170 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



Pliololty the late (J. K. Holixoii, M.li. (//// /ieniuy--ion uf the Anthropuloijii-n/ Ii, 



THE CHIEF OF A TRIBE LIVING IN THE VICINITY OF PORT BLAIR, 

 AND HIS WIFE. 



of these people, says that 

 they are well developed. 



The peculiar goat-like 

 exhalations of the Negro 

 are absent, but the odour 

 of their presence is chiefly 

 due to the unguent they 

 use, which is composed of 

 red oxide of iron, being 

 mixed with the fat of either 

 the turtle or the pig. The 

 general excellence of the 

 teeth is remarkable. Their 

 hair is extremely frizzly, 

 growing apparently in spiral 

 tufts; its colour is usually 

 quite black, turning grey 

 at about the fortietli year. 

 Their clothing is of the 

 scantiest description, and 

 what little they have serves 

 chiefly for ornamental pur- 

 poses. 



They live in small encampments and in dwellings rudely constructed of branches and 

 leaves of trees. They have absolutely no agriculture, and keep no poultry or domestic animals. 

 With dug-out canoes and outriggers they navigate the numerous creeks of the islands. They 

 are expert swimmers and divers. Though constantly using fire, they are quite ignorant of 

 the art of producing it, and therefore take great care to keep up a constant supply of 

 burning or smouldering wood. Being entirely ignorant of metals, they use shells for many 

 domestic purposes, especially a species of Gyrene, found abundantly, also chips of quartz and 

 bamboo for knives. This wood, being very hard, produces good cutting edges, which they 

 even use for shaving. Anvils and hammers are of stone (as with our ancestors of the Stone 

 Age). Baskets, fishing-nets, and sleeping-mats are made of vegetable fibres. With the bow 

 and arrow they are very skilful; and, as seen in our illustrations on pages 171 and 172, they 

 shoot fish with arrows. The islands yield them an abundant supply of food. They feed chiefly 

 on pigs, dugougs, porpoises, iguana lizards, turtles and their eggs, and many kinds of fish, 

 prawns, molluscs, the larva? of beetles, honey, and numerous roots (as yams), fruits, and seeds. 

 Food is invariably cooked, and before the advent of Europeans they drank only water and 

 had never seen tobacco; now they are very fond of the fragrant weed. 



The social life of these Negritos is enveloped in a perfect maze of unwritten law or 

 custom, the intricacies of which it is difficult for strangers to unravel. The relations they 

 may or may not marry, the food they are obliged or forbidden to take at particular epochs of 

 life or seasons of the year, the words and names they may or may not pronounce, their games, 

 amusements, traditions, and superstitions all these and other matters have been carefully 

 observed by Mr. Man. 



With regard to the character of those people, the reader will perhaps be surprised to learn 

 that they treat their women with great consideration. Self-respect and modesty characterise 

 their intercourse with one another. From early youth the young people are instructed in the 

 duties of hospitality, while the aged, the suffering, and the helpless are objects of special 

 attention. It has often been observed by travellers that modesty and morality do not depend 

 upon the amount of clothing considered necessary by so-called savages. The Andamanese 

 present a case in point; for in spite of their scanty clothing the self-respect and the modesty 



