Dongria Kondh Community:
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recently sought for an Action Taken Report from Odisha Chief Secretary on the precarious living condition, lack of basic amenities and necessities of life of more than 10,000 families from “Dongria Kondh”, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) Community.
- It is a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG)
- Dongria Kondhs are ancient occupants of Niyamgiri hills spread across Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of Odisha.
- In the polytheistic animist worldview of the Kondh, the hilltops and their associated forests are regarded as supreme deities.
- They derive their name from dongar, meaning ‘hill’ and the name for themselves is Jharnia: protector of streams.
- They trace their ancestry to Niyam Raja, a mythical god-king, who they believe is a creator of the Niyamgiri hills and whose stewardship has been left to them.
- The forest slopes of Niyamgiri hills and streams that flow from the hilltop are the means of survival for the Dongria Kondh community.
- Even their art reflects the mountains, in the triangular designs found on village shrines to the many gods of the village, farm and forests and their leader, Niyam Raja.
- The Dongria have distinctive jewellery, tattoos and hairstyles. Women wear many rings through their ears and three through their noses, while boys wear two nose rings.
- They have no overarching political or religious leader, Clans and villages have their own leaders and individuals with specific ceremonial functions, including the beju and bejuni, male and female priests.
- The kondh tribe speaks two languages namely “kuyi” and “kuvi”, vocabulary which is completely unrelated to odiya, the state’s official language.
- The economy and livelihood of Dongria kondh is dependent on collection of Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and podu cultivation.
- They are traditionally horticulturists.
