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Marriages
outside the community: *except the 2nd marriage all other marriages listed above are not officially endorsed by Andaman Aadim Jati Vikas samiti (AAJVS), Portblair.
ELECTORAL ROLL - 2004
GA COMMUNITY
Boa Sr. F Obituary
Age: 80 years.
Profile: Boa Sr. is the eldest member of the Great Andamanese tribe.
She is about 80 years old and looks rather fit for her age. Otherwise, how else
could she have managed to climb a tree when tsunami hit Although she claims Jeru to be her mother tongue, which
might well be the case, her language has quite an evident and strong influence
of Bo. Nonetheless, she is the most proficient of the surviving Great
Andamanese speakers and still retains a vast repertoire of songs and
narratives. Many of her songs have such strong influence of Bo that most of the
other speakers of Great Andamanese today are unable to derive any much meaning
from them. Little wonder then that Boa Sr., like most of the other Great
Andamanese, insists that there is no similarity between Sare, Bo, Khora and
Jeru. She is presumably the richest surviving member of the Great Andamanese tribe in terms of linguistic-reservoir. Her love for life is quite evident when she says that she would love to stay in Port Blair. For a society which was not acquainted even with a barter system, it is interesting to observe that she understands the value of modern currency. Among the things she would often ask for are scissors, blades, and different biscuits (pickies). It is a treat to watch her when she bursts into laughter upon things she would herself say. Our predecessors would have very much been like her!
Boro F Obituary Age: 74 years. Relation to other members of the tribe: She is the
step-mother of Peje. She has three sons – Golat, Loka and Sulu, and one
daughter – Boa Jr., all married. Her husband is no more. Profile: Boro, female, 74 years, is the second oldest member of the tribe. Frail in health and introvert by nature, she rarely hesitates in showing her displeasure at anything and everything. Deep within, she is very soft and passionate and one needs to really get close to her to extract any information from her. You have to fine-tune her like an old Radio-set. Her frank and uninhibited gestures are a treat to follow. Her typically feminine negation reminds us that femininity is as old as human civilization.
Peje M Age: 60 years.
Relation to other members of the tribe: He is married to Noe
with seven children – four sons (Jo, Irep, Phoro and Lephei) and three
daughters (Tong, Kaba and Ilec). Profile: Peje is now the second eldest male member of the tribe. His
father Ilfe was a Jeru, whereas his mother Muku was a Khora. He is also the
stepson of Boro who had later married Ilfe. Born from mixed parents, Peje is
linguistically most different from the rest of the tribe. He is the one who
possesses a labialized [l] in his speech, which is not present in the speeches
of anybody else in the tribe. Peje is married to Noe with seven children, four sons and
three daughters. Two of their children are married. Peje is one of those who
still spend most of his time hunting and gathering in the scant but virgin
jungles of
Golat M Age: 45 years. Relation to other members of the tribe: He is the eldest son
of Boro and is married to Lico. He has five children: two daughters – Kobo and
Lephe and three sons – Moroko, Buli and Berebe. Profile: One of the most introvert and submissive of the Great
Andamanese men, Golat has physical features surprisingly closer to the
mongoloid type than to the Negritos. He is very fond of fishing and would often
go for the same even while in Port Blair. He along with his family no more
wants to live in
Nao Jr. Obituary
Age: 58 years. Relation to other members of the tribe: He is the younger
brother of the recently deceased King Jirake. He is married to Boa Jr. and has
only one son – Bea. Profile: He is the eldest male member of the tribe and a true heir to
his brother the former king, Jirake. He is by far the best specimen of the
vanishing language. He knows three of the four languages which have come
together to form what we call today the Great Andamanese. He is very
intelligent and interacts well with the outsiders, so much so that he often
displayed a remarkable understanding of the linguistic nuances hidden in our
relentless queries. He too is unrelenting in giving. He is employed as a
paramedic at the medical dispensary in
Noe F
Age: 45years. Relation to other members of the tribe: She is the younger
sister of Queen Surmai. She is married to Peje with seven children – four sons
(Jo, Irep, Phoro and Lephei) and three daughters (Tong, Kaba and Ilec). Look is
her younger brother. Profile: Very stylish, elegant, outspoken
and smart is this lady, who is very fond of modern cosmetics. No wonder her
attractive looks defy her age. She prefers Port Blair to
Surmai F
Age: 48 years. Relation to other members of the tribe: She is the widow of
King Jirake with ten children: six sons (Ilphe, Meo, Nyaramo, Kanmo, Baluba and
Dec) and four daughters (Renge, Buro, Tango and Reya). She has one brother –
Look and a sister – Noe. Profile: Surmai is the wife of the recently deceased king of the Great Andamanese tribe, Jirake. She is 48 years old and one of those senior ladies of the tribe, who are tipped to become the head of the tribe in absence of the king and also of any legitimate male contender for the same. Both her parents were from Jeru tribe and her mother tongue is also Jeru only. She has ten children; six sons and four daughters. Besides, she also has a step daughter in Lico, who is from Jirake’s earlier marriage. Only two of her children are married. One of her daughters, namely, Reya, has an unmarried male child. She does not want to disclose the name of the father and this is quietly accepted by the community. In absence of sufficient eligible bachelors in the tribe, most of Surmai’s children have little option but to marry outside the tribe. This is not easy given the fact that Government approval is required before they could do so, and government policy, not surprisingly, is against this. But one of her daughter Renge, who works with the Archaeological Survey of India, married outside her tribe.
Lico F Age: 43years. Relation to other members of the tribe: She is the first
child of King Jirake from his first wife. She is married to Golat and has five
children: two daughters – Kobo and Lephe and three sons – Moroko, Buli and
Berebe. Profile: Lico is the first child of Jirake from his first wife, Loka,
who was from ‘now-extinct’ Pucikwar (Pujukar) tribe. It is important here to
note that she was brought up by her foster maternal grand parents; grand father
being a Pucikwar and grand mother a Jeru. Her biological grand parents were
both Khora. Her mother Loka had died just after she gave birth to Lico. She is
married to Golat with five children; three sons and two daughters. Only one of
her children is married. Lico presently works with Education department of the
Andaman and
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