WEBVTT - S04 Episode 4 Extra: Coexistentialism

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<v Speaker 1>at gramley dot com slash Podcast. Welcome to Unexplained Extra

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<v Speaker 1>with me Richard McClain smith, where for the weeks in

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<v Speaker 1>between episodes, we look at the stories that for one

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<v Speaker 1>reason or other didn't make it into the show. In

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<v Speaker 1>last week's episode, Always Already we found ourselves journeying deep

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<v Speaker 1>into the Amazonian rainforest with the Maya Runa tribe and

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<v Speaker 1>acclaimed photojournalist Lauren McIntyre. McIntyre had traveled into the forest

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<v Speaker 1>in the hope of making contact with the tribe, only

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<v Speaker 1>to find himself hopelessly lost and unable to return to

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<v Speaker 1>his camp. Only after an epic three weeks living side

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<v Speaker 1>by side with the Maya Runa, during which he believed

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<v Speaker 1>he might be communicating telepathically with their chief, did McIntyre

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<v Speaker 1>finally succeed in finding a way out. Sum That McIntyre

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<v Speaker 1>had taken it on himself to locate the tribe in

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<v Speaker 1>the first place might smack of a certain kind of

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<v Speaker 1>arrogance that speaks to a bygone age of colonial self importance. Certainly,

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<v Speaker 1>McIntyre's ambition to be the first to photograph these people

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<v Speaker 1>took precedent over the tribe's evident desire to avoid all

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<v Speaker 1>contact with outsiders, Though MacIntyre had never intended to intrude

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<v Speaker 1>in their lives quite to the degree in which he

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<v Speaker 1>claimed to have done. The notion of wanting to make

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<v Speaker 1>contact with such a self isolating community remains an immensely

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<v Speaker 1>complicated one for the Maya Runa. As it transpired when

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<v Speaker 1>they were first contacted in nineteen sixty nine, after living

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<v Speaker 1>in relative isolation since nineteen ten, they were grateful for it.

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<v Speaker 1>The word Maya Runa translates to people of the river.

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<v Speaker 1>After getting embroiled in skirmishes with the Peruvian government, they

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<v Speaker 1>had been forced to leave the riverside lands where they

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<v Speaker 1>thrived and moved deeper into the jungle. Through a combination

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<v Speaker 1>of napalm and machine guns, the Peruvian government, with the

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<v Speaker 1>support of the US Army's Southern Command, had sought to

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<v Speaker 1>annihilate the tribe. When they were finally located by Harriet

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<v Speaker 1>Field and Hattie Neeland in August nineteen sixty nine, they

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<v Speaker 1>were tired of running. After subsequent negotiations were set up

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<v Speaker 1>with the Peruvian government, the tribe were able to return

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<v Speaker 1>to their homeland. Although it was contact with outsiders that

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<v Speaker 1>threatened their existence in the first place and still does,

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<v Speaker 1>it is also arguable that this later contact is what

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<v Speaker 1>has kept them alive. In the main. However, the clash

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<v Speaker 1>of a more dominant in culture against one lesso rarely

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<v Speaker 1>tends to end well. Often, even just the language used

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<v Speaker 1>when discussing the idea of it can be quite revealing.

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<v Speaker 1>In November twenty seventeen, self professed adventurer Benedict Allen faced

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<v Speaker 1>criticism after he allegedly went missing in Papa, New Guinea

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<v Speaker 1>while searching for the Yifo tribe. Much like the Mayoruna

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<v Speaker 1>in the nineteen sixties, the Yifo also tried to maintain

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<v Speaker 1>little contact with the outside world. Some media outlets, however,

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<v Speaker 1>reveled in what they saw to be Allan's plucky, adventurous spirit,

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<v Speaker 1>describing the Jaifo as a lost tribe who were little

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<v Speaker 1>more than dangerous headhunters. Such communities are also often described

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<v Speaker 1>as having been discovered, as if they were rare precious

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<v Speaker 1>metals with no agency of their own. Such groups are

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<v Speaker 1>also often referred to as being remote or worse, uncivilized,

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<v Speaker 1>as if there being anywhere other than closed to an

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<v Speaker 1>urban center classifies them as being external to civilization, and

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<v Speaker 1>yet remoteness is only ever a case of perspective. As

