Sentinelese: The remotest people in the world
Posted by mosesonmissions on December 28, 2008
Have you ever wondered what people group has the least access to the gospel?
The Sentinelese may be the greatest missions challenge anywhere! The Sentinelese are considered the remotest people in the world. The Sentinelese are probably the people of the world most cut off from the gospel and hearing the good news of Jesus Christ.
They are a Nigrito tribe with a population of 250 and inhabit the remote North Sentinel Island situated to the west of Port Blair on the Andaman Islands. They do not interact with anyone outside of their Sentinelese tribe.
No one is permitted to go onto the North Sentinelese Island. Sentinelese speak their own language that is called Sentinelese. This language is not understood by anyone outside the island and they do not understand any other languages. Because of their geographical closeness to other Negritos, their language is considered to be member of the Andamanese family of languages. Very little is known about their life style and culture.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is Union territory of India, famous for the exotic wildlife, coral reefs and remote tribals which are considered among the most backward tribes in the world. Andaman and Nicobar consist of 572 Islands East of Madras extending north to Burma and South to Indonesia.
There are about 30 islands, in Andaman, which are inhabited. During the British rule, convicts (freedom fighters) from the Indian mainland were deported to the islands as a form of punishment. There are at least 26 Main Indian languages and unique tribal languages that have as many as 1,400 distinct dialects.
Foreigners require a permit to visit the Andaman. A 30-day permit is granted on arrival at Port Blair (either by air or sea). Much of the archipelago remains off limits to foreigners even with the permit. Jet airways have daily flights to and from Andaman Islands from Chennai during the tourist season, which begins in October and ends in May.
Many feared this tribe was wiped out December 26, 2004 during the Tsunami. An Indian coastguard helicopter flew low over Sentinel Island and confirmed the tribe survived. They may have survived the devastation by using age-old early warning systems of noticing changes in the behavior of wildlife and ran to high ground for safety.
Pray for the Sentinelese to know the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Mark 11:17 Jesus taught them, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (ethnos).
D.T. said
I speak for the whole world when I say Christians are on a mission to destroy other cultures and brain wash them into believe what the Christian beliefs which is ridiculous. If a god wanted the whole world to follow him then he should let those people know not fellow human beings who think that they are right.
mosesonmissions said
Jesus said, “if you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:19