A PVTG of Odisha.

Location : Malkangiri (Eastern Ghats Region)

Language: Austro-Asiatic / Munda

Occupation: Weaving of handloom clothes, Bead necklaces making, Carpet weaving, Broomstick making, Vegetable cultivation, Archery

Techno-Economic Stages: Shifting Cultivators

Name: Bonda
Micro Project: Bonda Development Agency, Mudulipada
ITDA Covered: Malakangiri
Blocks: Khairput
Districts: Malkangiri
Established On: 1976-77

The Bondas are polytheists. They worship mostly the deities of nature like

Patkhanda Maparabhu - the creator of universe
Bursung - the mother earth and the village goddess
Kapurchuan - the deity of stream
Dhartani - the deity of cowshed
Yuga and Renumgbor - the forest deities
Doliang - the spirit of mango tree
Kalia Rani - the spirit of lowland paddy field
Vinding Sagar - the spirit of musical drums

The village priest performs worship.

The Bondas unique style of personal apperances differntiate them from rest of the world. Bonda men wear a narrow strip of loin cloth. It is the women's attair that is so remarkable. A taboo backed by legends prevents them to cover their upper bodies. They make up this deficiency by wearing heavy necklaces of beads and brass. The only short strip of loin cloth women use is called as  'Nadi'. The Bondas live in small thatched huts. Their livelihood supplimented by animal domestication and seasonal forest collections. The Bonda villages are traditionally autonomous. Social order is maintained by a set of traditional functionaries -Naik- the village chief , Challan- the organiser of village meetings, the Barik- the village messenger. In sharp contrast  to their aggressiveness the Bonda have finer aspects of life that finds expression in their age old tradition of dance and music. 


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