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren McIntyre came to understand for the Mayoruna, at least

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<v Speaker 1>in the time he was making contact with them, the

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<v Speaker 1>concept of remoteness would be completely incomprehensible if, like them,

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<v Speaker 1>you consider yourself to always be a part of nature,

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<v Speaker 1>as opposed to separate from it. To ever be remote

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<v Speaker 1>in the purest sense is an impossibility, since nature is

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<v Speaker 1>both everywhere and always. For self isolating communities and cultures,

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<v Speaker 1>such as the Mayoruna, there is good reason to want

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<v Speaker 1>to avoid contact with outsiders. Indeed, history is littered with

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<v Speaker 1>the blood and lost ideas of those people whose cultures

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<v Speaker 1>were deemed inferior and weaker than others, and the damage

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<v Speaker 1>can occur in many ways, from the contracting of a

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<v Speaker 1>disease that a community had not previously experienced, to becoming

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<v Speaker 1>the victims of deliberate genocide campaigns, and there are more

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<v Speaker 1>subtle ways too. The extinction of a different culture or

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<v Speaker 1>community when it clashes with another is rare in the

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<v Speaker 1>modern age. However, a culture considered less worthy by a

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<v Speaker 1>more dominant one will at best run the risk of

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<v Speaker 1>becoming significantly diluted over time, while at worst could be

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<v Speaker 1>systematically erased. Though it is not strictly in the same sense,

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<v Speaker 1>and I can't claim to have any idea what it's

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<v Speaker 1>like to experience that level of erasure. I couldn't help

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<v Speaker 1>but be struck by something related to this when trying

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<v Speaker 1>to write the last episode. It occurred whenever I attempted

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<v Speaker 1>to search something online related to the natural world. If

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<v Speaker 1>I typed glade, for example, the first thing I'd see

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<v Speaker 1>was not something about a majestic forest opening of dappled

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<v Speaker 1>light and fresh dew drops, but a domestic cleaning product

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<v Speaker 1>specifically designed to mimic the smell of the outdoors. When

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<v Speaker 1>trying to find anything with the word Amazon in it,

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't information about the largest and most biodiverse tract

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<v Speaker 1>of rainforest on the planet that I found first, but

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<v Speaker 1>links related to the world's largest e commerce company. And

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<v Speaker 1>when I searched the word jaguar, the Mayoruna's own ancient god,

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't information on the majestic felines of the wild

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<v Speaker 1>that I came across, but information about a certain type

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<v Speaker 1>of car. Finding this happening again and again, it was

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<v Speaker 1>hard to resist the sensation that a different world was

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<v Speaker 1>being mapped out around me and slowly but surely laid

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<v Speaker 1>over the one I thought I knew. This experience brought

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<v Speaker 1>to mind a wonderful book called The Lost words written

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<v Speaker 1>by Robert MacFarlane and exquisitely illustrated by Jackie Morris, inspired

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<v Speaker 1>in part by this very idea of vanishing worlds, or

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<v Speaker 1>rather our seemingly blase acceptance of it when it occurs,

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<v Speaker 1>even right in front of our eyes. At first we

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<v Speaker 1>lose the word, then its meaning, and in some cases,

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<v Speaker 1>finally the very thing itself can vanish too. It is

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<v Speaker 1>hard to know exactly what to make of all this.

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<v Speaker 1>Is it something natural or something to be resisted, Although

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<v Speaker 1>it feels sad on one level that to think one

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<v Speaker 1>day the word jaguar might only bring to mind the

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<v Speaker 1>model of a car. Much more so to think that

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<v Speaker 1>in forgetting its name, we forget to care about it,

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<v Speaker 1>while on another level, the animal was never ours to

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<v Speaker 1>name in the first place. To day, sadly, tribes like

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<v Speaker 1>the Mayoruna are likely to only be able to survive

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<v Speaker 1>in isolation for as long as the land they occupy

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<v Speaker 1>is deemed of little value to others. This is one

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<v Speaker 1>of the reasons given for the continued survival of a

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<v Speaker 1>small community of people living on North Sentinel Island, which

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<v Speaker 1>forms part of the Andaman Islands that lie between the

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<v Speaker 1>Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Though it isn't

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<v Speaker 1>known how the tribe refers to itself, outsiders have labeled

