anthropology in the news

KUTV.com / ap

PORT BLAIR, India (AP) The last few dozen remaining members of an ancient indigenous tribe in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands said they raced up a mountain to escape a devastating tsunami – and avoid extinction.

“I am the king. They follow what I say,” said Jiroki, the king of the Great Andamanese tribe, wearing a red T-shirt and shorts. Contrary to speculation by some anthropologists, his wife said the Great Andamanese did not sense the impending arrival of the tsunamis. >> continue

Remark: Interesting to see how anthropologists “speculate” … they still dream about the nobel savage. Interesting to see how journalists like the Andamanese to be like. Derogatorily and romantizingly at the same time! they presented them first (example )as “stone age peoples” that want to be left alone. Interesting to read about the king telling us in this article: “We feel nice interacting with the outside world. Earlier our heart was only in hunting,” the king said. “There were no movies, nothing.”

UPDATE: Michael I. Niman, Alternet, writes:

“The indigenous populations of the Andaman and Nicobar islands have had extensive contact with the outside world. These descendents of African peoples were first visited by Marco Polo who described them as “No better than wild beasts.” European slave-traders later raided the islands for slaves. Anthropologists report that slavers continued to raid the islands well into the second half of the 20th century, long after the international slave trade was thought dead.”