ANDAMAN ISLANDERS. 345 



elder sister seems to them as horrible as it does to us. They 

 do not seem to have any religion. 



The Andaman Islanders. 



The Mincopies or inhabitants of the Andaman Islands have 

 been described by Dr. Mouatt* and Prof. Owen, who consider 

 that they " are, perhaps, the most primitive, or lowest in the 

 scale of civilisation of the human race/' Their huts consist 

 of four posts, the two front ones six to eight feet high, the back 

 ones only one or two feet. They are open at the sides, and 

 covered with a roof of bamboo, or a few palm-leaves bound 

 tightly together. The Mincopies live chiefly on fruit, man- 

 groves, and shell-fish. Sometimes, however, they kill the 

 small pigs, which run wild in the jungle. 



They have single-tree canoes, hollowed out with a /-shaped 

 axe, assisted probably by the action of fire. They are ac- 

 quainted with the use of outriggers, which, however, appear 

 to have been of recent introduction, as they are not alluded 

 to by the earlier writers, f Their arrows and spears are now 

 generally tipped with iron and glass, which they obtain from 

 wrecks, and which have replaced bone. Their harpoons, like 

 those of so many other savages, have a moveable head, and a 

 long cord by which this may be held when fixed in the victim. J 

 They are very skilful with the bow, and "make practice at 

 forty or fifty yards with unerring certainty." Their nets are 

 made with great ingenuity and neatness. They have no 

 pottery, but use either shells or pieces of bamboo to hold 

 water. They kill fish by harpoons, or with small hand nets 

 they take any that are left by the tide, and it is even said 

 that they are able to dive and catch them with their hands. 



They cover themselves with mud, and also tattoo, but wear 



* Adventures and Researches among the Andaman Islanders. Also in the 

 Transactions of the Ethnological Society. New Ser. Vol. ii., p. 42. 



f Mouatt, I.e. p. 317. } Mouatt, I.e. p. 326. Mouatt, I.e. pp. 310, 333. 



