The Indian Ocean island That is Home to a Community Who Have Lived There For 60,000 Years

By: viralthread

Bucket lists… we’ve all got em’, but they’re not all the same, but one thing that is sure to be on most peoples’ lists is having a private island. Richard Branson has one, we all want one, most of us will probably never get one.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, after learning more about this Lord Of The Fliesinspired island I’m quite happy in good old Blighty thanks.

Introducing the Sentinelese people. They’ve been kicking around this beautiful island for a whopping 60,000 years. They inhabit a tiny island in The Indian Ocean which is estimated to be approximately the size of Manhattan.

This satellite image taken by NASA shows the untouched North Sentinel Island, which is about the size of Manhattan

From the sky it appears to be an idyllic island with amazing beaches and a dense forest, but tourists or fishermen don’t dare to set foot on this outcrop in the Indian Ocean due to its inhabitants’ fearsome reputation.

Visitors who venture onto or too close to North Sentinel Island risk being attacked by members of the mysterious tribe who prefer to have zero contact with the outside world.

The tribe killed two men in 2006 who were fishing too close to their island, and have been known to fire arrows and fling rocks at low-flying planes or helicopters on reconnaissance missions.

 

Sentinelese tribespeople, holding javelins, gather on the shore of North Sentinel Island, located in the Bay of Bengal

Located in the Bay of Bengal, North Sentinel Island belongs to India and remains an enigma, despite being populated for an estimated 60,000 years.

Untouched by modern civilization, very little is known about the Sentinelese people, their language, their rituals and the island they call home.

It is too dangerous to approach them due to their hostility to outsiders, meaning they are rarely photographed up close and almost never seen on video. Most of the photos and video clips that do exist are of poor quality.

This video is from 1990, the Sentinelese tribe are warding off Indian fisherman.

So if you ever hire a pedalo and go in search for untouched islands, best to avoid this one, these guys don’t take kindly to outsiders.

This article was originally published in 2015 and is frequently updated

 

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