Dongria Kondh of Niyamgiri: Where forests, food and faith shape daily life
A trader tips a handful of dried mango slices onto a tarpaulin sheet and examines them carefully. Around him, weighing scales swing into action, motorcycles
A trader tips a handful of dried mango slices onto a tarpaulin sheet and examines them carefully. Around him, weighing scales swing into action, motorcycles edge through the crowd and voices rise and fall in a dozen simultaneous negotiations. The Monday santha (weekly market) at Kalyansingpur, a small town at the foothills of Odisha’s Niyamgiri range, is underway. By 10 am, sacks of dried mangoes are piled high across the market. Dongria Kondh families from villages across the hills wait patiently to sell produce gathered from forests and cultivated on distant slopes. The women are easy to spot in the crowd. Strands of colourful beads cover their necks and chests, multiple small metal earrings frame their faces and a small dagger rests discreetly within a tightly coiled hair bun. Many also carry hand-embroidered stoles, their geometric motifs echoing a long tradition of craftsmanship in the hills. Some have been travelling since dawn to reach the market. For the next few hours, the market will determine the value of a season’s labour. Wild mangoes, native tur dal, ragi and black gram change hands in quick succession. Conversations drift between crop yields, rainfall and prices. A little beyond the market, the forested slopes of Niyamgiri rise into the distance. For the Dongria Kondh, one of India's Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), these hills are both home and livelihood.
Our journey to this region begins from Rayagada, about 40 kilometres from Kalyansingpur. As the road climbs towards Niyamgiri, the terrain changes almost imperceptibly. Fields give way to dense vegetation and the horizon fills with undulating ridges. Villages appear intermittently along the slopes. Rows of modest concrete homes stand amid fruit trees and cultivated patches. Solar panels gleam from rooftops. Mobile phones have found their way into the hills; daily life, however, remains strongly anchored in farming, forest produce and community ties. The Dongria Kondh inhabit the Niyamgiri hills across Rayagada and Kalahandi districts in southwestern Odisha. Known for their horticultural traditions and millet cultivation, they share a spiritual bond with Niyam Raja, a deity they believe resides in the hills. A landmark judgement Their bond with the deity drew national attention more than a decade ago during the prolonged struggle against proposed bauxite mining in Niyamgiri. For years, the community opposed plans linked to Vedanta, arguing that mining would threaten forests, water sources and sacred sites. In 2013, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment, directing that gram sabhas would decide whether mining could proceed in areas considered sacred by tribal communities. The decision was hailed as a milestone for tribal rights under the Forest Rights Act. The gram sabhas unanimously rejected the proposal, a verdict that continues to resonate across Niyamgiri.
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