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<v Speaker 1>the group the Sentinels in order to protect them from

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<v Speaker 1>the corrupting influence of outsiders. Their island homeland, which falls

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<v Speaker 1>under the jurisdiction of the Indian government, has been declared

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<v Speaker 1>an island reserve. All travel is prohibited within a three

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<v Speaker 1>mile radius, while the area is also patrolled twenty four

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<v Speaker 1>hours a day, and this patrol is not only for

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<v Speaker 1>the tribe's protection. Like many self isolating tribes, the Sentinels

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<v Speaker 1>are fiercely and unequivocally protective of their territory. In November

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<v Speaker 1>twenty eighteen, despite knowing this, twenty six year old missionary

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<v Speaker 1>John Alan Chow traveled to the island intent on converting

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<v Speaker 1>the people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There was

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<v Speaker 1>only one way it was going to end. Are you

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<v Speaker 1>always taking care of your family? Do you often take

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<v Speaker 1>care of others and not yourself? Now it's time to

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<v Speaker 1>podcast today to get started. That's t e LA d

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<v Speaker 1>C dot com slash Unexplained podcast. Very little is known

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<v Speaker 1>about the Sentinels, with some estimates suggesting their specific ancestry

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<v Speaker 1>could date back anywhere between thirty to sixty thousand years.

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<v Speaker 1>Current population estimates have been anything from forty to four hundred.

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<v Speaker 1>In twelve to ninety six, explorer Marco Polo saw fit

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<v Speaker 1>to describe the general population of the Andaman Islands as

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<v Speaker 1>a most brutish and savage race, having heads, eyes, and

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<v Speaker 1>teeth like those of dogs. They are very cruel and

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<v Speaker 1>kill and eat every foreigner whom they can lay their

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<v Speaker 1>hands upon, he wrote. However, in what is often par

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<v Speaker 1>for the course when describing others, it is thought that

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<v Speaker 1>Polo never saw or interacted with these people himself, and

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<v Speaker 1>merely based the estment on rumor alone. For many years,

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<v Speaker 1>the Andaman Islands were largely ignored by others until the

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen fifties, when they fell under the colonial rule of

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<v Speaker 1>the British Empire and were used in part as a

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<v Speaker 1>penal colony. When the first British Superintendent was dispatched to

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<v Speaker 1>the Andamans in eighteen fifty eight, he instructed that the

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<v Speaker 1>indigenous population be treated with the greatest forbearance and humanity

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<v Speaker 1>by the British, insisting that their intentions towards the people

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<v Speaker 1>of the islands were of the most friendly character. Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>this message didn't get across since, unsurprisingly, when the British

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<v Speaker 1>attempted to take ownership of the islands, they met with

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<v Speaker 1>some fierce resistance. However, this was soon quelled when after

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<v Speaker 1>one skirmish in which fifteen hundred Islanders attempted to scare

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<v Speaker 1>off their foe, they were massacre by the guns of

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<v Speaker 1>a British warship. Prior to the arrival of the British,

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<v Speaker 1>the Andaman Islands indigenous population was thought to be around

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<v Speaker 1>five thousand. By the time they relinquished control ninety years later,

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<v Speaker 1>it was estimated to have dropped to round four hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and sixty. As Adam Goodheart wrote in the American Scholar

0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:29.080
<v Speaker 1>magazine in two thousand, the history of the period can

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<v Speaker 1>be summarized as a series of epidemics. As the local

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<v Speaker 1>population were one by one introduced to pneumonia, syphilis, ophthalmia, measles, mumps,

0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:48.000
<v Speaker 1>Russian influenza, and gonorrhea. We can only speculate as to

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<v Speaker 1>how sexually transmitted diseases made their way into the population.

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<v Speaker 1>As for the Sentinels specifically, though there had been rumors

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<v Speaker 1>of a tribe of people living on North Sentinel Island,

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<v Speaker 1>due to its relevant size and inconvenient location, it had

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<v Speaker 1>been deemed unimportant. Then in eighteen seventy nine, one young colonialist,

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<v Speaker 1>recently appointed to the position of Officer in charge of

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<v Speaker 1>the Andamanese decided to take a closer look. Nineteen year

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<v Speaker 1>old Maurice Vidal Portman, the grandson of a viscount, set

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<v Speaker 1>off for the island shortly after his appointment with a

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<v Speaker 1>team of armed escorts and trackers from other Andaman tribes.

