Tribal trip to India (Chhattisgarh and Orissa): Tribes, Temples & Beach

Discover the highlights of this tribal trip to India

► We will meet tribes from different regions of India

On this tribal trip to India, we'll have the opportunity to meet tribes from the Chattisgarh and Orissa regions. We'll visit the markets of Dhurkuta, Pharasgeao, Kotpad, Chatikona, Koraput, and Onkadelly, where we'll meet different ethnic groups. Likewise, we will stop in some tribal villages.

Baiga tribe

During this tribal trip to India, we will visit the Dhurkuta market and some nearby villages, where the Baiga community is located.

The Baiga are one of the tribal groups in India considered particularly vulnerable. The name Baiga means "witch doctor." They speak a language called Baigani but can interact with outsiders in Hindi.

The Baiga do not plow the land because they believe it would be a sin to scratch their mother's breast, and they could never ask their mother to produce food from the same plot of land over and over again, as this would weaken her. The Baiga people practice shifting cultivation, called "bewar" or "dahiya."

Cooperative relationships are common among all groups. When they marry, the man compensates the woman’s family for the loss of a working member. This reverse dowry involves paying for the wedding celebration or offering the woman’s family mahua liquor. If they divorce, the new husband must compensate the former husband for the dowry amount. In the case that he divorced couple has children, the wife has the first right, followed by the husband. If neither wants to raise the child, the community will assign a dowry until the child turns 15. The Baigas have a symbiotic relationship with the forest, worshipping many deities, including Bhagavan, Bada Dev, Dharthi Ma, Bhimsen, and Gansam Dev, and they celebrate festivals coinciding with Holi and Diwali.

Women practice tattooing, with specific designs depending on the part of the body and age group. They also ferment and distill the Mahua tree to prepare an intoxicating drink.

Dongria Kondh tribe

On this tribal trip to India, we'll have the opportunity to meet the colourful Dongria Kondh tribe at their market in Chatikona. The Dongria live in villages scattered throughout the hills. They believe that their right to cultivate Niyamgiri’s slopes has been conferred on them by Niyam Raja and that they are his royal descendants. They have expert knowledge of their forests and the plants and wildlife they hold. From the forests, they gather wild foods such as wild mango, pineapple, jackfruit, and honey. Rare medicinal herbs are also found in abundance, which the Dongria use to treat a range of ailments. Dongria Kondh families often spend days in their orchards, keeping animals at bay with songs and drumming. They also cultivate orchards in the forest, producing crops such as oranges, bananas, ginger, sweet papaya and the aromatic resin jhunu, all of which are sold at local markets.

A recent study found that the Dongria gather almost 200 different foods from their forests and harvest over a hundred crops from their fields. This amazing diversity sustains them year-round, with little need for food or goods from beyond their hills. The tribe also keeps chickens, pigs, goats and buffalo. Dongria men gather juice from the forest’s giant sago palm trees, a drink that provides energy for the long hikes they make throughout the Niyamgiri Hills.

Khond tribe

During this tribal trip to India, we will meet the colourful Dongria Kondh tribe at their market in Chatikona. The Dongria live in villages scattered throughout the hills. They believe that their right to cultivate Niyamgiri’s slopes has been conferred on them by Niyam Raja and that they are his royal descendants. The Khond have expert knowledge of their forests, as well as the plants and wildlife they harbor. They gather wild foods from the forests, such as wild mango, pineapple, jackfruit, and honey. Medicinal herbs are also abundant, which the Dongria use to treat a variety of ailments, including arthritis, dysentery, broken bones, malaria, and snake bites.

Dongria Kondh families often spend days in their gardens, keeping animals at bay with songs and drums. They also cultivate orchards in the forest, growing crops such as oranges, bananas, ginger, sweet papaya, and the aromatic resin jhunu, which they sell at local markets. A recent study states that the Dongria gather nearly 200 different foods from their forests and harvest over a hundred crops from their fields. This astounding diversity sustains them throughout the year, with little need for food or goods beyond their hills.


The tribe also raises chickens, pigs, goats, and buffaloes. Dongria men collect sap from the giant sago palms in the forest, a drink that provides them with energy for the long walks they take through the Niyamgiri hills.

Bonda tribe

During this tribal trip to India, we will visit the weekly Onkadelly market to meet one of India's oldest tribes, the Bonda tribe of Orissa. The Bonda live in the isolated hill regions of the Malkangiri district of Odisha. There are two different Bonda tribes: the Upper Bondas with a population of 6,700, who are the most isolated from mainstream Indian society, and the Lower Bonda with a population of 17,000. Upper Bondas have almost no connection to the outside world.

