By Huned Contractor

A new documentary on the Onge tribals of the Andaman Islands explores the death touch of civilisation

If he had wanted to, Kaushik Ray Gupta could have focused on the exotic in his film Guabolombe -- Our Island. There would have been images of the rituals and traditions of the Onges, one of the tribes that populate the Andaman Islands. There would have been a whole lot of dancing, drinking and worshipping of gods, not to forget a soundtrack packed with chants and rhythms.

There is none of that in this half-hour documentary. This is a film about a tribe that has felt the ‘death touch of civilisation’.

There are three major tribes in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago that have, with great difficulty, managed to face the overpowering challenges posed by nature and the corrupt power of the ‘urbanites’. They are the Jarawas, the Sentinelese and the Onges; all are believed to be of the same stock. There is a fourth tribe called the Great Andamanese, which is different. The tribes are thought to have travelled to the Andaman Islands from Africa around 60,000 years ago. The Onges inhabit Little Andaman, surrounded by coral reefs and rich marine life: fish, turtles, crocodiles and the Dugong, the herbivorous sea mammal that is now close to extinction.

There are only around 51 Onges left today, and as each one dies a large chunk of the tribe’s precious and ancient knowledge dies. “Pretty soon they will be nothing but a cipher in our history books,” says Gupta who spent long periods with the Onges, first understanding their anthropological and cultural background before freezing them on camera. The film, that took more than two years to make due to severe constraints posed by the government machinery in terms of permissions (mostly denials), was funded by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT).

Guabolombe makes an impact because it is probably the first time that we actually hear an Onge on film. “It would have been impossible to get their point of view across with absolute honesty were it not for the presence of one Onge who could speak Hindi. He managed to explain, in great detail, why exactly his tribe is unable to cope with the forces of civilisation, and the inroads made by government agencies,” says Gupta. Interspersed with visuals of how the lives of the tribals are intertwined with nature (building of homes, hunting for food, living in a participatory society, expressing their concern for the future) are interviews with experts who have studied the Onges to understand how they have managed to survive for so many years.

“The important thing here was to ensure that my perception of the Onges did not get in the way of their own story. As such, it took many visits to be able to really win their trust and friendship before they decided to let the camera into their lives,” explains the filmmaker.

And when it came to shooting the documentary, it wasn’t easy either. “Unused to the rainforest, we had to face onslaughts of leeches and giant mosquitoes. Then there were regions where lugging our equipment was extremely tough. Also, my assistant was stricken with cerebral malaria so I had to shoot the film and record the interviews myself. There were times when I thought about giving it all up,” Gupta recalls.  

Following contact with the British and Indians, the population of the Onges fell from 670 in 1900 to what it is today. According to one study, the Indian government tried to force the Onges to work on a plantation on their island, a plan that failed.  

“They have always been hunter-gatherers, therefore it was impossible to transform them into ‘settled’ farmers. But with the boundaries of their land shrinking and much of the island deforested, they have become dependent on the government for rations. In a few years the Onge will have vanished, says Gupta.

“The Onges do not believe in the theory of permanent abode. They shift from forests to coastline depending on the seasons and the availability of food. It is this deep understanding of nature and survival skills that needs to be preserved. Their existence on these fragile islands for so many years bears testimony to the fact that they know exactly how to manage their resources in a sustainable manner,” Gupta points out. The Onges will never plunder the land nor overkill animals because of their firm belief that both man and nature have to share to be able to grow together.

The unfortunate part is that the tropical rainforest that has taken probably over a billion years to evolve is now being felled in an unbelievably short time. “These forests are the repository of diverse biogenetic material of inestimable value for scientists looking to unravel evolutionary clues or perhaps find genetic material to replenish our current food stocks. All this is being wiped out because of our collective insensitivity to this treasurehouse of wisdom,” adds Gupta. The film goes to the heart of the situation and attempts to explore the life rhythms of these unique hunter-gatherers. “My idea in making this documentary was to provide an alternative point of view -- that of people who have been affected by the so-called ‘modern world’ -- in the hope that lessons might emerge for the future.” 

(Huned Contractor is a Pune-based filmmaker and journalist)