Question:Bondas, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) are found in which state?
(a) Jharkhand
(b) Chattisgarh
(c) Telangana
(d) Odisha
Answer : (d)
Context:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has reached the Bondas, a tribal community residing in the hill ranges of Malkangiri district in Odisha. Four members of the community have tested positive for COVID-19.
- Facts:
- Bondas: They are classified as the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) who live in the hill regions of the Malkangiri district of Odisha.
- Origin: They are members of a group of Austroasiatic tribes and are believed to be part of the first wave of migration out of Africa about 60,000 years ago.
- Language: The Bondas speak in their language, Remo which comes under the Austroasiatic language belonging to the Mundari group.
- Primary Occupation: They are primarily forest dwellers who hunt and forage for food in the wild.
- Dressing Style: They have a unique dressing style—women are semi clad and wear various types of rings and necklaces around their bodies, while the men carry lethal bows and arrows.
- Matriarchal Society: The women prefer to marry men who are younger by at least 5-10 years so that the men can earn for them when they grow old.
- Additional Fact:
- Bondas, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), live in settlements comprising small hutments in the hills of the Khairaput block. Their population is around 7,000.
- Odisha is home to 62 tribal communities — the largest diverse groups of tribal population in India. Thirteen of them are PVTGs. Tribal populations are found in the entire seven districts of Kandhamal, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Malkanagiri and Rayagada.
By: Arpit Mishra
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