In situ Studies of Astronomy of the Nicobarese Tribe of Nicobar Islands M. N. Vahia1, 2, Ganesh Halkare3, S. A. Awaradi4 and Kishore Menon2 1. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai – 400 005, Maharashtra, India (Email: [email protected]) 2. Centre for Excellence in Basic Science, Vidya Nagari, Kalina, Santacruz (East), Mumbai – 400 098, Maharashtra, India 3. Indrayani Colony, Badnera Road, Amravati ‐ 444 607, Maharashtra, India 4. Andaman and Nicobar Tribal Research and Training Institute (ANTRI), Haddo – 744 102, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India Received: 08 July 2018; Revised: 11 September 2018; Accepted: 25 October 2018 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 6 (2018): 1013‐1038 Abstract: Sky is open for all to observe and it has fascinated humans from the time they first realised its existence. Humans have seen various objects in the patterns that the stars make. Most of the commonly held division of the sky has its roots in Babylonia about 3000 years before the Common Era. However, isolated tribal groups have not been a part of this narrative and they have interpreted the sky in different manner. Elsewhere (Vahia and Halkare 2017 and references therein) we have reported studies of the astronomy of various inland tribes in central India. Here we report the astronomical perspective of the tribes of the Nicobar Island. Isolated from the mainstream they have developed their own story about the astronomy and cosmogony of human race and the nature of Sun, Moon and stars. However, we find surprising lack of interest in using astronomy for navigational purposes. Keywords: Astronomy, Tribe, Nicobar Islands, Sun, Moon, Stars, Constellations Introduction Humans have been fascinated with the skies since they first realised the third upward dimension of the universe (Vahia, 2016). Once the humans realised the reality and rhythms of the skies they have built complex narratives around that knowledge around it (Vahia, Yadav and Menon, 2016) which includes keeping track of the movement of Sun, Moon, stars and constellations and more. They have built large megaliths to keep track of the movement of the heavenly bodies (Menon and Vahia, 2013) and even used it to predict the coming times. One of the most fascinating aspect of this complex interaction of humans with the skies has been its division into patterns and building myths around these. The nine moving objects in the sky, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn give us the seven days of the week. Thunder and lightning and other atmospheric create their own wonders to which shooting stars ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 6: 2018 and rare comets must be added to appreciate the sense of wonder that humans have experienced in the skies. They have associated role of Mother to Earth and that of Father to the Sky from the earliest times. While cultures that have been in contact since time immemorial have developed a common narrative, a more fascinating insight of human creativity can be achieved by understanding the astronomical ideas of the isolated groups of people. Figure 1: Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (https://www.traveldealsfinder.com/andaman‐and‐nicobar‐maps.html) 1014 Vahia et al. 2018: 1013‐1038 Figure 2: Field Team with Tribal Group Figure 3: Typical House in Chowra Island 1015 ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 6: 2018 There is therefore a significant interest in the astronomy of isolate human groups the world over. Astronomy of Australian, South American and African tribes have been studied for a long time (Ruggels, 2005, 2009; Munoz, 2018; Holbrook et al., 2008, Hamacher 2011; Baity, 1973). A summary of the astronomy of different tribes in India is given in (Vahia and Halkare, 2017). Tribal astronomy has roots in belief systems and utility of the skies in the life of isolated groups. While mainstream astronomy was formalised in Babylonia around 3000 BC and adopted in the rest of the connected world, the growth of astronomy in tribal groups provides an independent cultural measure of human intellectual growth. Earlier we have reported studies of astronomy in many inland groups. Here we report an in situ study of the astronomy of the Nicobarese tribe of Nicobar Islands. While the human causalities, especially of a large fraction of elder population in the tsunami disaster in 2004 has resulted in a loss of a lot of indigenous knowledge, we have obtained some idea about their perspective of the skies from the surviving knowledgeable persons. We report the astronomical beliefs from nine villages spread over four islands of the Nicobar group here. The people are aware of both Ursa Major (especially the Big Dipper or Saptarshee part of it) and Crux as markers of northern and southern sky (see figure 12 for their sketch). Unlike the tribes of central India, the people of Nicobar Islands know Polaris, which became a