Dāūwacho-chégálé-bāī

Dāūwacho-chégálé-bāī was a Sentinelese man from North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He is the only named and recorded individual from North Sentinel Island in history, and his life was documented by British naval officer Maurice Vidal Portman. An aerial view of North Sentinel Island, the home of the uncontacted Sentinelese and the birthplace of Dāūwacho-chégálé-bāī'.

Biography Dāūwacho-chégálé-bāī reportedly resided in a village on North Sentinel Island named Tambe-Ebui. In the late 19th century, he left North Sentinel Island in a wooden canoe, and drifted away by accident, likely after a tropical storm pushed his boat beyond the shallow coastal reefs and into the open waters of the Bay of Bengal, where traditional punting poles couldn't be used to get back to the island.

His canoe drifted south until it landed on the shores of first the Cinque Islands, and then Little Andaman. The area was home to the Önge tribe, another indigenous tribe. Dāūwacho-chégálé-bāī was welcomed into the tribe, where he embraced their traditions and lived for several years in their culture.

British contract and return attempt Maurice Vidal Portman, a British naval officer, located Dāūwacho-chégálé-bāī living with the Önge and attempted to use him to establish peaceful contact with the uncontacted Sentinelese tribe. He was placed aboard a British ship and transported back to North Sentinel Island. Upon arrival he attempted to communicate to the Sentinelese in their native language, but the Sentinelese on the beach refused to engage and retreated into the trees. Portman promptly abandoned the attempt and returned Dāūwacho-chégálé-bāī to the Önge, with whom he spent the remainder of his life.