Sensing tsunamis II

In January, I commented on reports that animals and perhaps the honey-loving Jawari tribe on the Adaman and Nicobar islands being able to sense the 2005 Tsunami in advance. Apparently the tribe wouldn't speak about it then. But on a BBC TV programme tonight, Tsunami: Seven Hours on Boxing Day, a tribesman (I presume to be of the Jawari tribe) explained:

Apparently, they believe that the world is balanced rather precariously on a giant tree. An earthquake happens when a spirit shakes the tree. They also believe that nothing is permanent and that there is a constant battle between the land and the sea and that the boundary between the two fluctuates. When they saw the water retreat before the tsunami struck, they knew to flee to their camp in the hills because they expected a bad spirit to shake the tree and cause the water to return with a vengeance. It certainly did.