In the Andamans and Nicobars Part 10

Chaura, which lies 7 miles north-westward of Teressa, has an area of about 3 square miles only. It is generally low, and the only jungle it possesses is a little at the south end, where it rises almost perpendicularly in a rocky pinnacle to a height of about 350 feet, having the appearance, with the contiguous low portion, of a broad-brimmed hat. It was on this account termed Sombrero by the Portuguese navigators of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, who were probably the first Europeans to have any commercial dealings with the Nicobarese.

The people are very well off, on account of their trade in canoes and pottery: but to obtain the articles imported by the traders, canoe voyages are made to other islands, as the anchorage at Chaura is exceedingly precarious, and after the native requirements are provided for there are but few nuts to spare for trade, so that vessels are hardly ever known to call. The island is the best cultivated in the group, and besides abounding in oranges, limes, and other fruit, is covered with coconuts; and toddy being common, drunkenness is fairly prevalent. One of the inst.i.tutions of the place is the door mat; for a large flat sponge, which is found in numbers on the reefs, is placed at the bottom of every house-ladder, for the natives to wipe their feet on!

Although the smallest, it is at the same time the most densely populated of the islands, for, in spite of decreasing numbers, which may perhaps be due to emigration, the people of Chaura number (January 1901) some 522 in all; in 1886 the population fell only a few short of 700. We were told that they are taller, more powerful, and darker-skinned than the other Nicobarese, and also dolichocephalic.

Through an exaggerated reputation for magic, they are greatly feared throughout the group, and have for this reason developed a most independent and overbearing demeanour. Various circ.u.mstances a.s.sist the cultivation of these traits--the value in which their canoes[60] are held throughout the Archipelago, for one; but the most important of all is the monopoly[61] which the island of Chaura possesses in the manufacture of pottery.

Throughout the Nicobars there is an inherent belief that should anyone--other than a native of Chaura in Chaura--attempt to make a vessel of clay, he is doomed to almost immediate destruction. This fate was formerly supposed to follow the act of even eating food cooked in any pottery other than manufactured on the island, but this part of the superst.i.tion is now losing force, and the Nicobarese freely provide themselves with pots made at Port Blair.

The women of Chaura--for the men take no part in the construction of the pots--cleanse and prepare the clay, by washing out the rougher particles and kneading it with fine sand. The operator seats herself on the ground by a slab of wood, on which she lays a ring of coco-palm pinnae neatly bound together. Upon this ring she sets a shallow dish, neatly lined with a circular piece of plantain leaf. With a lump of clay, the bottom of the vessel to be constructed is moulded in the dish, and upon this basis, by means of ropes of clay, the work is built up, the operator turning the pot round and round, and shaping it with her eye and hand.

The vessel is set aside on a platform under the hut for a day or so, to dry: only the smallest kind can be prepared for the kiln without an interval of waiting.

The pot when dry is sc.r.a.ped with a sh.e.l.l, and then reversed, and all superfluous material removed by means of a fine strip of bamboo moistened with water, while the fingers, also wet, are gently pa.s.sed over the inner and outer surfaces in order to smooth them. The pot is then replaced on the platform for ten days more.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Chaura Pottery.]

The kiln is prepared by sticking bits of broken pottery in the ground, a few inches apart, and on these the pot is set upside down. In the s.p.a.ce beneath it, a layer of fine wood ash, and a quant.i.ty of coconut-sh.e.l.ls and sc.r.a.ps of firewood, are heaped. A wheel-like object, larger in circ.u.mference than the pot, is placed on its upturned base, and against this rest sticks of firewood stood on end. When the fire is kindled, two or three women fan the flame, and with wooden pokers prop up and replace the fuel. When the vessel is baked, it is removed with the same implement and placed on dry sand.

