Ancient tribes on India's coastal islands were saved from extinction when the tsunami hit because of traditional knowledge handed down for generations.
The aboriginal tribes on the Andaman and Nicobar islands, among the oldest and most isolated in the world, apparently followed oral traditions and escaped to higher ground after the earthquake and before the massive tsunami struck the island chain, the BBC reported Thursday.
Almost all of the 100 or so members of the Onge tribe, which has lived on Little Andaman for between 30,000 and 50,000 years, seem to have survived.
Manish Chandi, an environmental protection worker who studied the tribes, said, "When the earthquakes struck, the Onges moved to higher ground deep inside their forest and escaped the fury of the waves that entered the settlements." He said another aboriginal people, the Jarawa on South and Middle Andaman, also fled to higher ground before the waves hit.
But now medical experts worry about aboriginals' exposure to outsiders and diseases that may have been brought in. In the 19th century, when the last massive earthquake struck the Indian Ocean, many thousands died in measles, pneumonia and cholera epidemics when they came into contact with outsiders.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
