Are the Andamanese Negrito cannibals?
No, and there is no evidence whatsoever of them ever having been such. The Andamanese used to bury their dead, or wrap up especially respected persons and place them on platforms until they had completely decomposed. Strangers (shipwrecked sailors or unwelcome guests from other Andamanese tribes) that could not escape were killed and their remains burned on the beach. Seen from a ship out to sea, this would have looked like a cannibal meal until the 18th century, and may explain the remarkable tenacity with which the story of Andamanese cannibalism survives (see grey box below for a modern example). That many tribes wore bones and skulls of their ancestors as protective talismans and as a sign of respect towards their ancestors, would also have looked like cannibalism to ignorant outsiders. When the first outsiders managed to get close enough to the Andamanese and the two parties had learnt enough of each others’ languages for a reasonable conversation (i.e. in the mid-19th century), t
