Context:
A new genetic study published in the European Journal of Human Genetics has found that the Nicobarese people of the Indian Ocean have ancestral ties to the Htin Mal community of the Laos, Thailand region, challenging previous migration timelines.
Key Findings:
- Researchers analyzed genetic data from 1559 individuals across South and Southeast Asia.
- The Nicobarese migrated to the Nicobar Islands about 5000 years ago instead of the previously estimated 11000 years ago. Their lineage of genetics was tied to that of Southeast Asian populations hence supportive of Indian Ocean crossings.
- While the Onge and Great Andamanese have ancient genetic lineages M31, M32 that date back 50000 to 70000 years the connections for the Nicobarese are more recent and with Austroasiatic speaking groups.
The Nicobarese
The Nicobarese are an aboriginal group of people living in the Nicobar Islands that form part of India’s union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. They speak Austroasiatic languages.
- Characteristics
- The Nicobarese are of Mongloid stock.
- They are mainly horticulturists and pig-herders.
- They live in large, permanent villages, mostly near the coast.
- They are not divided into tribes, but there are territorial distinctions.
- The Nicobarese are ethnically linked to the Austroasiatic peoples of South and Southeast Asia.
- History
- The Nicobarese colonized the archipelago of Nicobar early in the Holocene.
- The Nicobar Islands were once a major trading post for travelers heading eastward to the Far East.
- The traders would exchange goods such as silk handkerchiefs, coats, and hats for coconuts with the Nicobarese.
- The Nicobar Islands became a part of India in 1956.
- Culture
- The Nicobarese language is tonal and polysyllabic. The grammatical structure is not Chinese.
- Many words in Nicobarese language are borrowed from Chinese.
- The preserved Nicobarese language exists in isolation, largely among mountain and jungle-dwelling groups.
