An American missionary believed he had been 'called' to convert the protected tribe who shot him dead with arrows when he arrived on their remote Indian island.
John Allen Chau, 27, paid local fishermen to help him get to North Sentinel Island, one of the world's most isolated regions in India's Andaman islands, last week.
Chau took a boat ride with the fishermen before venturing alone in a canoe to where the indigenous people live cut off completely from the outside world, authorities said.
As soon as he set foot on the island, which is off-limits to visitors, Chau found himself facing a flurry of arrows but he kept walking.
The tribe then tied a rope around his neck and dragging his body away, according to the fishermen who helped him get there.
But the Sentinelese who killed Chau can't be prosecuted as contact with them and several tribes on the islands is illegal in a bid to protect their indigenous way of life and shield them from diseases.
Now, a friend has revealed to DailyMail.com that Chau was 'committed' to travelling to the remote island, deep in the Indian Ocean, and had been planning the trip for at least three years.
John Allen Chau (pictured) was killed by arrows shot by protected tribesmen living on a remote Indian island after he arrived there in a bid to convert them to Christianity
Chau took a boat ride with the fishermen before venturing alone in a canoe to North Sentinel Island (pictured, a file photo shows tribesmen on the island)
The Sentinelese attracted international attention in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami, when a member of the tribe was photographed on a beach, firing arrows at a helicopter (pictured)
Neil MacLeod, of Stornaway, Scotland, said he met Chau on a flight from London to Phoenix, Arizona, in October 2015.
Over the course of the transatlantic flight, the pair spoke about soccer and Christianity, both things Chau was passionate about, MacLeod told DailyMail.com.
'I saw him reading some Christian literature and I'm a Christian and we started talking,' he said.
MacLeod said Chau told him he had recently returned from India and was trying to figure out how to travel to the remote North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal.
'He mentioned that he wanted to go to these islands, the islands where he has now died,' MacLeod said.
'I had heard of these islands and I know how dangerous they are, so I was surprised by that.'
He added: 'He recognized the dangers of travelling there, but I think he had a sense of call.
'This was something he was working on for three years. He was committed to going there. In his view, he was trying to help these people.
'There are islands that are nearby and he was making relationships and connections to help him get to the islands.'
Since the flight, MacLeod said he had emailed back and forth with Chau, who he described as 'magnetic' and 'charming.'
Chau was a preacher who had visited the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the past, a police source said
'That flight was seven or eight hours and it went by a flash. He was an ideal person to share a flight with.
'He was a lovely character and wanted to help people. The thing that came across was what a delight it was to be in his company.
'He was such a warm and engaging and friendly kind of fellow. You might have an idea of what a missionary might be like, he was a million miles from that.
'I think he's a real loss. I'm just very sorry about what has happened.'
MacLeod said Chau was working as an EMT at the time and had helped during major incidents, including in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
'He was a free wheel so he would go to incidents, like major incidents around the world and look to help,' he added.
'He had worked with FEMA when he went down to Katrina. He was working there. He's worked in some pretty rough places.'
Indian police said a murder case had been registered against 'unknown tribesmen' and seven people arrested in connection with the death.
Their names have not been released, but they are the fishermen who took Chau to the island.
A police source told Reuters that Chau was a preacher who had visited the nearby Andaman and Nicobar islands in the past.
Police have learned he had a strong desire to meet the Sentinelese and preach on the island, the source added.
Chau was a Christian missionary who wanted to interact with members of the Sentinelese tribe, according to International Christian Concern.
William Stark, ICC's regional manager, paid tribute to Chau and condemned his killing.
'We here at International Christian Concern are extremely concerned by the reports of an American missionary being murdered in India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
'Our thoughts and prayers go out to both John's family and friends.
'A full investigation must be launched in this this murder and those responsible must be brought to justice.'
Police have learned he had a strong desire to meet the Sentinelese and preach on the island
The North Sentinel island is out of bounds even to the Indian navy in a bid to protect its reclusive inhabitants who number only about 150
He added: 'India must take steps to counter the growing wave of intolerance and violence.'
Authorities say Chau had made several trips to the Andaman islands recently before finally managing to make it to the remote stretch by offering money to local fishermen.
Chau hired a fishing dinghy and, aided by the fishermen, reached the vicinity of the island on November 16, before transferring to a canoe, the official said.
His body, spotted the following day by the fishermen on their return, has not yet been retrieved, the official added.
Chau tried to reach the island on November 14 but couldn't make it, police sources said
He returned two days later better prepared. He left a dinghy midway and took a canoe to the island alone
The investigation began after police were contacted by the US consulate in the southern city of Chennai, which has been in touch with Chau's mother.
