One of the oldest tribal people of Malkangiri dist which is in the state of Orissa (India) are Bondas. The origin and affiliations of the Bondas are obscure but we have to accept that these tribes are a member of a group of Austro-Asiatic tribes. These tribes took shelter some remote date back in the wild Jeypore hills. Their appearance and the strange dress code and a very unfamiliar tongue they speak points to a different Austro-Asiatic language. These differences makes them totally separate from the other tribes such as Kondhs, parajas, kutia, darua etc residing in the undivided Koraput dist.
With the rapid development in human history the Bondas have changed very marginally during their long history. Bondas are living in Bonda hill which is in Khairiput block of Malkangiri dist at a height of 3000 feet from the sea level.These Bonda tribes are mainly two types such as Ontal and Kilo. As plain land is not available in the Bonda hill they are fund of Podu cultivation ( By burning the bushes in the hill and then made the land ready for cultivation in the hill area ). Bonda ladies also helps in the cultivation process for a living hood. One of the peculiarity in Bonda's Community is the Bride is older than the Groom. Till now woman of the Bonda communities are half naked. The Bonda ladies cover their body in various types of pearls and stones which are available in the hill area. The main festival of Bonda's is Patakhanda yatra at Mudulipada which is celebrated in the month of Magha every year.
The main revenue source of Bonda's are honey which they collect from the forests and sell in the nearby weekly markets. Beside honey they have plenty amount of date trees by which they are extracting the juice of the tree itself to sell as a country liquor and very fund of consuming it. Bonda's are very short tempered by nature. These tribes get angry at the simplest things and forget their relationships and commit murder. Taking one's life is the common thing in these tribes as a result many Bonda's are imprisoned for life at the Koraput Jail. Bonda population has been reducing gradually. Many Govt sponsored programs are planned for the uplift of these tribes but it really does not help them. It is very important that this community should be taken care.
