ends of the bone are tied with a thread of bark, known as Oothatoo, and the bone is known as HaieBeatha. The knot of the bark threat is known as Habtaee, and a thin, untied rope is known as wheathoo. The rounded bark thread is known as Toopileae. The total structure of the bone with bark thread is known as Heebi-toang. The senior male member of the family wears it around the shoulder and waist during fishing, hunting and their visit to the dense forest. The person who wears the Heebi-toang is known as whooea, and the total ritual is also known as whooea. They try to keep the Heebi-toang/whooea in higher places and make sure it never touches the floor. This is the only value prevailing among them. It may be associated with the concept of purity. They believe that by wearing the Heebi- toang, they get better hunting and fishing material and in good quantity. The Heebi-toang also saves them from various known and unknown dangers. It is believed that wearing the Heebi toang/whooea helps them fish (to catch plenty of fish), hunt, and gather food (to gather a large amount of food), and protects them from expected or unexpected dangers during their visit to the dense forest. It is estimated that whooea or heetaooe is the earliest form of purity, respect and origin of the so-called unsung prayer. They do not believe in the soul. They have specific regards with whooea or heetaooe and emotion of purity. They do not perform any beliefs, practices, sacrifices, or rituals. They have no concept, idea, imagination, or assumption regarding God or supernatural power, nor do they have any other values related to God or supernatural power except Whooea. Whooeaism is not even related to any mythological beliefs and practices. They do not practice or perform any other acts other than whooea. The only taboo concerns whooea or Heataooe, which should not be touched with the earth and should always be kept high, either by wearing it on the body or by keeping it in a higher place. In a nutshell, Whooeaism is the initial stage of ancestor worship and cults of the dead. In this sense, religion originated from ancestor worship and cults of the dead, and Taoism is the origin of so called ancestor worship. The researcher opined that Whooa or Whooaism is the real base of origin of religion. Religion originated from it because Jarawas represent the simplest and most natural form of society.

Marriage:

Generally, for marriage, the child's parents or elder family members start discussing the match when the child is 1 or 2 years old. After the age of seven or eight, the prospective bride or groom may stay in the local band of the would-be in-laws, and move from one place to another with that band, but they belong to the bachelor and maiden groups till the marriage is solemnised. Sometimes, such a proposed marriage is not solemnised. Age is not measured in calendar years, but the general age of marriage appears to be 18 to 20 years for boys and 14 to 15 years for girls. If the proposed husband of a girl dies before the marriage, the girl may be compelled to marry some widower. The widow and the widower may also marry with mutual consent.

Jarawa Land:

P Kumar, in his thesis,2 writes that the Jarawas are mostly dependent on the forest for their food and tools, which they use in their daily life. Jarawas mostly make use of forest products for their tools and artefacts, though they also employ iron and fibres. They have been collecting iron and fibres for many years, earlier from shipwrecks on the seashore and later from settlements/villages. They use iron to make arrow tips, knives, and knife-like implements, while fibres are used to make fishing nets. The tools and artefacts are mostly gender-specific and function-oriented. Men make and use tools and implements necessary for hunting, while women make and use fishing nets and cane baskets. Foraging activities are distributed among men and women. Hunting wild boar is limited to men. Fishing in streams, nallahs (inlets from the sea), and other small pits is done by women and children. Fishing in and around the sea is done by both men and women, but preferably by men. Collecting honey and other forest products, such as fruits, is carried out by both men and women; timber collection is mostly done by women. As far as their habitation is concerned, the Jarawas construct two major kinds of huts: (1) semi-permanent and (2) temporary. Known as cadda huʈʰu, semi- permanent huts are large oval or round community huts constructed at frequently visited places.

Though meant for all seasons, they are especially favoured for staying during the rains. They can accommodate twenty or more families at a time. They also have accommodation for bachelors and maidens. Generally, bachelors (including widowers) and maidens (including widows) live in a dormitory style, situated at two ends of the semi-permanent huts. The area for bachelors is known as thorkalang cadda, and that for maidens thorkongo cadda. Besides these, each family has a demarcated place, called thulə, to live, with fire nearby. Each family marks their place with four posts where the husband, wife and their small children sleep.

Each semi-permanent hut has a central fireplace for baking or boiling meat, in addition to an individual hearth for each family. There is a hanging platform for storing pig fat and meat above the central fireplace. One or two hanging platforms are also used for household items. Pig skulls are also kept hanging from the roof, tied with cane strips. Temporary huts are of two types. One is very temporary in nature and usually used during hunting and gathering when there is a requirement for shelter for the night or for a few days. The other kind is more durable and lasts longer. Both types of temporary huts are lean-to huts and follow a definite construction pattern. Temporary huts built for a short duration accommodate the members of a 2 Kumar, P. (2012). Descrip9ve and typological study of Jarawa. hFps://core.ac.uk/download/210688965.pdf

hunting or gathering squad, while temporary huts built for a longer duration can house a family. Durable temporary huts are used mostly during dry seasons. Lean-to-type huts, in general, are of two types: either they face an open space or face away from an open space. Inside the forests, these kinds of huts generally face an open space, but along the seashore, both kinds of huts are found.