Coloured stripes are laid on by means of strips of unripe coconut husk pressed against the vessel while hot--the acid juice turning black the moment it touches the heated surface. Finally a handful of moist husk is pa.s.sed over the inner and outer sides, imparting a light-copper colour to the parts not stained by the deeper dye, and the vessels are stored for a time to season.[62]

The pots vary in size, from a capacity of half a pint to five gallons or more, and also in shape, some having a perfectly straight plain lip, while in others the edge is turned out or rounded, but all are alike in having a more or less rounded base.

After leaving Teressa, we encountered fresh breezes and squally weather until we anch.o.r.ed in darkness near the sh.o.r.e of Kachal. At daybreak next morning we weighed, and again started--with scarce a breath of wind--for the bay on the west coast where we intended to stay.

With Kachal we returned again to the tropical island of common type in these seas, for it is entirely jungle-covered, with no traces of gra.s.s-land visible.

On account of their geological structure, the Nicobars fall botanically into two divisions--the northern islands, including perhaps Nankauri, are largely covered with gra.s.s, with coco palms and pandani growing in the interior; while the southern group, consisting of Kachal, with Great and Little Nicobar, are entirely forest-covered. Tilanchong, although belonging to the others by position, should nevertheless be cla.s.sed with the latter islands.

Several canoes from a small village on the north-west coast came off to inspect the schooner as we slowly drifted along. Their occupants seemed less prepossessing than those people we had just left, for they looked somewhat dirty in person and were dressed in discarded old clothes, or the cheap cottons and loose trousers supplied by the Chinese. The Nicobarese are not so partial to water as the Malays, and they by no means improve matters by unnecessarily clothing their bodies with cast-off garments and once gaudy cottons, which they never, or rarely, dream of washing.

We reached West Bay by midday, and anch.o.r.ed in 2-1/2 fathoms. A junk was lying farther in, the fourth we had seen. From the southern sh.o.r.e, coral-reefs project for some distance, both into the bay and seaward, and at low tide the swell breaks upon them heavily; while, at the same time, two rocks project above water inside the harbour, near the north beach, and must be borne in mind when choosing an anchorage. Fifteen or sixteen houses, surrounded by coconuts, are scattered along half a mile of beach, and at its head the bay narrows and then extends inland among mangroves and their attendant swamps.

Our first expedition was up the bay, which we found opened out into a shallow lagoon nowhere more than 2 or 3 feet deep. The dinghy grounded often, and we were unable to reach firm land anywhere, so thick was the belt of mangroves. Rowing up some of the small creeks winding among them, we saw several flocks of herons (_Sumatra.n.u.s javanica_), while sandpipers, curlew and whimbrel were common on the mud-banks, and pigeons and parrots in the taller trees.

In several places occur those stretches of dead mangroves only seen when the trees are large, and which are infallible evidence of the growth of land; for when such trees first took root, a certain amount of salt water must have been present, while, when they are found dead, the roots are nearly always silted up with solid matter, which first causes the water to become stagnant, and finally replaces it. Having served their purpose, they die, and stand white and gaunt until brought down by the wind or gradual decay.

At sunset, large flocks of whimbrel, travelling seaward down the mouth of the lagoon, afforded some fair shooting, for they were very wild, and flew past us at an amazing pace as we fired at them from the boat hidden in the mangroves.

On the northern side of the bay, where much of our collecting was done, we found, behind the houses, a number of paths leading among coconut and panda.n.u.s palms, tangled gra.s.s, and bushes. Beyond this scrub, in which gaudy-leaved crotons were not uncommon,[63] was the jungle, fairly open, but without any large trees.

The land in the neighbourhood of this coast, and probably as far as the hills inland and on the eastern side, which rise 800 feet, is of very recent formation, and consists of almost undecayed coral _debris_ mixed with sand and vegetable loam, a compound scarcely sufficiently fertile to support a heavy forest at present.

Pigeons and glossy starlings were common, and we obtained specimens of a small forest hawk which had not been met with on the more open island (_Astur_, sp. nov.): we shot also a new chestnut myna (_Sturnia_, sp.

nov.), somewhat similar to that met with on Kar Nicobar. Grackles (_Eulabes intermedia_), of which only one specimen on Nankauri had yet been seen, were fairly numerous, and the presence of a drongo, the first of its kind observed since leaving the Andamans, was recorded.