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<v Speaker 1>When they arrived, however, they found the place completely deserted,

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<v Speaker 1>save for a few tracks and a series of small

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<v Speaker 1>villages that appeared to have been recently abandoned. Having given

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<v Speaker 1>up on their search, they chanced upon an elderly couple

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<v Speaker 1>and four children walking back to their village. Portman had

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<v Speaker 1>them abducted on the spot and taken back to his

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<v Speaker 1>home in Port Blair, the Andaman Islands capital town, to

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<v Speaker 1>observe their behavior. Almost immediately, the islanders grew sick, and

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<v Speaker 1>within weeks the elderly couple died, and so it was

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<v Speaker 1>that Portman's amateur anthropological ambitions came to a swift end.

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<v Speaker 1>Children were returned to the island soon after. After this

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<v Speaker 1>brief encounter, the Sentinel Leaves had virtually no contact with

0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:39.200
<v Speaker 1>outsiders until nineteen ninety one, when Indian government anthropologists finally

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<v Speaker 1>succeeded in completing a non fatal engagement with them. After

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<v Speaker 1>years of trying to establish a relationship. Their attempts were

0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:51.040
<v Speaker 1>effectively abandoned in two thousand and three, when it was

0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:54.520
<v Speaker 1>decided instead to enact a policy of no contact with

0:16:54.560 --> 0:17:00.480
<v Speaker 1>the group. In two thousand and six, two Indian fishermen

0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:04.520
<v Speaker 1>drifted too close to North Sentinel, Ireland and were promptly

0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:09.280
<v Speaker 1>captured and killed by the Sentinel Leagues. Twelve years later,

0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:13.720
<v Speaker 1>missionary John Alan Chow arrived to make his own attempt

0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:25.280
<v Speaker 1>at contact. Chow, a missionary for the Missouri based organization

0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:28.960
<v Speaker 1>All Nations in the United States, did not make his

0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:32.600
<v Speaker 1>trip lightly. In fact, he had been training for it

0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:37.040
<v Speaker 1>for three years, attending a missionary boot camp which included

0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:40.800
<v Speaker 1>undertaking role play exercises of how to deal with hostile

0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:47.360
<v Speaker 1>potential converts. Chow was enthralled to the Great Commission Jesus's

0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:51.800
<v Speaker 1>supposed injunction that Christians must spread the Gospel to all people.

0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:56.600
<v Speaker 1>Being such a committed follower of this doctrine, Chow became

0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:00.080
<v Speaker 1>fascinated by the idea of helping to convert the to

0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:04.520
<v Speaker 1>the Lees, whom he described as possibly representing Satan's last

0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:10.320
<v Speaker 1>stronghold on earth. Having made his way to the Andamans

0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:14.080
<v Speaker 1>on November fourteenth, two and eighteen, he took the next

0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:17.919
<v Speaker 1>step and succeeded in paying some local fishermen to sneak

0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:21.720
<v Speaker 1>him past the patrol boats and drop anchor close enough

0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:26.399
<v Speaker 1>for him to kayak to the island. The next morning,

0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:31.679
<v Speaker 1>he assembled his initial contact response kit, which included picture

0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:35.960
<v Speaker 1>cards for communicating and dental forceps in case he might

0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:40.080
<v Speaker 1>have to remove any arrows, the sentinels weapon of choice,

0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:43.240
<v Speaker 1>as well as some gifts which he hoped to share

0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:47.960
<v Speaker 1>with the islanders. Then, after stripping to his underwear to

0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:52.160
<v Speaker 1>appear less threatening, he got into his kayak and paddled

0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:57.240
<v Speaker 1>toward the shore. As he drew closer, he was able

0:18:57.280 --> 0:18:59.880
<v Speaker 1>to make out a small hut and some wooden canoes

0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:04.840
<v Speaker 1>pulled up on to the beach. Suddenly, a series of

0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:08.440
<v Speaker 1>high pitched voices rang out, followed by the appearance of

0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:13.280
<v Speaker 1>a handful of islanders with faces painted yellow, rushing down

0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:18.359
<v Speaker 1>to the water line. My name is John, shouted the

0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:23.119
<v Speaker 1>missionary from his kayak. I love you and Jesus loves you.

