Dongria Kondh Tribe:
The Dongria Kondh tribes who inhabit the Niyamgiri hills across Rayagada and Kalahandi districts in southwestern Odisha for whom forests, food and faith shape their daily life.
- Dongria Kondh Tribe is a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) Community.
- Dongria Kondhs are ancient occupants of Niyamgiri hills spread across Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of Odisha.
- 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 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
- They speak two languages namely “kuyi” and “kuvi”,vocabulary which is completely unrelated to odiya, the state’s official language.
- Members of the Dongria Kondh tribe perform a traditional dance at Phakeri.
- The economy and livelihood of Dongria kondh is dependent on collection of Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and podu cultivation. They are traditionally horticulturists.