pole star only a few hundred years ago, suggesting a dynamic study of the sky. Pleiades and the Belt of Orion, known to many tribes is also known to them. Astronomy of tribal population is significantly different from that of the general population (Vahia and Halkare, 2017). Their perspective of the sky which include utilitarian tracking, mythologies and other ideas make a unique pool of human knowledge. In our earlier studies we have reported astronomy of five Indian tribes in Central India. The astronomy of Gonds was reported in Vahia and Halkare (2013); that of Banjara and Kolam in Vahia et al. (2014), of Korku in Vahia, Halkare and Dahedkar (2016) and Cholanaikkan in Vahia et al. (2017). A general pattern that emerges from these studies was discussed in Vahia and Halkare1. Here we present the report of our studies of the astronomy of the aboriginal inhabitants of Nicobar Islands (Figure 1). Under the provisions of Andaman Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956, the Nicobar Islands are notified as tribal reserve wherein the indigenous population gets protected from outsider’s influences except for government run programmes. Tourism and other contacts with civilians are not permitted. Hence the tribal people have preserved their lifestyle through the millennia. A significant fraction of the tribal population was washed away in a tsunami in 2004 and the rest have been resettled by the Government of India. With special permission from the government of the region, an expedition was organised in the region as a collaboration between the Andaman and Nicobar Tribal Research and Training Institute (ANTRTI) and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). Here we report the salient features of this study. 1016 Vahia et al. 2018: 1013‐1038 Figure 4: Back of a Conventional House Where Cooking is done in Open Figure 5: Typical Conventional House in Teressa 1017 ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 6: 2018 Figure 6: Mix of Conventional and Modern Houses Figure 7: Modern House Made After the Tsunami 1018 Vahia et al. 2018: 1013‐1038 Past Studies In earlier studies Rajamanickam (1997) has discussed the general astronomy of the Nicobar people. He notes that while Nicobar fishermen do not go beyond ten kilometres from the island they largely rely on geographic markers (Dinda, 2013 p 137). However, they do have a familiarity with the skies. They define north (tengane) south (Tangange), east (Tanganae and west (tangaiche). Rajamalickam (1997) notes that the Nicobar people are aware of Centaurus (Onchiana), Orion (Thyan, Crux (Mahayuvan), Aldebaran (Sama), Venus (Balangkaruvya), Ursa Major (Musaha) and Pleiades (Gna‐ gna‐hyaam). In another study, Justine (2013, p57) has discussed the art of navigation used by the people of Nicobar Islands. He notes that people of Chowra use the constellations viz Kalitpaycho, Lanerp, Mirolach, Raheong, Entngore, Anhinso, Uvev and Kalitpacho. The people of Kondule use the constellations of Sapluch, Inhoono, Humlaw inhen,Tuich, Mahayauan, Rookayaial, Riya, Inheng and Sapaluch. He has also provided some drawings of the constellations. Based on these studies, we suggest that Kalitpaycho is the Big Dipper. However, the author’s statement (Justine 2013, on plate 12 upper panel, p 262) that the second star from below is the brightest does not bear out directly but it is a double star (visible to unaided eye) and hence unusual enough to be noticed. Similarly, we suggest that the constellation Lanep (Justine 2013, plate 10, page 261) seems to be Scorpius which appears like a coconut tree. The constellation named Kalipaycho (Justine 2013, plate 13, pag3 263) seems to be Centaurus. The constellation Anhinso (Justine 2013, plate 12, page 262) seems to be Puppis. (Sule, Private Communication). Chakraborty (2013, p 220) discusses the astronomical signs familiar to the people of Mayabundar in Middle Andaman where Big Dipper, Crux (Southern Cross), Orion, Loom, Morning and Evening star, Shooting star, Christ Star (Crux?) and Paddy Flower Star (Milky Way Galaxy). It is important to note that while Nicobar are Austro Asian, the Anaman population is Keren (Chakraborty, 2013, p199). However, it is necessary to indicate the ethnology of two communities that is, Nicobarese and the Karens. The Nicobarese belonging to the Mongoloid stock are indigenous ethnic community while the Karens are also Mongoloid people living in few villages near Mayabunder in North and Middle Andaman District at present who were brought to Andaman Islands by the British colonial administration in early part last century to engage them in forest extraction works as the Karens constituted the forest dwelling tribe of erstwhile Burma. Marshack (1972) (see also Kameshwar Rao, (2005)) has suggested that people of Nicobar used calendar sticks to keep track of the calendar. In our study the people of Nicobar only vaguely recalled such a method but were no longer aware of the process.