An interesting account of the Andamanese bow, with a series of photographs showing the various stages of construction, has been contributed by Mr M. V. Portman to the Archery volume of the Badminton Library.
[10] See Appendix F.
[11] Scurvy is more prevalent on Little than on Great Andaman, perhaps owing to the low-lying swampy formation of the larger portion of the island. Hereditary syphilis is believed to be common among the Öngés, having been possibly introduced at some remote period prior to the occupation of 1858. Whether it is to be traced to Malay pirates, or through the Jarawa tribes to the Settlement of 1789, will never be ascertained, but, in coming to a conclusion, the Nicobarese must also be considered as a factor in the case.
[12] "The hut was of the usual type of Little Andaman dwellings, having raised platforms for the married people to sleep on; several large baskets were slung up to the roof, and two rows of pigs' skulls ornamented the walls, showing from their numbers (about 500) that there was no lack of food."—M. V. Portman.
[13] The canoes are sometimes fitted with an outrigger, and it has been supposed that this has been adopted from some Point de Galle fishing-boat wrecked on the islands, for early writers never mention its existence (Sir H. Yule, Encyclopædia Britannica); but it is much simpler to conjecture it to be a copy of the same feature from the Nicobarese canoe. On the other hand, there is no argument against it being original, for the aborigines of New South Wales and Queensland have a canoe that is in every way almost the exact counterpart of the Andamanese vessel.
[14] Such tide-races are not uncommon among the Nicobar Islands, and later we met with several others, though none so severe as this first. The tides round Kar Nicobar run with great velocity; a rate of 7 knots has been noted to the eastward of the island.
[15] The Semangs, a group of Negritoes in the Malay Peninsula, surrounded by dominant peoples dwelling in pile-buildings, still retain their practice of building huts akin to those of the Andamanese.
[16] Of Barringtonia speciosa, Eugenia javanica, and Calophyllum inophyllum.
[17] The Dyaks of Borneo employ a similar protection in their rice granaries.
[18] Kissát is the Kar Nicobarese name for the loin-cloth worn by males. In the Central and Southern Islands of the group this article of attire is styled neng.