The Dongria Kondh, a sub-section of the Kondh, live in the dense forests of the Niyamgiri range. Listed as particularly vulnerable tribal group by the government, they are animists and communicate in their native Kui language. Their main livelihood is shifting cultivation.

A Dongria man in traditional dress.

Dongria women In Dongria society women play the equal role as men. They take part almost every activity such as farming. The women use traditional sarees to cover the entire body and a scarf embroidered by them. Girls decorate their hair, ear, nose with rings and necklaces. Women have a dominant say in the family management and the man, as part of the tradition, has to pay the bride price (dowry).

Lodo Sikoka (L) and Huika Samba are the faces of the movement. Both live in Lakhpadar. Both have been targeted by company goons and harassed by the administration.

A major reason for the Dongria Kondh’s opposition to bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri Mountains was that it would destroy their numerous perennial hill streams.

Lakhpadar has around 40 children. No one goes to school as the nearest one is 15 km away. It is more or less same across all villages. As kids can’t go that far through dense jungles they want their own village schools with Dongria Kondh teachers using Kui as the medium of instruction.

A man combs his hair after a bath. The Dongria Kondh are particular about hair and traditional attire. Males decorate their hair, ears, and nose with ornaments.

Though women work through the day in the field, evenings are for their children.

Freshly fermented liquor called “salpa” from the sap of palm trees is used in rituals and drunk as well. The palm is one of seven trees considered a must in a Dongria sacred grove.

Mobile phones are popular among Dongria youths for a different reason. Since none of the villages have mobile network, these are used for listening to music. The youth source these songs from the nearest town of Langigargh.

For centuries Dongrias were isolated from the world. Their only source of entertainment was dance, mostly in the evening. The men sometimes hunt at night, using LED lamps and their axes to hunt rabbits, squirrels, and edible insects.

Dongria women have the skill of weaving their own scarves. They develop this skill at an early stage.

Portrait of a Dongria woman who was returning from the weekly market, 15 km from the Lakhpadar village.

The local Dongria school which was burned during protest movements.

In absence of proper medical facilities, the Dongrias trust their village doctor.

Through shifting cultivation, Dongrias grow different types of lentils.

During springtime, Dongria families spent hours in the jungle collecting Mahua flowers. These highly valued flowers are dried and made into liquor. The seeds yield oil that can be used for cooking. The paste is used medicinally to facilitate childbirth.

Sahi Sikola was coming back from Langigargh town after a health check-up of his three-year-old son who is suffering from Malaria. Death by Malaria in this region is widespread and frequent too. The whole area is affected by Malaria. Besides the lifestyle and some cultural habits of the Dangria Kondh create some unhealthy circumstances for rapid inflation of different other diseases include Malaria.