The Bonda tribes are most primitive tribe of India who live in the isolated hill regions of the Malkangiri district of southwestern Odisha, India, near the junction of the three states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The Bonda are a scheduled tribe of India, known for their unique culture and traditions.
Their unusual appearance and dress, the notorious homicidal tendencies of the men, the unfamiliar language and the inaccessibility of their abode separate this tribe from the rest of Orissa. They maintain a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding peasant communities.
The traditional and primary occupation of the Bonda tribe is shifting cultivation.They also engage in gleaning of forest products in season, hunting, fishing, animal husbandry and settled cultivation. The making and selling of soft brooms and liquor and the seasonal sale of vegetables largely through the barter system, are some of the ways of supplementing income..The tribe still practice the barter system i.e. exchanging the produce of their fields for articles of daily use.
Bondas are generally semi-clothed, Bonda women wear metal bands adorning their necks, which are called khagla and are made from aluminum.It is thought that these ornaments have a function of protecting them from injuries and attacks by wild animals. Including the bands around their neck, necklaces made of beads are also worn, these are called Mali. Due to the culture surrounding their ringa cloth which covers the waist down, the khagla and Mali act as a sort of clothing for the upper body of the women. Both men and women of the tribe wear earrings called limbi made of brass, and rings on their fingers called orti made of aluminum. For bachelors or newly married men, it is customary to wear their own set of ornamentsBonda women have their heads shaved and adorned with two types of headbands, called turuba and lobeda. The turuba is made of grass and the lobeda made of beads
Equppied with lethal bows and arrow, the Bonda male will not hesitate to release his arrow straight to the heart of his opponent at the slightest provocation. Bonda girls largely marry boys who are at least five to ten years younger than them. Thus the girl looks after her husband as he grows up and in turn he cares for his older wife. In contrast with many other populations in India, the number of women among the Bonda greatly exceeds the number of menAmong the Bondas alcoholism is a major issue. They spend much time brewing and consuming liquor from rice, palm and the mahua flower. The Bondas are trained in using arms at a young age. This, coupled with rampant alcoholism and their reputation for a quick temper, has contributed to high rates of fratricide among them.
About Sanghamitra Sarkar
I am an Amateur Photographer.Photography is my passion.I started my photographic carrier from July 2011 after getting my first camera Nikon D90. I started to participate in different international salon from 2011 and got almost 2500 – 3000 acceptance in different salon in different countries. One of my picture was shortlisted as top 10 photographs in the Low light category in Sony world photography competition 2016.My pictures wrer nominated and awarded in Black and white Spider award on 2014 and 2015.
