Odisha has around 62 distinct tribes with many of them still practicing their distinct tradition and culture. I had first seen the Bonda tribeswomen at the alcohol market in Onkadelli and visited their village thereafter. The Bonda tribe people are small in stature and quite frail looking. The women were around 4 to 41/2 feet tall. The Bonda are animists and are partially hunters and gatherers to date. They forage in the forest daily and also practice some agriculture. When the women are married, they shave off their heads. A Bonda woman with long hair is either unmarried or widowed. They wear a cloth around their waist and adorn their bodies and heads with strings of colourful, bright beads. Nowadays it’s only women over 50 years who still dress up the traditional way so maybe in another few years this will be a subject only to be seen in videos and hopefully this sketch.