0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:28.040
<v Speaker 1>It was only then that John noticed the bow and

0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:33.040
<v Speaker 1>arrows in their hands, watching aghast as one of the

0:19:33.080 --> 0:19:38.280
<v Speaker 1>group raised one up and took aim. John hurriedly flung

0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:41.399
<v Speaker 1>them some fish as a gift, and then paddled away

0:19:41.760 --> 0:19:46.320
<v Speaker 1>as fast as he could. Later that day, he made

0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:49.760
<v Speaker 1>a second attempt, and this time succeeded in landing on

0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:55.320
<v Speaker 1>the island before being spotted. Cautiously, he approached the hut

0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:58.680
<v Speaker 1>on foot, this time being careful not to get within

0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:05.000
<v Speaker 1>shooting range. Calling out to them again. The islanders suddenly emerged,

0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:10.360
<v Speaker 1>whooping and shouting for him to back off. Ignoring them,

0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:13.600
<v Speaker 1>John drew closer as he attempted to parrot their words

0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:18.480
<v Speaker 1>back to them. When they laughed scornfully in response, John

0:20:18.520 --> 0:20:21.560
<v Speaker 1>assumed the words were insults and they were laughing at

0:20:21.560 --> 0:20:28.280
<v Speaker 1>his ignorance. Undeterred, John reverted to singing songs of worship,

0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:31.840
<v Speaker 1>and after a while the islanders appeared to grow used

0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:37.959
<v Speaker 1>to his presence. In response, John's voice grew in confidence.

0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:42.480
<v Speaker 1>He held up his Bible and began to preach the gospel.

0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:49.119
<v Speaker 1>Just then he felt something hit hard against the good book,

0:20:50.960 --> 0:20:53.760
<v Speaker 1>turning it round. He looked on in horror at the

0:20:53.840 --> 0:20:59.560
<v Speaker 1>sight of an arrow now sticking out of it. Holding

0:20:59.560 --> 0:21:03.280
<v Speaker 1>his nerves as best he could, John slowly pulled it

0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:06.000
<v Speaker 1>out and then offered it back to the boy who

0:21:06.040 --> 0:21:11.120
<v Speaker 1>had fired it, and made his retreat. When he turned back, however,

0:21:11.840 --> 0:21:17.080
<v Speaker 1>his kayak had gone. With no other option, John dived

0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:20.920
<v Speaker 1>straight into the ocean and swam back to the fishing boat.

0:21:24.040 --> 0:21:27.639
<v Speaker 1>That night, John wrote in his diary about how scared

0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:32.360
<v Speaker 1>he was, fearful that the beautiful sunset that was occurring

0:21:32.400 --> 0:21:35.800
<v Speaker 1>before him, as he wrote, might be the last he

0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:40.639
<v Speaker 1>ever saw. In his final entry, he asked God to

0:21:40.640 --> 0:21:43.280
<v Speaker 1>forgive any of the people on the island who might

0:21:43.320 --> 0:21:49.600
<v Speaker 1>try to kill him, especially if they succeeded. Shortly after

0:21:49.680 --> 0:21:53.280
<v Speaker 1>first light the following day, he took another kayak back

0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:58.639
<v Speaker 1>to the island. Later that morning, as the fisherman waited

0:21:58.680 --> 0:22:01.840
<v Speaker 1>for John to return, they saw movement on the beach.

0:22:03.200 --> 0:22:07.639
<v Speaker 1>It appeared the tribes people were burying something in the sand.

0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:19.639
<v Speaker 1>John allan Chow was never seen alive again. If you

0:22:19.760 --> 0:22:23.120
<v Speaker 1>enjoy listening to Unexplained and would like to help support us,

0:22:23.280 --> 0:22:26.480
<v Speaker 1>you can now go to Unexplained podcast dot com forward

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<v Speaker 1>slash support. All donations, no matter how large or small,

0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:37.119
<v Speaker 1>are massively appreciated. All elements of Unexplained are produced by me,

0:22:37.520 --> 0:22:41.000
<v Speaker 1>Richard mc lane Smith. Please subscribe and rate the show

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