Bonda Tribe:
Members of the Bonda community in Odisha’s Malkangiri district are set to transition from fragile thatched huts to permanent pucca houses under the Union government’s PM-Janman scheme.
- The Bondas are exclusively found in the Malkangiri district of Odisha and are mostly concentrated in the Khairaput block of the district.
- It is a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) and one of the oldest tribes of India.
- They are also known as Bondo, Bondas, Bonda Paraja, and Bhonda.
- They are considered one of the first settlers in India, with their lineage tracing back to the Austroasiatic race.
- The Bonda people speak Remo, a language belonging to the Austroasiatic linguistic family.
- This is distinct from mainstream Indian languages, making it difficult for outsiders to communicate with them.
- The Bondas are divided into two groups because of their distinct cultural practices:
- The Lower Bondas, who live in the Malkangiri district in south Odisha and border Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and
- The Upper Bondas, who live in the remote villages of the district’s hilly terrain.
- The social organization is hierarchical, with a council of elders that makes important decisions for the community.
- The Bonda people live in small villages organized around communal spaces where ceremonies and meetings take place.
- Bonda architecture is characterized by mud and thatched-roof houses, designed to adapt to the mountainous environment and climatic conditions.
- The art of the Bonda is expressed mainly through the creation of decorative tools and utensils, in addition to their colorful fabrics and jewelry.
- They have an interesting dressing style – ladies are semiclad and wear different sorts of rings and pieces of jewelry around their bodies, while the men wear deadly attires.
- The religion of the Bonda people is animistic, focused on the worship of nature and ancestral spirits.
- Their economy is based mainly on subsistence agriculture, hunting, and gathering.
- They are known for their unique practice of shifting cultivation called dangar chas.
- They grow crops like paddy, millet, pulses, and vegetables.
- Only 6% of Bondas are literate. The life expectancy of the tribe is so low they are nearly extinct.
