Original subtitles

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so

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so

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foreign

foreign

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foreign

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bye

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however there are still many islands of

which little is known

many islands yet to be explored

it was in search of the people of these

remote islands that our expedition set

out from port blair

our first destination was the island of

chaura

unmarked on most maps

chaura is often called the devil's abode

and the people here are highly

superstitious

they are great believers in magic and

have a number of totems whose functions

we do not quite know

the people of chiara do not generally

bury their dead

although the body is exposed to the

elements the soul sails away in a boat

on its eternal journey

the people of jorah are good makers of

boats and they are famous in the

neighboring islands for their pottery

most nicobaris believe that for all

ceremonial purposes food should be

cooked in choda pots

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although the islanders are hard working

and clever they're nevertheless at the

mercy of their primitive beliefs

the blood from a pig's tail mixed with

some medicinal herbs is supposed to cure

ailments of the chest and the stomach

the witch doctors reign supreme

only they can exorcise evil spirits

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this is the island of great nicobar

it is the only island of the nicobar

group which has rivers and meandering

creeks

as we glided through the lush jungle we

were reminded

that a danish missionary first came here

in 1831

it was he who discovered the inhabitants

of the island called the chompins

chongpins had the reputation of being a

fierce tribe but we did not find

themselves

shy yes but otherwise more curious than

hostile

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the jungles in which the champions live

team with wildlife

especially a profusion of insects and

reptiles

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the truth is that very little is known

of the champagnes

we do know that they know how to make

fire but apart from glimpses of their

daily life we know nothing of their

history

even in the case of this lizard we don't

know whether it is meant to be eaten or

some parts of it used for medicinal or

magical purposes

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a pressure cooker champagne style

among the fruits of the forest the

pandanus is the staple diet of the

champagne

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the champions like many of the tribes of

the andaman and nicobar islands are

gradually dying away

today they number barely 92

this is largely due to disease and

ignorance

the romantics speak of the wonder of the

pagan life and would like to isolate

these people completely

the administrators want to help them

indeed if they do not get timely help

they will soon be extinct

the answer perhaps is to protect them

and to make the process of assimilation

as gradual as possible

if and when they want to assimilate

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the strangers have come

the stream flows

soon the strangers will go away

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hmm

[Applause]

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we leave behind the tribes of the

nicobars who are of [ __ ] origin

we now approach the island known as

little andaman

this island is the home of the onge

tribe

most of the tribes of the andaman group

are of negrito origin

according to the census of 1971 the

onges have dwindled to a mere 112 in

number

this in spite of friendly contact with

modern man

oh

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[Applause]

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whereas the men go out to hunt

the women roam the forests in search of

roots and tubers

the yonges have no notions of

cultivating the soil and live off the

land agriculture is unknown to them

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whereas tobacco has now become popular

the consumption of alcohol however is

unknown

until 50 years ago they did not even

boil their food because the concept of

cooking was alien to them

let alone a fishing net even a fishing

line is unknown to the angus

the greatest delicacy for the engi is

honey

the bees do not sting the man because he

rubs the juice of a special herb over

his face and his hands

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a simple expression of joy

one wonders whether our classical dances

of today

did not originate in this fashion

thousands of years ago

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[Applause]

perhaps the most ancient hairdressing

salon in the world

and it is all done with a sea shell

in one respect the husbands and the

wives of the onge tribe are amazingly

different from so-called civilized

people

they understand the beauty of stillness

and silence

they are lovers absorbed in eternal

quietude

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it's

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as our expedition approached the

curiously called interview island we

wondered whether we would be able even

to have a glimpse of the inhabitants

called jarwas

the jarvas have been known to be the

most fierce of all the tribes of the

andamans and the nicobars

it is said that one who encounters a

jaguar doesn't live to tell the tale

no one in recorded history had ever

encountered anything but poisoned arrows

from the jaguar tribe

we were to say the least astounded to

receive a spontaneously warm reception

why

was it because a dying tribe thought

that outsiders could help them

was it because we came with gifts rather

than guns

the truth is that we do not know

we don't know their language we don't

even know what they call themselves

the word jarwa is used by other anemones

to refer to the members of this tribe as

the other people

what we do know is that in 1872 more

than a hundred years ago it is recorded

that a landing party was violently

repulsed

repeated attempts at making contact had

failed until 1974 when we were fortunate

these smiling exchanges made us feel

like pioneers among a beautiful lovable

people

they were amazed to see long hair and

beards

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is there a substitute for innocence and

a natural breaking of barriers between

human beings

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okay

[Laughter]

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we came at last to what is known as the

north sentinel island

although some expeditions had landed

here the sentinelese had never been

sighted

we left gifts of coconuts knives lengths

of cloth a pig

products of the plastic age

we withdrew and waited but no one came

we stayed wide awake

for the sleeping hand fashions no

pictures

the tired eye sees no clarity

what are those moving ships

are they human

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at last the first glimpse of the

sentinelese

is this a first step towards

understanding a tribe never before seen

by outside eyes

this tribe believes in total isolation

it will not tolerate a stranger

we were prevented from approaching the

shore

in his dream the hunter's triumphant

spear gouges the eye of the moon

and when he wakes the victim is his love

a member of our film unit was wounded by

one of the many arrows each two and a

half meters long

he will carry this car till his death

but has this experience helped us to

understand the nature of primitive man

or of modern man

the sentinelese don't want to have

anything to do with us

are they right

is the stone age preferable to the

nuclear age

these ineffective arrows and spears

do they not convey some message from the

past which intellectual man has perhaps

forgotten

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there is the sky and there is man

we have begun to understand the nature

of the moon and of mars and other

planets

but have we begun to understand our own

impulses

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this is a story with a lot of mystery

and in many ways our expedition has

failed

only succeeding generations may find the

answers we seek

until then

perhaps we have no choice but to leave

it all to the islands the oceans and the

currents of time

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you