than being fixed in plant root systems and
soil.^8 Great Nicobar”s lushly “fertile”
appearance and its “infertility” with respect
to many intentionally introduced plant
species have complicated issues of tribal
protection, immigrant settlement and eco-
nomic development in recent decades.
The indigenous inhabitants of Great Nicobar
are the Shompen and the Nicobarese. The
ANI (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes)
Regulation of 1956 recognised their exclu-
sive right of settlement on Great Nicobar.
Indeed, there were no permanent non-trib-
al residents of the island until the late
1960s, when the government permitted
limited additional settlement
for strategic reasons involving
territorial claims by Indonesia.
The Nicobarese of today are
numerous also on neighboring
islands and they outnumber
the Shompen on Great Nicobar
by approximately three to one,
although a century ago it was
the Shompen who were the
larger group on the island.^9
Nicobarese have interacted for
decades with non-tribal popula-
tions for economic and other
purposes and the government
does not count them among
the Primitive Tribal Groups.
Nicobarese are mainly fisher
folk but they also cultivate
coconut and areca in “planta-
tions” sometimes including sev-
eral thousand trees. Nicobarese
are settled along the west
coast of the island and many of
them periodically visit the only
township on the island,
Campbell Bay, to collect rations
provided by the government,
including rice. They trade gath-
ered or cultivated produce in
the Campbell Bay market for
additional rice and other items.
Since the 1980s they have
attended schools at Campbell
Bay and at Pulobhabi, the
largest tribal village on the
west coast. Some make use
of primary health facilities at
Campbell Bay.
The Shompen inhabit primarily the interior
of Great Nicobar and an area near the
northeast coast and they do not live else-
where in ANI.^10 They cultivate tacca(a
tuber), aroids, yams and sometimes
bananas. A traditional staple is pandanus
fruit, which the Shompen gather and
process into “flour”. Like the Nicobarese,
History, cculture aand cconservation
The SShompen
economy iis lliter-
ally aa ssubset oof
the eecosystem
they iinhabit.
Table 1.Major plant resources of Shompen.
Plant species Use
Pandanus leram Dietary staple, ‘bread fruit tree’.
Tacca leontopetaloides Tuber is important source of food.
Callophyllum inophyllum Timber used in boat-making.
Ficus brevicuspis Inner bark used for making clothes and
bark used in thatching huts.
Pinanga manii Flooring for huts and spear shafts.
Bentickia nicobarica Flooring; young meristems eaten.
Nypa fruticans Hut thatching and woven wall mats.
Canarium euphyllum Incense and mosquito repellent; edible
gum.
Morinda spp. Leaves and bark used to treat ailments
of stomach.
Sterculia spp. (3 species) Timber used in making dugouts (hodis);
leaves of one species used in treatment
of stomach ailments.
Artocarpus chama Timber for huts and hodis.
Ardisia oxyphylla Roots used as medicine.
Garcinia nervosa Edible fruits.
Dioscorea glabra Tubers eaten and seasonally cultivated.
Sandoricum koetjape Roots are used in medicine, fruits eaten.
Corymborckins veratrifolia Roots have uses in traditional medicine.
Calamus palustris and C.
andamanicus
Principal sources of rattan in Great
Nicobar.
Hibiscus tiliaceous Inner bark used as twine: e.g., used in
fastening spearheads to spear shafts.
