Shompen Tribe of Nicobar
- October 6, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
Shompen Tribe of Nicobar
Sub: Geo
Sec: Human geo
Why in News
The Shompen tribe of the Nicobar Islands has recently come into the spotlight due to concerns over a major infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island, which threatens their forest home. The project includes plans for a transshipment container terminal, port, and solar power plant, raising environmental and anthropological concerns.
About Shompen Tribe:
- The Shompen tribe is a semi-nomadic, forest-dwelling community that has inhabited the Great Nicobar Island for over 60,000 years. Unlike the coastal Nicobarese tribe, the Shompen live in the island’s interior, relying heavily on the forest for their sustenance and survival.
- The Shompenare one of the most isolated tribes on Earth. They reside in the dense tropical rainforest of the Great Nicobar Island of Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands.
- They are one of the least studied Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)in India.
- Though according to the Census (2011),the estimated population of Shompen is 229, the exact population of Shompen is unknown till today.
- Most of them are uncontacted, refusing all interactions with outsiders.
- They live insmall groups, whose territories are identified by the rivers that criss-cross the rainforest.
- They are semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers,and their main sources of livelihood are hunting, gathering, fishing, and a little bit of horticultural activities in a rudimentary form.
- Primarily, they used to hunt wild pig, python, monitor Lizard, crocodile, see turtle etc.
- They collect a wide variety of forest plants, but theirstaple food is the pandanus fruit, which they call
- Shompenspeak their own language, which has many Members of one band do not understand the dialect of the other.
- They are of short to medium stature,have a round or nearly broad head shape, narrow nose, a broad facial profile, and distinctly exhibit Mongoloid features such as light brown to yellow-brown skin and oblique eye features.
- Shompenhave nuclear families comprising husband, wife, and their unmarried children.
- A Shompen familyis controlled by the eldest male member, who controls all activities of the women and kids. Monogamy is the general rule, although polygamy is allowed too.
About Great Nicobar:
- Great Nicobaris the southernmost tip of India, part of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago with over 600 islands.
- It is hilly, covered with lush rainforests, and receives about 3,500 mm of annual rainfall.
- The islandhosts endangered and endemic species like the giant leatherback turtle, Nicobar megapode, Great Nicobar crake, Nicobar crab-eating macaque, and Nicobar tree shrew.
- It has an area of 910 sq km with mangroves and Pandan forests along its coast.
About the Great Nicobar Development Project:
A “greenfield city” has been proposed, including
- An International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT),
- A Greenfield International Airport,
- A power plant, and
- A township for the personnel who will implement the project.
A total of 166.1 sq km along the island’s southeastern and southern coasts have been identified for the project along a coastal strip of width between 2 km and 4 km.
Some 130 sq km of forests have been sanctioned for diversion, and 9.64 lakh trees are likely to be felled.
The port will be controlled by the Indian Navy, while the airport will have dual military-civilian functions and will cater to tourism as well.
Roads, public transport, water supply and waste management facilities, and several hotels have been planned to cater to tourists.