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 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. Women from Dongria Kondh tribe buying dried fish at the Monday shandy at Kalyan Singpur, a small town at the foothills of Odisha’s Niyamgiri range. Photo: K R Deepak | Photo Credit: KR DEEPAK 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.

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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Hindu — Top.