Bonda tribal women of Orissa walk long distances barefoot and carrying heavy produce to their weekly barter market


Orissa has 62 distinct tribal groups, making it the largest collection of tribal people in a single state in the most primitive among them are Bondas, Gadabas, Kondhas, According to 1991 Census, in Orissa the total strength of tribal population was approximately seven million which constitutes of the total population of the State. Orissa occupies a unique position in the ethnographic map of India for having the largest variety of tribal communities in antiquity of Orissa is endorsed by her ancient people who continue to inhabit their traditional dwelling places in remote areas in the deep forests and hilly interiors. Steeped in mystery the Orissan tribal continue to be a source of deep interest not only for anthropologists and sociologists and economy is subsistence oriented. The subsistence economy is based mainly on collecting, hunting and fishing with shifting cultivation The BONDOS are fiercely independent and aggressive, and continue to practice shifting cultivation and the barter system of exchanging produce from their fields for their daily needs. Bondo women prefer to marry younger men because they can have someone who will earn for them in their old age. The Bondo's live in the high hill of the forests and are one of the most primitive tribes of India. Bonda women are noticeable for their lack of clothing except for colourful multi-stringed fine bead necklaces, striking brass and silver necklets and their shaven heads decorated with plaits of Palmyra leaves.


Size: 3413px × 5120px
Location: Koraput,Orissa, India ,Asia
Photo credit: © NORMA JOSEPH / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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