The Bonda tribes are most primitive tribe of India who live in the isolated hill regions of the Malkangiri district of southwestern Odisha, India, near the junction of the three states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The Bonda are a scheduled tribe of India, known for their unique culture and traditions.
Bonda tribes are divided into two groups – Lower Bonda and Upper Bonda. The Upper Bondas have almost no connection to the outside world. Sources said that only 6% of Bondas are literate.
Socio-Cultural Life of Bonda Tribes
- Bonda women wear silver and brass rings around the neck, hundreds of necklaces on the body. It is thought that these ornaments have a function of protecting them from injuries and attacks by wild animals.
- Equipped with lethal bows and arrow, the Bonda male will not hesitate to release his arrow straight to the heart of his opponent at the slightest provocation. The tribe still practice the barter system i.e. exchanging the produce of their fields for articles of daily use.
- Bonda boys are expected to marry between the ages of 10 and 12. An Important feature of the Bonda marriage is that Bonda girls prefer to marry younger boys. So they may have someone to earn for them in their old age.
History
The Bonda attire is explained in a legend relating to the Ramayana. According to it, some Bonda women sniggered on Sita, seeing her naked when she was bathing at a pond in the Bonda hills. Enraged, Sita cursed them to remain naked and having their heads shaven.
When the Bonda women pleaded forgiveness, Sita gave them a piece of cloth she tore off her sari. This explains, according to the legend, why Bonda women have shorn head and wear only a ringa, a length of cloth that covers the waist. The Bonda are generally semi-clothed, the women wear thick silver neck bands.
In 2014, Bonda tribe got a new lease of life with Dambaru Sisha, the first post-graduate Bonda with masters in Mathematics and Law. Sisha took the oath of office as the first MLA from the isolated tribe.
The Odisha Government has tried to bring the Bonda into the mainstream and set up the Bonda Development Agency (BDA) with this aim. The Bonda people have begun to take up non traditional occupations as migrant labourers and working in government offices.
