Loading...
Rare footage has shown an interaction between a remote tribe that has rarely been contacted by the outside world and visitors from India.
The Sentinelese tribe is believed to have existed for around 60,000 years, per Study.com, inhabiting North Sentinel Island and remaining firmly away from technology.
They are known to fiercely protect their home from outsiders and some of those that have tried to make contact with them have ultimately met a sticky end.
One such person was US missionary John Allen Chau, who'd traveled to the secluded territory in India's Andaman Islands in order to bring Christianity to its people.
Upon his arrival in November 2018, the Sentinelese attacked him with arrows, and despite their fierce warning, Chau continued his efforts but was eventually killed by the tribe, who reportedly tied a rope around his neck and dragged his body away.
However, others have managed to document their interactions with the largely uncontacted tribe, including Trilokinath Pandit, a director of the Anthropological Survey of India, and his colleagues who visited North Sentinel Island on January 4, 1991.
In the rare footage, members of the tribe are seen heading to the beach as the team approach by boat.
The surveyors threw coconuts toward the tribe as a peace offering as some of the members were seen stepping forwards to collect them from the water.
This footage is a stark contrast to other clips of the tribe, including one from Survival International which showed them shooting arrows towards people approaching the island.
The tribe is fiercely protective of their way of life, and it was confirmed that Indian visits to the island stopped in 1997.
The Sentinelese are protected by law and it is illegal to go within a five nautical mile radius f the island.
The tribe is thought to consist of around 150 people - though estimates vary from between 50 to 500 as observations have only been made from afar - who live in complete isolation from the modern world, largely helped by the remote location.
Being so cut off from outsiders also means they are highly susceptible to disease and infection as they have not developed immunity to diseases which are common elsewhere in the world.
According to reports from The Guardian, the Indian government maintains a "hands off, eyes on" policy when it comes to the Sentinelese, with officials mooring boats near to the island every few months to check on its inhabitants' welfare.