SETTLEMENT IN CAR NICOBAR According to the history, in the
beginning there were only a few people who inhabited the island of
Car Nicobar,and all of them lived in the first village,They divided
the island among themselves,from the forest in the interior portion
of the sea close to the shore where the principal fishing to be
had,and the island continued in the possession of their families
ever since.Right to the land passes on patrillineally.with the
eldest son becoming the landholder when the father dies,but with
the access to itsResources open to every member. With the land
generally goes the responsibility to look after and take care of
the rest of the family, which therefore defines not just the
nuclear family of the eldest son,nor either the nuclear family of
the father, but the families of his father's brothers and his
grandfathers brother's, along with all the members that each has
acquired down the line.The entire family comprises a tuhet. Land is
not divided amongst the various sons and members,but tradition
permits a Nicobarese ,of the tuhet or even outside ,to approach a
landlord nad request permission to usufructory rights to a portion
of land,which if landlord us not using or planning to to use to
himself,tradition persuades him to give;and such land then
continues in the procession of the user till the crop is
harvested.The period may be one year, in case of vegetables, or
thirty -forty years ,in the case of coconuts.The land is thus
cultivated by various member of the family,and each is enttled to
the fruits of his labour,with the obligation of the Head to
contribute to the feast,but otherwise free to keep his own
pigs,grow his own vegetables and rasie his own coconut
trees.Nicobarese VillageIt is easy to imagine how a Nicobarese
village must have grown. As the family grew in size ,from living
together under the main pati tuhet,boys and girls who got married
would have built themselves smaller huts in the vicinity of the
tuhet to raise their own families,even a sthey continued to be part
of the family taliko and cook together, contributing the produce
from their own usufruct to the kitchen,or being to that extent to a
deduction from the produce from landlord's garden. It is
easy,also,to appreciate how a such system built up a community
spirit, security for the pld,orphaned and widowed, protection
against destitution, and an acceptance of the benign authority of
the tuhet head that have prevailed even to this day.
NICOBARESE HUTNicobarese live in permanent huts, which at one
time, were also circular in shape, built not in the ground,but
raised on slits about 7 feet above the ground and with split cane
walls between the thatched, pie dish lalang grass roof and the
split bamboo floor on cocoplam battens. Increasingly ,outside
influences have led to a diversification in styles, and now
rectangular, longitudinally ridged roof are far more common than
the circular design; huts are being constructed with windows for
ventilation ,balconies being incorporated now and then; and even
concrete houses are now not uncommon in the larger villages. The
entrance to the raised hut is through a trapdoor in this floor,
approachable with the help of a bamboo ladder.A feature that the
villages have retained is the cleanliness around the huts, which
persists despite the free run given to pigs and ever increasing
number of Pariah dogs. At one time ,the larger families used to
stay close r to their coconut plantation, but over the years, the
villages attained more compact appearance, growing around tuhets
and filling up the spaces in between.There are four type of huts
which comprise village, each for different use. The circular hut,
called the ma pati tuhet is the principal house of a family ,in
which they sleeps,resides and meets visitors. The taliko is the
kitchen,where entire family's meal is cooked,which has ridged roof
with long floor. The pati yong nyio nad pati kupah are respectively
the communal birth and death houses situated in the area along the
seashore, a little outside the village, called elpanam.Nicobari
Huts are very beautiful and have unique architecture. The
Nicobarese build these huts in circular shape, with a high thatched
roof of grass and palm leaves. The huts are raised on piles about
five to seven feet above the ground. The floor is big and round,
made of small sticks, leaving tiny space in between two sticks. The
cane floor allows the passage of air, and there is an overall
air-conditioned effect. GEOGRAPHYCar Nicobar falls in betweenLittle
AndamanandNancowrie. The area south to theTen-degree channelcomes
under Car Nicobar headquarter. It is a flat fertile island covered
with cluster of coconut palms and enchanting beaches with a roaring
sea all around.Compared to theMiddle AndamanandSouth Andaman, Car
Nicobar is a small island, having only 127km. There are 15
villages, the largest of which is named Malacca.The climate of Car
Nicobar Island is tropical, as it is just 9 degree from the
equator, with an annual rainfall of 400mm. The data of past ten
year shows that the mean relative humidity in the Island is 79%,
and the mean maximum temperature is of 30.20 C, and mean minimum
temperature is 23.00 C.The soil analysis revealed high content of
sand & clay hindering the growth of agricultural crops. The
area of Car Nicobar is suitable for the plantation crops,
andcoconutandarecanutare the major products, which are grown in the
area.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS IN CAR NICOBAR Car Nicobar, Nicobar
Islandslatitude & longitude; 99'N 9249'E. Altitude;10 m (33
ft). Theaverage temperaturein CarNicobar, Nicobar Islands is 27.5 C
(82 F). Therange ofaveragemonthly temperaturesis 2 C. The warmest
average max/high temperatureis 32 C (90 F) in March & April.
The coolest average min/low temperatureis 24 C (75 F) in September,
October & November. Car Nicobar, Nicobar Islands receiveson
average2509 mm (98.8 in) ofprecipitationannually or 209 mm (8.2 in)
each month. On balance there are 119 days annually on which greater
than 0.1 mm (0.004 in) ofprecipitation(rain, sleet, snow or hail)
occurrs or 10 days on an average month. The month with the driest
weather is February when on balance 30 mm (1.2 in) of rain, sleet,
hail or snow falls across 2 days. The month with the wettest
weather is September when on balance 328 mm (12.9 in) of rain,
sleet, hail or snow falls across 15 days. Mean relative humidity
for an average year is recorded as 84.9% and on amonthlybasis it
ranges from 77% in February to 92% in October. On balance there are
0 days annually registering frostin CarNicobar, Nicobar Islands and
in January there areon average0 days with frost.
Car Nicobar, Nicobar Islands Climate Graph(Metric |Imperial
units)
GENERAL CLIMATE OF ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS
Physiography-Rolling with hilly & flat land Total Geographical
Area - 8249 sq.km.Location Longitude - 930 to 940 E Latitude - 60
to 140 NClimate. Climate-Tropical Humid Rainfall (Average) per
annum- 3000 mm Maximum Temperature (Average) - 31.70C Minimum
Temperature (Average) - 22.10C Relative Humidity - 85%