An obituary by Anvita Abbi
Many of the languages I do know have a phrase for somebody who has misplaced a partner (widow/widower) or their dad and mom (orphan), however I’ve by no means come throughout one other language that has a phrase like raupuch; an individual who has misplaced his or her siblings.
This distinctive phrase comes from the Sare language of the Andaman Islands. The final speaker of this language, Licho, who I knew and labored with for the final twenty years, died on 4th April 2020 at her residence at Shadipur, Port Blair.
I met Licho once I first got here to the Andaman Islands in 2001. She was the primary little one of King Jirake and carried the legacy of certainly one of Earth’s oldest civilizations and its languages. She was hesitant to start with to work with me on the grammar and dictionary of the Nice Andamanese language however it grew to become our joint challenge.
Licho helped Anvita perceive the nuances of what phrases imply and the right way to accurately assemble sentences in Nice Andamanese languages © Anvita Abbi
Once I was engaged on the grammar of the language, I’d go to her at Adi Basera — the Tribal Residence for the Nice Andamanese tribes in Port Blair. She would go away no matter work she was concerned with and sit with me for hours with out displaying any indicators of boredom or tiredness. Her judgment in regards to the grammar of sentences helped me perceive the foundations of the language.
She would establish the etymology of phrases, whether or not they got here from Sare or Khora or Jeru. Licho taught me loads in regards to the wildlife of the island. She would take me to the shores or the swamps of Strait Island to indicate me the crops, timber and creepers and inform me the traits of every. It was she who delivered to my consideration that there have been greater than eight sorts of crabs, or {that a} language has 8–10 completely different phrases for ‘minimize’, or the medicinal properties of native crops. Her teachings helped me later to organize the encyclopedic dictionary of the language.
Licho typically lamented that her group now primarily spoke Andamanese Hindi and had forgotten their very own languages. She was happy with her heritage and her ancestry — those that had been recognized for valour, braveness and fearlessness, and she or he advised me she was taught searching within the jungle by her father and grandfather.
She was one of many smartest girls within the tribe and labored with the Training division of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In addition to Sare, Licho spoke Jeru, Pujukkar, Andamanese Hindi and was one of many few who knew the current Nice Andamanese language, a mix of 4 languages spoken by the Nice Andamanese peoples, who’re considered descended from the primary people who migrated out of Africa 70,000 years in the past, and who had been decimated by colonialism.
Licho was a daring, forthright, activist and able to battle the administration for the rights of tribal individuals. She opposed the constructing of the Andaman Trunk Highway, warning that “the Jarawa individuals could be decimated identical to us.” She was prepared to speak to journalists on this situation and feared no-one.
Licho had a delicate facet too. Once I reached Strait Island in March 2008, I discovered the so-called ‘authorities visitor home’ didn’t even have primary amenities like clear sheets or mosquito nets. On seeing this dismal state of affairs, Licho took no time in speeding again to her basti and introduced again clear sheets, a canopy, a pillow and a brand new mosquito web for me. It was an eerie night time; raining laborious with sturdy winds lapping towards the home windows and the room was darkish as a result of the island had no electrical energy. Licho sensed my concern and instantly supplied to maintain me firm; I used to be touched. She ran residence once more within the rain to fetch bedding for herself. We stayed up speaking previous midnight.She was the one buddy I had in Port Blair and I by no means failed to go to her every time I went to the Andamans. I shared her happiness on many joyful events: the start of her youngest son, Berebe, and the marriages of her youngsters, in addition to the sorrows of shedding her father and her daughter.
Licho died of a number of well being issues. She had power tuberculosis and had been affected by coronary heart illnesses. Her lungs had collapsed, and she or he had been on a ventilator for months. She died at residence on the morning of 4th April 2020. She bravely fought for a few years and by no means gave up hope. She leaves a household of youngsters, grandchildren and her husband. Licho’s demise is just not solely a private loss to them, and to me, however to all humanity. Together with her died the final information of a novel language, and the knowledge of a complete individuals contained inside it.
Professor Anvita Abbi is an internationally-renowned linguist who has studied many tribal languages. She spent twenty years working with members of the Nice Andamanese tribes in India’s Andaman Islands to doc their languages.
