Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the major and outstanding archipelago under the Indian government, is one union territory surrounding which revolves several legends and modern day fancies. Beautiful both from far and near, some of the islands` portions are still inaccessible to contemporary humanity. Steeped in history, Andaman and Nicobar Islands is home to umpteen tribal populations, some of whom have still not been identified. The novel and yet-to-be-understood way of living of these tribesmen, is one that has fetched interest from Indian historians for a long time. Truly, the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands possess their aboriginal way of lifestyle, yet never touched by the wave of modernism.

The Great Andamanese, the Jarawas, the Sentinelese, the Onges, the Nicobarese and the Shompens are the six native tribes that mainly inhabit the islands of Andaman and Nicobar. Most of the tribes are sadly though on the verge of extinction, due to severe lack of progenies. Outsiders attempting to make contact with them are absolutely driven away with bows and arrows. These island tribe folks continue to maintain a unique lifestyle, living in harmony with nature.

The population of the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, excluding the Nicobarese is quite negligible. The Great Andamanese tribe number to only thirty-one, residing in the Strait Island. Similarly, the number of Onges tribes is also only approximately hundred, residing in Little Andaman Island. Both these tribes, however, are on the way to remarkable progress and expansion. They have been furnished with schools and dispensaries and some of them can interpret Hindi too. The Andamanese and Nicobarese tribes are predominantly dependant upon governmental aid. The Jarawas inhabit the north-western coast of South Andaman and the south-western coast of Middle Andamans. They are approximately 200 in number and reside in two or three different surrounding places. One group of the Jarawas is still antagonistic towards contemporary humanity.

The other groups of tribes in Andaman and Nicobar Islands are pretty responsive. The contact party of the Andaman and Nicobar administration visits them almost every month to provide them coconuts and bananas. The Sentinelese are also approximately 250 in number and are still completely inaccessible. Occasional efforts are made by the Andaman and Nicobar administration to befriend them by visiting them and supplying them with eatables. The number of Sentinelese tribes is however not based on exact data, as none could traverse the threshold of their area for this intention. The islands, which are abode of these tribals and the sea-belts around these islands, comprise the reserved areas. They are strictly not open to general public. These four tribes, namely the Great Andamanese, the Jarawas, the Sentinelese and the Onges reside in isolated areas of the Andaman group of islands, whereas the other two tribes, namely the Nicobarese and the Shompens reside in the Nicobar group of islands.

The number of Nicobarese tribes men count upto 30,000. Although they have their own set of laws and traditions, they have shed their primitivism and are quite advanced. The number of the Shompens is estimated to be 400 and they inhabit in the interiors of Great Nicobar Island. The Shompens are also aided by the administration in leading an established life. They still bear signs of primitive and semi-nomadic.

The Andaman tribes belong to what is known as the Negrito stock, but the Nicobarese and the Shompens are of Mongoloid origin. The Andamanese, the Onges, the Jarawas, and the Sentinelese tribes speak different languages which are not mutually understood among the tribals themselves. The Nicobarese have different dialects. The Shompens, too, speak in a dialect of their own.

The Jarawas and the Sentinelese tribes from Andaman and Nicobar Islands still lead a primitive life. They are virginal remainders of one of the oldest races still existing on earth. Jarawas are the least civilised perhaps in the whole world, being nearer to a state of nature than any people one has known so far.

Till recently the aboriginal tribes from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands did not wear clothes. The Sentinelese tribes move about unclothed even today. The Jarawas utilise only decorative items like necklaces made of shell and barks of trees, arm bands, waste bands etc. The Shompens don clothes only below their waist. People of the Car Nicobar island wear modern clothes now-a-days and have abandoned traditional dresses like coconut leaf petticoats and the like. The Onges have remained unclothed for centuries, but now have adapted themselves to the dress code of the mainland.

Andamanese language of the tribals is also another domain that is unique by itself. The number of speakers of the language has been steadily dwindling. Andamanese dialects are usually classified into northern, central and southern groups. Of these the southern dialects are usually classified into northern, central and southern groups. The southern dialects mentioned are the most archaic. The dialect of little Andaman Island is the southernmost of Andamanese grammar and their distinctiveness is the use of affixes to specify the functions of the words of a sentence. The language possesses no number system; the two number words in the language mean "one" and "more than one".