Numbers of Blyth's dove (_Macropygia rufipennis_) frequented the scrub near the village. We were astonished to find the crops of all those shot completely filled with large red chillies only. It is almost impossible to conceive anything more pungent than a red pepper, and the bird must have an extraordinary interior to patronise such a diet exclusively.

This unusual food had no effect on the flesh, for its flavour in no way differed from more rationally feeding members of the same species.

Now and again we would have visitors on the schooner, for in the evening people often came on board to watch us as we sat preparing specimens, and although on these occasions we generally obtained information from the natives concerning the locality and their customs, they were, as a rule, more bent on satisfying their own curiosity than our desire for knowledge.

One man showed us a ring, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, of a bone-like substance, and related a story about it of some large jungle-dwelling animal, from whose eye, or eye-socket, it was made. "This animal," he said, "was bigger than a pig, and very scarce"; further than that he was not intelligent enough to give a description!

Another native, "Ya.s.san" by name, brought a letter originally belonging to his father, and written by de Roepstorff, who is now almost forgotten. Ya.s.san was more intelligent than his companions, and we made arrangements with him to obtain for us a collection of charms and curiosities.

He was a man of some standing locally, was thrice-wedded, kept each of his "better-halves" in a separate house, and was at the time blessed with three children, all the offspring of one proud mother. Our conversation was carried on in Malay; but on one occasion, when we were at fault as to his meaning, he was asked to explain himself in Hindustani. He smiled rather wickedly, and immediately surpa.s.sed a Kling in volubility. Thereafter we stuck to the easier language, and guessed what we did not understand. These natives undoubtedly include some wonderful linguists among their number.

Once or twice the _chinchews_[64] of the junks brought for treatment Chinese suffering from malaria; the crews, they said, always contracted fever when visiting the Nicobars, and even if they do not suffer from it on the spot, it invariably occurs before reaching Penang. These particular vessels had been only a month at Great Nicobar, and a fortnight at this place, obtaining copra and rattan, but already several members of the crews were incapacitated from hard work.

Those junks trading at the Nicobars--where they remain during the greater portion of the north-east monsoon--that come immediately from Singapore, but originally from China, make the voyage and return between the last-named two places in the other (south-west) monsoon, which is the bad weather season in these waters, but the contrary in the China Sea.

The houses in the village were very similar in appearance to those we had just left, but were roofed with attaps of panda.n.u.s leaf. The process of thatching cannot be an enjoyable occupation, for either edge of the panda.n.u.s leaf is armed with a row of thorns, while the lower side of the mid-rib is provided with a third row set in the reverse direction; thus in brushing against a clump of young panda.n.u.s one is not only p.r.i.c.ked when approaching, but scratched while getting away.[65]

Behind the village we found a fairly recent grave, around which the possessions of the deceased had been deposited--a wooden chest with the lid wrenched off, clothing, spoons, forks, tools, axes, _daos_, and other things, forming a miscellaneous collection that was rapidly rotting away. There they would stay until destroyed by the exposure, for no one would venture to help himself, however valuable or useful the articles might be.

In front of one house was a solitary example of _kanaia_, set up on land, however, instead of in the water: possibly the south-west monsoon blows too strongly on this coast for their general erection. The name of this village is Ol-kolo-kwak.

To reach land on the southern side of the bay we had to cross a broad reef of coral and coral sand, thickly overgrown with gra.s.s and corallines, and dotted with various species of _holothurians_. The forest on sh.o.r.e came right down to the water; and once inside it, we found ourselves in very truth in the home of the megapode.

