Bondo

The Bondas unique style of personal apperances differntiate them from rest of the world. Bonda men wear a narrow strip of loin cloth. It is the women's attair that is so remarkable. A taboo backed by legends prevents them to cover their upper bodies. They make up this deficiency by wearing heavy necklaces of beads and brass. The only short strip of loin cloth women use is called as 'Nadi'. The Bondas live in small thatched huts. Their livelihood supplimented by animal domestication and seasonal forest collections. The Bonda villages are traditionally autonomous. Social order is maintained by a set of traditional functionaries -Naik- the village chief , Challan- the organiser of village meetings, the Barik- the village messenger. In sharp contrast to their aggressiveness the Bonda have finer aspects of life that finds expression in their age old tradition of dance and music.