Bollywood may not have shown you the Jarawas, but they are an indigenous tribe in India and they are estimated to be between 250 and 400 people today.
According to Wikipedia, the people of this tribe live on South Andaman and Middle Andaman Islands. The Jarawas were able to keep their tradition, culture and customs because their contact with outsiders was disregarded before the 1990s.
They are the last descendants of the first modern humans. They left Africa to explore the world 70,000 years ago. There are no more than 400 of them. They live in groups of about 50 individuals.
The Jarawa are one of the last Afro-Asian peoples of the Andaman Islands in India. They are pygmies. They lead a hunter–gatherer lifestyle, and lived in complete isolation for tens of thousands of years. They are semi-nomadic.
Their diet consists mainly of wild pigs, turtles, crabs and fish that they catch with bows and arrows in coral reefs. They also collect fruits, roots, tubers and honey. Very little is known about the history of the Jarawa.
Their hostility to the outside world has preserved them, but almost no one has been able to study their language and culture.
The Jarawa live happy and free, without creeds or fears, without a leader or a hierarchy. They live simply on what nature gives them, without speculating on the future, without regretting the past.
They only hunt for what they need. They respect their environment. They live in harmony, without violence or hatred. They live in peace and solidarity.
In the 1990s, contacts increased between this tribe and outsiders and in the 2000s, the Jarawas became frequent visitors at settlements. They were interacting with tourists, getting medical aid and even sending their children to school. The Jarawas have inhabited the islands for several thousand years.
For thousands of years, they have managed to preserve their joy of life. If they disappear, we will lose the memory of the first human beings, the ancestors of all of us.
