Indian island North Sentinel is one of the most isolated places on Earth

(Patria) - North Sentinel is one of the places in the world that we will almost certainly never visit, writes Punkufer.hr.

While the other islands of the archipelago are somewhat larger and better known, this wondrous piece of land, full of mangrove trees and surrounded by coral, has remained practically untouched by the outside world.

North Sentinel is part of the Indian federal territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, located in the southern part of the Bay of Bengal.

Geographically one of the most isolated places on Earth, it is not without inhabitants. One of the few remaining isolated tribes lives on the island - the Sentinelese, who have had virtually no contact with modern humans, and if there has been any, it has most often ended in violence.

In 2006, the Sentinelese killed two fishermen whose boat was drifted ashore by the current. The whole world heard about the island in 2018 due to the death of American missionary John Chau, who broke the law and came into contact with the tribe.

Although the Indians had organized several expeditions before, they did not manage to find a peaceful language with the tribe. Because of this, the government ultimately banned access to the island. Any violation of the law is punishable because illegal arrivals are equally dangerous for outsiders and natives.

Even the slightest cold can wipe out the entire population, which is estimated to be between 50 and 400 people.

Most of the information about the isolated tribe is gathered by observing the island from boats anchored at a safe distance from arrows, as well as on short excursions during which the islanders allowed the authorities to approach them just enough to give them coconuts.

The Sentinelese are hunters with spears, bows and arrows, and gatherers of fruits they find in the forest, and they also subsist on fishing. They make narrow boats that they steer with a pole, and they can only navigate in shallow waters.

It is believed that the tribe lives in three small groups and that they build two types of dwellings: large communal huts with several hearths for multiple families, and a few smaller shelters.

Women tie fabric strips around their waists, necks, and heads, and men wear necklaces and headbands and a thicker belt.

Although they are often described as a "Stone Age tribe", it is unlikely that the Sentinelese live in the same way as they did ten thousand years ago, since they have probably been on the Andaman Islands.

For example, in the past, they did not use metal that they found on the island reefs after shipwrecks. Iron primarily serves them for making arrows.

From the little information that researchers have gathered, the islanders are healthy and long-lived - they look strong, and there are many children and pregnant women on the island.

In the 19th century, British officer M. V. Portman landed on the island with a group of companions in the hope of establishing contact with the Sentinelese. The team included trackers from Andaman tribes who had already established contact with the British, officers, and convicts.

The team found recently abandoned villages, but there were no Sentinelese. After several days of searching, they came across an elderly couple and children, whom they took to Port Blair "for the sake of science".

As expected, the islanders quickly fell ill, and the adults died. The children were returned home with numerous gifts, and whether and how these items endangered the tribe is unknown.

Some experts believe that it is precisely because of such thoughtless actions that the Sentinelese's hostility towards outsiders can be explained, including the situation when arrows were shot at a helicopter flying over the island in 2004, after the tsunami, to check if the tribe was alive and well…