Source: TH
Context: The Dongria Kondh tribe of Odisha was recently featured for showcasing their vibrant identity and cultural resilience during a festival near the Niyamgiri Hills.
About Dongria Kondh Tribe:
- Who They Are?
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- The Dongria Kondh are an indigenous tribal community, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
- They are renowned for their environmental stewardship and successful resistance against bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri hills.
- Habitat:
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- Reside in scattered hamlets within the Niyamgiri hill range, spread across Rayagada and Kalahandi districts in southwestern Odisha.
- These hills are ecologically rich and spiritually sacred to the tribe, home to their revered deity, Niyam Raja.
- Key Features:
- Language and Script:
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- Speak Kui, an oral Dravidian language closely related to Gondi.
- Kui does not have a written script, though it is sometimes transcribed in the Odia script.
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- Physical and Cultural Traits:
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- Known for their distinctive dress and adornment:
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- Women wear minimal clothing, metallic nose pins, tattoos, and long rows of earrings.
- Men wear colourful turbans and loincloths with traditional body tattoos.
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- Use traditional knowledge to practise podu (shifting) cultivation, growing millets, turmeric, pineapples, and other crops.
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- Social and Religious Life:
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- Follow animism, ancestor worship, and nature-centric spiritual beliefs.
- The tribe includes sub-groups like Kovi, Kuttia, Languli, Penga, and Jharnia.
- Uphold traditions through oral storytelling, song, dance, and community rituals.
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