Police have launched an investigation, Deepak Yadav, a police official in the island chain in the Bay of Bengal, confirmed in a statement late on Tuesday.
The investigation began after police were contacted by the US consulate in the southern city of Chennai, which has been in touch with Chau's mother.
'He tried to reach the Sentinel island on November 14 but could not make it,' police sources said.
John Allen Chau (pictured) was killed by arrows shot by protected tribesmen living on a remote Indian island
'Two days later he went well prepared. He left the dingy midway and took a canoe all by himself to the island.
'He was attacked by arrows but he continued walking. The fishermen saw the tribals tying a rope around his neck and dragging his body.
'They were scared and fled but returned next morning to find his body on the sea shore.'
Dependra Pathak, the Andaman Director General of Police, told The News Minute that Chau's body hasn't yet been retrieved.
'His body has not yet been retrieved because we have to strategize keeping in mind the nuances and sensitivity of other cultures,' he said.
'We are working on that, and are in contact with anthropologists and tribal welfare experts. We will figure out some strategy.'
A spokeswoman for the US consulate in Chennai said: 'We are aware of reports concerning a US citizen in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
'When a US citizen is missing, we work closely with local authorities as they carry out their search efforts,' she added, but declined to provide further details over privacy concerns.
The Sentinelese tribe are an indigenous tribe who live on North Sentinal Island, lies around 450 miles from the coast of Thailand and more than 745 miles from mainland India
Chau's Instagram shows he spent much of his time travelling and he documented his exploits on a blog called The Rugged Trail.
His last post on Instagram was shared on November 2. Alongside a series of pictures taken in the jungle, he wrote: 'Adventure awaits. So do leeches.'
Chau also spoke about his passion for travel in an interview with The Outbound Collective in 2014.
When asked where was on his 'must-do adventure list,' he said: 'Going back to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India is on the top - there's so much to see and do there!'
He also revealed his personal motto was: 'Make the most of every good opportunity today because you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow!'
Speaking about his inspirations, he said: 'Adventurers like John Muir, Bruce Olson, and David Livingston inspire me to go travel and explore, and I definitely get my inspiration for life from Jesus.'
A Twitter user called Neil said he met Chau on a transatlantic flight three years ago.
'He readily spoke of his calling to serve the Sentinelese. His calling came from a higher authority. He died a servant of the Lord. Saddened by his loss. He was a lovely guy,' he wrote.
The Sentinelese tribe has attacked almost everyone who has entered their territory. Pictured, the tribes people are seen wielding arrows on the island
A Sentinelese man aims with his bow and arrow at an Indian Coast Guard helicopter as it flies over the island for a survey of the damage caused by the tsunami in 2004
Meanwhile, Survival International, a London-based organization that has been campaigning to protect the indigenous tribes living in the Andamans, called Chau's death a 'tragedy' that should 'never have been allowed to happen.'
The group's international director, Stephen Corry, said: 'This tragedy should never have been allowed to happen. The Indian authorities should have been enforcing the protection of the Sentinelese and their island for the safety of both the tribe, and outsiders.
'Instead, a few months ago the authorities lifted one of the restrictions that had been protecting the Sentinelese tribe's island from foreign tourists, which sent exactly the wrong message, and may have contributed to this terrible event.'
He added: 'It's not impossible that the Sentinelese have just been infected by deadly pathogens to which they have no immunity, with the potential to wipe out the entire tribe.
'The Sentinelese have shown again and again that they want to be left alone, and their wishes should be respected.'
The world's most isolated tribe: Who are the Sentinelese and why are they hostile to outsiders?
The Sentinelese tribe has attacked almost everyone who has entered their territory and their continued hostility to outsiders may lie in its history.
An armed British expedition led by 20-year-old Maurice Vidal Portman – the British Officer in Charge of the Andamanese – landed on North Sentinel Island in January 1880 searching for natives.
They found recently abandoned villages and paths, but the Sentinelese were nowhere to be seen – they had disappeared into the forest.
After days of searching, they found six of them: an elderly couple and four children.
They were transported to Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 'in the interest of science,' according to Survival International, an organization that campaigns for the rights of tribal people.
Portman noted that the six 'sickened rapidly, and the old man and his wife died, so the four children were sent back to their home with quantities of presents.'
The tribe (pictured) shun all contact with the outside world and are known to be hostile to any encroachers
According to Survival, it is likely that the children would have passed on their diseases and the results would have been devastating.
But how many Sentinelese became ill as a result of this 'science' is not known.
In the years since, the Sentinelese have been hostile to any encroachers and attacked many of them.
They stabbed to death an escaped Indian convict who washed up on their shore in 1896. A film crew were greeted with a hail of arrows in 1974.