No sooner were we under the trees than we immediately saw the birds--for the jungle is very open--running about, singly or in parties of twos or threes. From all round came their cries, perhaps best described as loud, ringing calls ending in a rapid cackle, to the sound of which the following syllables bear some resemblance--"[=u]rr-rak, [=u]rr-rak, ur-r-rak, rak, rak, rak, rak!" The megapode hardly ever takes to flight when startled, but runs quickly away among the bushes; the only occasion on which I ever saw these birds use their wings was when once I suddenly walked into a party of four, scratching at the foot of a large tree. Two ran off, but the others rose clumsily in the air, and after flying a short distance, attempted to settle on a low branch, on which they alighted very awkwardly, and immediately lost their balance and fell off. The feet, although very large and strong, are not adapted for grasping, and the tail is far too short to be of any use as a balance.

Several birds seem to occur somewhat locally: it was on this side of the bay only that we obtained _Spilornis minimus_, while the little forest hawk seemed confined to the northern sh.o.r.e.

We were unable to reach the hills in the centre of the island from the harbour, as the swamp at its head stretches out long arms to right and left, cutting off the land bordering the coast from the interior.

Kachal is the most northerly of the Nicobars in which monkeys are present, and, taking into account the scarcity of other mammalian fauna and the absence of this genus from the Andamans, it seems certain that they have been introduced. Their non-occurrence in Tilanchong--an island eminently suited to their requirements--goes to bear out this statement; for, so far as we know, it has never been permanently inhabited, and thus, unlike the other islands, offers no reason for monkeys being brought there.

The people of Ol-kolo-kwak told us these animals were very numerous in the jungle round the village, but several days pa.s.sed before we met with them. On the first occasion, we each obtained a specimen from the same herd. They turned out to be macaques--one was a fine old male, weighing 21 lbs., an unusually large size--with fur so dark as to be almost black, but greyish-white on the under parts. Having regard to the colour, the species has since been named _Macacus umbrosus_.

We saw them only once again, and then I found myself within a few yards of an immense male who was on the ground. My cartridge missed fire, and, immediately the click of the falling hammer caught his ear, he bolted.

This proved to be our last chance of obtaining another example from Kachal. That one always loses the best specimens, is proverbial: this monkey was the biggest macaque I had ever seen.

Such mishaps during one's earlier opportunities are always most vexatious; later we found monkeys very numerous in the other islands.

On 22nd February a Chinese junk pa.s.sed northward, and the same day another arrived, and anch.o.r.ed in the harbour; that night there was carousal in the village and the noise of much singing.

Visitors to the _Terrapin_ were fairly continuous during our stay here, and the appearance of some of them was as ludicrous as it was striking.

One man, who wore a battered "billyc.o.c.k" on his head, had encased his feet and legs in a pair of rubber jackboots; between these extremities he sported a sailor's jersey, and the usual #T# bandage.

But, impressive as was this man's apparel, it was quite put out of the running by the _grande parure_ of a fellow-dandy who arrived later. A top-hat worn sideways, and draped with a spotted cotton handkerchief where a mourning band might be, a gunner's jacket, thickly laced with yellow braid, and a light-blue pair of Chinese breeches, combined harmoniously (!) with heavy bead necklaces, and a face profusely bedaubed with red oil-paint. This gentleman's idea of refreshment was brandy, and to obtain it he had furnished himself with a supply of fowls, with which he was prepared to purchase it at the rate of a chicken a drink.

When not arrayed in these exotic costumes, everyone wore merely the _neng_, and perhaps a fillet of twisted cotton about the head.

A man who came to be doctored was treated with a gla.s.s of Eno, and an aloes pill, which he slowly sucked! This latter is the sort of medicine natives like, and as the awful bitterness of the drug became evident to his palate, the fellow doubtless thought it very effective treatment indeed. Give a native 10 grains of quinine in sugar-coated tabloids, and he probably holds you a very poor sort of doctor; but dissolve that same quinine in a large gla.s.s of water, and make him drink the solution slowly--he will perchance recover on the spot! Faith and imagination, both in savagedom and civilisation, have a lot to do with these matters.

The women of the village were very shy and timid, but we now and again saw one or two going about their daily business; the children, however, could not get used to us, and fled screaming whenever we appeared.

A few days before we arrived at the village a woman had died there, and during our stay a performance for ridding the place of the ghost was gone through.