Bipin Christian
Dongria Kondh art and craft reflect the importance of the mountains for the community. The triangular shape of mountains recur in the designs on their shawls called the Kapdaganda. Woven with excellent craftsmanship, Kapdaganda is prepared by spinsters of the community who gift it to their beloved ones as a token of love. The designs are embroidered on the cloth by a needle using threads. The red in the design signifies blood, sacrifices and revenge; green symbolises their fertile mountain ecology; and yellow symbolises the origin of the Kondh while also representing prosperity and turmeric cultivation.
The Dongaria Kondh tribe
Tribe Dongaria Kondh
Geography East India
State Odisha
The Dongaria Kondh are located in the Niyamgiri hills in the state of Odisha. They sustain themselves from the resources of the Niyamgiri forests, practising horticulture and shifting cultivation. They worship the mountain god Niyam Raja and the hills he presides over, including the 4,000 metre Mountain of the Law, Niyam Dongar.
