Abstract
Ar Monday's meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, Admiral Mayne gave an account of recent explorations in British North Borneo. The paper of most original interest was, however, that of Mr. Maurice Portman, on the exploration and surveys of the Little Andaman, As an official on the Andaman Islands, Mr. Portman made it his business to conciliate the natives of the Little Andaman, who were regarded as quite intractable, and had been severely punished several times for murdering shipwrecked sailors. After a great deal of trouble and much risk, Mr. Portman succeeded in making friends with the natives, with the result that he and those who accompanied him could visit the island with impunity. He has thus been able to collect much welcome information both concerning the island and its highly interesting inhabitants. He completely surveyed the island, and has thus been able to make important corrections on our maps. At the north end the island consists of mangrove swamp and low belts of sandy soil, on which the aborigines have their huts. On the west and south-west the land rises into low hills of a coarse sandstone, running more or less north and south. The timber appears to be much the same as that of the South Andaman, though Mr. Portresan saw no padouk and very few bamboos. The rocks are chiefly lime and sandstone, with a good deal of actual coral rock on the east and south coasts. In one place, south of Daoguld Bay, Mr. Portman noticed an outcrop of igneous rock. He found no minerals of importance. This island is about 27 miles long by 15 miles broad, and is encircled by a fringing coral reef. The products of the sea are the same as at the Great Andaman; but the Tubiporine family of coral, particularly Tubipora musica, occur in profusion. Dugong and turtle are very plentiful. On the South Sentinel Island, about 12 miles west of the Little Andaman, the turtle appear to have their breeding-station. This island, which is composed entirely of coral rock, is infested, by large iguanas, and the Birgus latro, or cocoa-nut-stealing crab (which certainly does not live on cocoa nuts there, as there are none). In rough weather landing is almost impossible on the coast of the Little Andaman, and even in fine weather there are heavy ground-swells and tide-rips. On the north coast large isolated reefs and ledges exist, which make navigation dangerous. With regard to the aborgines of the island, Mr. Portman is of opinion that the whole of the Little Andaman Island is peopled by one race, calling themselves Ongés. These people are subdivided into tribes, who adhere more or less to their own villages, and who quarrel and fight with each other considerably. They appear healthy; their principal diseases being chest complaints, colds, fever, and itch. In physique they compare favourably with the inhabitants of the Great Andaman. Their manners and customs differ somewhat from those of the Great Andaman people, the principal differences being the following:—Instead of small lean-to's, they build large circular huts, some measuring as much as 35 feet in height, and 60 feet in diameter. In these huts the various families sleep on charpoys of wood and cane matting, raised from 6 to 18 inches off the ground, and about 2 feet 6 inches square. Their habits are more cleanly, particularly as regards their huts, and the manner of preparing their food, which is invariably cooked. They cook, dry, and store in baskets, a small fish like a sprat, and this, with the boiled seed of the mangrove, seems to be their principal food, which they supplement with what they can. Their canoes, utensils, ornaments, and bows, are different from those of other Andamanese, and the women wear a tassel of yellow fibre in place of the leaf. They do not smear their bodies over with red ochre, or tattoo themselves, nor do the women keep their heads clean shaved. They are by no means expert in the use of a canoe in rough water, and do not harpoon turtle or dugong, though very fond of the former. They have no religion of any kind, and Mr. Portman learnt nothing of their traditions or superstitions, from which they seem even more free than their neighbours.
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Geographical Notes . Nature 37, 330–331 (1888). https://doi.org/10.1038/037330c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/037330c0