The Nicobarese: Culture and Traditions of the Nicobar Islands
The Nicobar Islands lie south of the Andamans, in the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal. They are home to the Nicobarese, the largest indigenous community of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. Unlike the Sentinelese or the Jarawa, the Nicobarese have long interacted with traders, missionaries and administrators, and many have adopted new faiths and ways. Yet they have kept a strong hold on their identity. Their festivals, kinship system, crafts and beliefs show how a community can change while preserving its roots.
Origins and History
The Nicobarese are generally seen as descendants of Southeast Asian migrants who settled the islands over many centuries, with ties to peoples of Myanmar and the Malay peninsula. Their languages belong to the Austroasiatic family and are distinct from those of the Andamanese. The language of Car Nicobar is the most widely spoken, with about 19,000 speakers. Other varieties are spoken on the central and southern islands, and differences between them can be wide enough to hinder easy understanding.
The islands have long been known to outsiders. In the time of Rajendra Chola II, Car Nicobar was identified as Kar Dwipa and Great Nicobar as Naga Dwipa, while the whole archipelago was called Nakavaram. Later, Arab, Chinese and European sailors stopped at the islands for fresh water and coconuts, and Danish, then British, rulers claimed them. These contacts brought missionaries, trade and eventually change, and a large share of the community adopted Christianity.
Society and Livelihood
The basic unit of Nicobarese society is the extended family. The tuhet, or joint family, is the basic unit of the tribe and clears the centre of the village, which serves as a gathering and recreation space. Villages traditionally stand on or near the coast, with houses raised on stilts and roofed with thatch, built to cope with heat, rain and sea winds.
The economy is built on the coconut palm. Coconuts provide food, drink, oil and income, and dried coconut (copra) has long been traded with merchants. Nicobarese also fish, keep pigs and poultry, and gather pandanus fruit, yams and bananas. Pigs have a special role, as animals of wealth and ritual rather than only food. Skilled canoe builders, the Nicobarese travel between islands in outrigger canoes, and craft traditions vary from island to island. On Chowra, small and isolated, the island's remoteness has helped to preserve Nicobarese culture. Chowra is also known for pottery and for a respected tradition of ritual specialists.
Traditionally, village life was guided by elders and a headman. Today, local councils continue to play an important role in decision-making, and the Nicobarese enjoy protection as a Scheduled Tribe, with their lands covered by special regulations that restrict outsiders from settling or buying property.
Beliefs and Rituals
Even though many Nicobarese are Christian today, older beliefs remain influential. As one source puts it, Christianity has achieved some success, but traditional beliefs and practices are still strong, and the Nicobarese are animists with a rich tradition dealing with natural spirits and spirits of the dead. The community's ritual specialist is the menluana, who acts as a healer and ritual expert. The role is learned through apprenticeship, though knowledge often passes from parent to child.
Ideas about death are central. The Nicobarese believe in an afterlife in which the dead continue much as they did in life. The body is buried, then exhumed and reburied after about a week, when a feast is held. This is why care for the dead is a major part of social life.
The best-known event is the Ossuary Feast, often called the Pig Festival. At this feast, family members pay respect to the soul of the departed head of the family. Here, it is a major collective occasion. Several villages take part, many pigs are killed, and it is the only time pig fights are held, with the feast taking place roughly every two or three years when village heads agree they have enough pigs. Part of the ceremony is held in the moonlight. It takes place on a full moon night so that there is enough light for the all-night performance.
A related annual event survives in the central group. The Pig festival (Panuohonot) is celebrated with pig fights, canoe races, wrestling, and traditional music and dance, with food made from pandanus fruit, yam, tapioca, coconut, bananas and pork.
Arts, Dance and Craft
Music and dance are woven into festivals and daily life. Nicobarese songs are sung without instruments, and there is no traditional drama. The dances follow set patterns. The dance is performed in a circle, and men and women dance in separate groups. The community has its own vocabulary for movement. Foot-tapping and basic steps are called sanuto, while more complex movements are called saralor and sut.
Woodcarving also holds a special place. One striking tradition is the kareau. It is a wooden human figure kept inside the home and usually made in honour of a good person. Such carvings blend art with ancestral memory. Sports are another strong tradition, and the community enjoys canoe races, pig fighting, stick fighting, wrestling and volleyball.
Change and Challenge
The Nicobarese have faced serious disruption in modern times. The Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 struck the Nicobar Islands with devastating force, killing many people and destroying villages, boats and coconut groves. The disaster hurt not only lives but also community wealth and traditions. As the UNESCO tentative-list submission notes, the community responded to the irreversible loss of lives, community wealth, traditions and way of life. Rehabilitation brought new housing, but it also raised questions about whether modern settlements suit the community's customs and way of living.
Today, other pressures include migration, a cash economy, education that favours outside languages, and development plans on nearby islands. Many Nicobarese young people now study and work outside the islands, and there is concern that language and ritual knowledge may weaken. Efforts to protect heritage, including a proposal to recognise the central group's cultural continuity, show growing awareness of what could be lost.
Conclusion
The Nicobarese show that tradition does not have to disappear when a community meets the wider world. They have adopted new religions, new goods and new institutions while keeping their kinship system, their feasts for the dead, their dances and their bond with the coconut and the sea. Their future will depend on whether they can continue to shape change on their own terms, supported by laws and policies that respect their land, language and way of life.