Indian Antiquary Vol 58

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 357

OCTOBER, 1929 ) REMARKS ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDERS AND THEIR COUNTRY
25
List of Places Visited by the Census Party-conld.
English Name.
Andamanese Name.
Kwangtung Strait Outram Harbour Bacon Bay .. Stewart Sound .. Austin Strait .. Camp Bay Cadell Point (W. Bay)..
, , (N. Bay) ... Lámia Bay, S. extremity of .. Port Cornwallis .. ..
Chatham Island Turtle Island .. Cadell Bay .. Landfall Island .. West Island .. Whitecliff Island Thornhill Island Reef Island .
, N. E. Encampment Paget .. .. .. . Casuarina Bay ..
N. E. Encampment .. North Reef Island .. .. Pembroke Bay W. Coast Interview Island S. Encampment .. Kwangtung Harbour .. Port Campbell ..
,, Mouat, "Home" at Cinque Island Little Andaman
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Gereng-lebar. Tår-mûgu. Tára-chiro. Miriti-rå-pong. Pôrong-chiro. Lưu-tiche. Chaka-mit-koito. Ta-burongo. Rengo-to-tia. Tõlobu-tong. Tébi-chiro. Koto-par. Tébi-chiroh. Tàu-rê-miku. Kareng-méo. Tar-bôro. Ba-pong. TY-kỐ -dung. Taumo-tat. Kárate-tåt-chiro. Tôrop-tot-chéto. Tébi-chiro. Ina-ta-rk-jóle. Renge-l'un-tô. Karang-to'ng-ta-chira. LékerA-l'on-tá. Kuro-pòng. Tara-chang.
Gereng-l-akachâti-jůru. .. Jertia. .. Wilima-tåra.
N
..
.
It may well be asked how could the actual facts as to number and distribution by locality, sex, age, tribe and so on, as disclosed in the Census, be arrived at even approximately in the case of a population in so low & state of civilisation as the Andamanese? The answer is that, besides the usual methods of domiciliary visits, the following method of interesting the people themselves in the matter and utilising them was adopted with success. It was found that several of the civilised Andamanese of the Home for them in the Penal Settlement took an active interest in the proceedings and a great deal of trouble in going into places where Europeans could not follow; at Port Cornwallis traversing the jungles from the east to the west coast. One or two were of the greatest assistance. Of the people met with on tho tours of the Census officers none showed the least objection to delivering up the names of their relatives and friends and their probable abode at the time, i.e., so far as their treacherous memories and innate mental carelessness and haziness permitted. They could of course never give us numbers, as the wild untrained Andamanese cannot count at all, nor does his language include numbers.
A plan was tried, for checking names ascertained and numbers assumed for the people of the interior not seen by the Census parties, of giving coloured beads to an intelligent man, Bôya alias Snowball, and using these for enumeration thus. He was a Chariar, the tribo of the extreme north, and at the end of the first tour he was started up the east coast above Homfray's Strait to traverse the interior of the Middle Andaman and North Andaman and note every person he met, who had not been seen during the tours, by means of the beads. There were four distinct colours of beads, and each colour was shown him, respectively for