Dress and Ornaments:

Though the Jarawas did not use any clothing to cover their bodies, in recent times,s some of them occasionally wear clothes collected from different sources. All kinds of fabrics, including woollen threads, are known as kangapo. Further, some of them collect clothes not for wearing but to make ornaments from the threads. Traditionally, the Jarawas adorned them with various objects like shells, clay, leaves and flowers. Recently, they have added cotton threads and wool to the list. Though both sexes are fond of ornaments, it is the female folk who make them. Ornaments of the Jarawas can be divided into two broad types - permanent and temporary. Permanent ornaments are made of shell, and cotton threads or wool, while the temporary ornaments are made of flowers, fruits and tender seasonal leaves. The temporary ornaments are mostly named after the plants from which the materials are collected. Women of all age groups are very fond of decorating them with seasonal flowers. Generally, women are careful about how they dress. The women, including the young girls, regularly collect flowers, colourful leaves, stems, fruits, and bark fibres. In the afternoon hours, they prepare colourful garlands, which are often large enough to cover the upper body, headgear or hairband, bracelets, armlets, and waist girdle. Not only women but also men wear such floral ornaments and participate in dance and music. The Jarawas, both men and women of all age groups, decorate their faces and bodies with clay. After eating pig or monitor lizard, they invariably smear their faces and bodies with clay and later make designs on them. Body decoration and painting are an integral part of their daily activities. Certain geometric line designs, such as wavy, criss-cross, and straight, have been observed. The designs are made freehand with fingertips, nails, shells or wooden stencils known as thomtang. The Jarawas are very fond of singing, which is related to their activities such as making floral ornaments, baskets, and wooden buckets, as well as fetching water. Dance is also an integral part of their life.

Food and Drinks

The hunting and gathering practices of the Jarawa people reflect a sophisticated, deeply integrated relationship with the ecosystems of the Andaman Islands. Their subsistence strategies span the dense interior jungles and fertile coastal mudflats. Tasks are often divided by gender and age but unified by a communal approach to nutrition.

In the jungle, the Jarawa hunt wild pigs by tracking them into open clearings. Hunters approach with stealth, surrounding the animal from several angles before discharging arrows from 15 to 20 metres away. Sometimes, they use dogs to help corner the quarry. While men typically hunt larger game, they also shoot crabs with arrows in the marshes. Women use hand nets to trap crabs or dig them out of their burrows. Fishing is versatile: women and children use hand nets in shallow streams, while men and boys use bamboo arrows, achieving a 70% success rate even without metal heads. It provides a bountiful variety of marine life. Women forage for turtle eggs along the high-water marks of sandy beaches where grass provides cover. During low tide, the exposed coral beds and tidal flats become a rich source of molluscs, including trochus, turbo, and giant clams. In mangrove areas, Jarawa girls identify clams buried in the mud by sensing them with their feet. The tribe also values insect larvae; women harvest grubs from rotting logs or split infested tree stumps with axes.

Honey collection is a highly regarded pursuit with established social protocols. When a beehive is found, the discoverer marks the spot by breaking nearby shrubs to signal their ownership of the harvest. Both men and women climb trees to retrieve honey in wooden containers. Some is consumed immediately on-site, and the rest is carried back to the encampment. Similarly, the larvae of woodborers are gathered from the forest floor or extracted from trunks, though their availability changes with the seasons.

Vegetation forms a smaller but important part of their diet. Women use iron rods to dig for wild tubers, which make up about 6% of their food intake. These starchy roots are usually boiled or baked. Leaves are reserved for medicinal use, but a variety of seeds and fruits are

eaten. Most fruits are eaten fresh where they are found, though jackfruit and some seeds are gathered in large quantities. During the dry season, young men climb into the canopy to harvest jackfruit, which becomes a staple in forest camps.

Culinary traditions have evolved over time. Food was once roasted in pit ovens called aalaav, a method still preferred for pig meat and jackfruit. The introduction of aluminium vessels has made boiling a common alternative. Men generally handle the heavy processing and roasting of pig meat and are the only ones who eat monitor lizards. Boiling food is a task shared by all. These practices highlight a society that remains attuned to the rhythms of the natural world.

Further Readings:

1) https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_1896628/component/file_1896627/content 2) https://archive.org/details/dli.language.1578/page/n11/mode/2up

3) https://dn710607.ca.archive.org/0/items/andamanislanders00radc/andamanislanders00 radc.pdf

4) Sarkar, S. S. “The Jarawa of the Andaman Islands.” Anthropos 57, no. 3/6 (1962): 670–77. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40455833.

5) Pandian, M. S. Soundara. “FUTURE OF JARAWAS OF ANDAMAN ISLANDS: AUTONOMY VERSUS HETERONOMY – A SOCIO-LEGAL STUDY.” Journal of the Indian Law Institute 63, no. 4 (2021): 418–29.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/27248397.