The Sentinelese attracted international attention in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami, when a member of the tribe was photographed on a beach, firing arrows at a helicopter that was checking on their welfare.
In 2006, two Indian fishermen, who had moored their boat near North Sentinel to sleep after poaching in the waters around the island, were killed when their boat broke loose and drifted onto the shore.
An Indian Coast Guard helicopter sent to retrieve the bodies was repelled by a volley of arrows from the community.
Today, the island is out of bounds even to the Indian navy in a bid to protect its reclusive inhabitants who number only about 150.
Campaigns by non-profit and local organizations have led the Indian government to abandon plans to contact the Sentinelese.
Survival International works to ensure that no further attempts are made to contact the tribe.
They say the Sentinelese have thrived on the small forested island, which is approximately the size of Manhattan, for up to 55,000 years.
But because of their rejection of the outside world, little is known about them - including what they call themselves.
What is known has been gleaned from viewing them from boats moored far enough away from the tribesmen, who carry spears, bows and arrows, or from the few times the tribe allowed authorities to come close enough to hand over coconuts.
The women wear fibre strings tied around their waists, necks and heads. The men also wear necklaces and headbands, but with a thicker waist belt.
From a distance, they appear healthy and thriving and observers have noted many children and pregnant women at times.
The Sentinelese hunt and gather in the forest, and fish in the coastal waters by make narrow outrigger canoes (pictured)
According to Survival, the Sentinelese hunt and gather in the forest, and fish in the coastal waters by make narrow outrigger canoes, which can only be used in shallow waters as they are steered and propelled with a pole like a punt.
Indian authorities made a few trips to the island a bid to befriend the tribe in the 1970s.
On one trip, two pigs and a doll were left on the beach. The animals were speared by the tribe and buried along with the doll.
More regular visits occurred in the 1980s which saw teams try to land and leave gifts of coconuts, bananas and bits of iron.
Sometimes, the Sentinelese appeared to make friendly gestures but other times, they would take the gifts into the forest and then fire arrows at the outsiders.
But in 1991, there appeared to be a breakthrough. When officials landed on the island, the tribe gestured for them to bring their gifts and for the first time, approached without weapons.
However, they resumed their hostility again once they attacked a wooden boat with their adzes, a stone axe for cutting wood.
The gift-giving missions stopped in 1996, but periodic checks are made from boats anchored at a safe distance from the shore to ensure that the Sentinelese appear well and have not chosen to seek contact.
Officials made two checks following the 2004 tsunami and then declared that no further attempts would be made to contact the tribe.
It is now illegal to have any contact with the tribe and last year, the Indian government said even taking photographs or making videos of aboriginal Andaman tribes would be punishable with imprisonment of up to three years.
Corry said the British colonial occupation of the Andaman Islands 'decimated the tribes living there, wiping out thousands of tribespeople, and only a fraction of the original population now survive.'
'So the Sentinelese fear of outsiders is very understandable,' he said.
'Uncontacted tribes must have their lands properly protected. They're the most vulnerable peoples on the planet. Whole populations are being wiped out by violence from outsiders who steal their land and resources, and by diseases like the flu and measles to which they have no resistance.
'Tribes like the Sentinelese face catastrophe unless their land is protected. I hope this tragedy acts as a wake up call to the Indian authorities to avert another disaster and properly protect the lands of both the Sentinelese, and the other Andaman tribes, from further invaders.'
An aerial shot taken by NASA shows North Sentinel Island, which is approximately the size of Manhattan, where the Sentinelese tribe has thrived for up to 55,000 years
Both endangered aboriginal Andaman tribes - the Jarawa and the Sentinelese - are hunter-gatherers and any contact with outsiders puts them at risk of contracting disease.
Tourists often bribe local authorities to spend a day out with members of the 400-strong Jarawa tribe.
But in contrast, the Sentinelese tribe shuns all contact with the outside world and are known to be hostile to any encroachers.
The North Sentinel island is out of bounds even to the Indian navy in a bid to protect its reclusive inhabitants who number only about 150.
The Sentinelese attracted international attention in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami, when a member of the tribe was photographed on a beach, firing arrows at a helicopter that was checking on their welfare.
In 2006, two fishermen, whose boat strayed onto the 60-sq-km (23-square-mile) island, were killed and their bodies never recovered.
An Indian Coast Guard helicopter sent to retrieve the bodies was repelled by a volley of arrows from the community, believed to be the last pre-Neolithic tribe in the world.
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https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/american-missionary-killed-by-protected-tribesmen-on-north-sentinel-island/
News Pictures American missionary killed by protected tribesmen on North Sentinel Island
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