In ancient times, there lived a man named Phertajido, the first man of the Andaman Islands. He originated from the hollow of a bamboo, and lived alone, roaming here and there in search of food.
The Great Narrative of Phertajido
The Great Narrative of Phertajido was told in the Bo language, now among the extinct Indian languages. Its last speaker, Boa Sr, passed away in 2010. She was the oldest member of the Great Andamanese, an indigenous group of the Andamans, a cluster of islands 700 miles east of the Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal. The group is the only surviving pre-Neolithic tribe, the remnants of the first migration out of Africa 70,000 years ago.
Thankfully, parts of this ancient language have been preserved. Professor Anvita Abbi, who played a key role in this, tells us about the journey in her book Voices from the Lost Horizon. When Professor Abbi visited the Andaman Islands in 2005, there were eight speakers of the Bo language still left. As hard as it was to find and extract those stories (the speakers were not proficient enough in any language) she was able to pull it off.
These stories encode the worldview of the Great Andamanese society as they encapsulate history, philosophy, culture, beliefs, values, and power of judgement. Sadly, the loss of language and its speakers with the ability to narrate has wiped out all these from the face of this earth permanently. And it seems unlikely that the tribe itself will survive the test of times; it lives under the constant threat of modernity. However, by publishing these stories, the author believes, we will be able to give life to some of the lost oral heritage of a vanishing world.
The Great Narrative of Phertajido
The Great Narrative of Phertajido is the first story in this collection. It recounts the life of Phertajido, the first man in the Andaman Islands. He was on his own in the island, carrying nothing but his bows and arrows. One day, he shot arrows in all directions and that was the beginning of many things to come.
While looking for his arrows, he found a spring, thus discovering the water. Then, there was one arrow stuck in the roots of a potato plant, one in a heap of incense, and so on. It’s interesting how the story shows the growth of a society by progressive discoveries of natural resources. Such was the hunter-gatherer’s world!
Using the special soil of the island, Phertajido then made a human-like sculpture, who would later become the first female. They fall in love, live together as husband and wife, and have many children together.
The story of death is equally fascinating. Phertajido, along with his wife Kaut, gathers his children in one place and says:
My dear children, please keep silent for a while. Your father and your mother are speaking to you. We will no longer stay here on this earth. We will go up above the clouds. You should live your life well here. Our time here is done. Now it is time for us to go.
After saying these words, the two climb a rope and reach the clouds. Once there, they cut off the rope from above.
Songs in Bo, the Extinct Indian Language
The book also serves as a guide to the Bo songs. You can listen to some of these songs in Boa Sr’s voice.
The earth is shaking as the tree falls, with a great thud, the song goes. The feeling is surreal. It connects us to our ancient past. The language is no more alive, in the most literal sense, and yet, you and I can keep on listening to this rendition.
Reference books:
Kalampedia 