Bonda boys are expected to marry between the ages of 10 and 12. A form of dowry (known as Gining) is paid for brides. Divorce, also known as “Lung Sisi” is also an issue among the Bonda people. In some extreme circumstances, such as if a Bonda woman is divorced for adultery, the former husband demands double the price that was paid for their marriage. When death or mora occurs, it is customary to sacrifice a cow on the tenth day, a practice also known as “Gaitang”.

The Bonda women are the primary workers and providers of food for the community. This matriarchal dominance is also seen in the marital norms of the community. Bonda girls largely marry boys who are at least five to ten years younger than them. Thus, the girl looks after her husband as he grows up, and in turn, he cares for his older wife. The women traditionally wear neck rings, which are about 500–700 grams each and cannot be removed without the help of a blacksmith. A woman traditionally wears a two-piece dress that is very colorful, that is woven by the women themselves.

► We will visit different religious temples in India

Throughout this tribal trip of India, we will admire beautiful temples of different religions, such as the Kalighat Kali Temple, the Jain Temple, the Dakhineshwar Kali Temple, and Belur Math in Kolkata. During this tribal tour to India, we will also visit the famous Sirpur Group of Monuments, which consists of various Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain temples and monasteries.

These date from the 5th to the 12th century. We will visit Rajim, which gets its name from the Rajiv Lochan Mandir, the main Hindu pilgrimage temple in the area, dedicated to Vishnu. There is also the ancient Kuleshwar Mahadev Mandir, dedicated to Shiva, at the Triveni Sangam. The city is home to the Triveni Sangam of Mahanadi, Pairi (physically), and Sondor (virtually).

Sun God temple

On this tribal trip to India, we will visit the Konark Sun God Temple, which was built by King Langula Narasimha Deva in the 13th century AD, during the golden age of Orissan art. This temple, among the crowning works of Orissan architecture and sculpture, is sheer poetry in stone. Every day, the Sun God rises through the shimmering waters of the Bay of Bengal and casts its rays upon the sanctum sanctorum, surrounding the temple throughout the day, illuminating the three brilliant images of the sun: in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, when the day gives way to night. As you approach the water, you will see rising from the golden sandy beach one of the country’s most vivid archaeological treasures, the Surya Mandir (Sun Temple). For a millennium, this temple served as a beacon to the ancient and medieval mariners. Despite the fact that it lies in ruins, the structure is magnificent.

Peace Pagoda

During this tribal tour of India, we will visit Dhauli, where the Mauryan monarch Ashoka repudiated violence and embraced the teachings of Buddha. We will visit the Peace Pagoda, known as the Shanti Stupa built in the early 1970s by the Japanese. On this tribal trip to India, we will also stop at two venerable rock edicts, now overshadowed by the presence of the Pagoda. Dating from 260 BC, they outline Ashoka’s accurate instructions to his administrators to rule with gentleness and fairness.

Bhubaneshwar Temples

During this tribal trip to India, we will visit Bhubaneswar, which is the capital of the antediluvian kingdom of Odisha (Orissa) and is famous for being the temple city of India. Travel through Odisha (Orissa) is a hodgepodge of art, domicile and long-established customs. On this tribal trip to India, we will tour the city of Bhubaneswar, which has some magnificent temples clustered around Bindusagar Lake. Of the original 7,000 temples, only 500 remain, dating from the 7th to the 11th century AD. The most prominent of these is the 11th-century Lingaraja Temple, which celebrates the peak of Orissan art; and the beautifully decorated Muktesvara Temple from the late 10th century, which marks the end of the temple-building phase in Odisha (Orissa).

On this tribal trip to India, outside the city limits, we will find the Udayagiri and Khandgiri caves, dating back to the time of the Jain and Buddhist occupation of this region in the 2nd century BC. The Jain caves are among the oldest in India, and all the caves were constructed with pickaxes during the 150 years before Christ. In opposition to the stark decor of the Jain caves, the Buddhist caves are decorated with excellent friezes and sculptures.

► During this tribal trip to India, we will visit the city of joy: Calcutta

During this tribal trip to India, we will walk through its streets and see important places such as: the Kalighat Kali Temple, Princep Memorial & Riverfront (view of the Vidyasagar Bridge), the house of Rabindranath Tagore, the house and museum of Netaji Subhash Bose, the Birla Planetarium, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Victoria Memorial Hall, the Marble Palace (if we are allowed entry that day), the Jain Temple, the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple, and Belur Math. On this tribal trip to India, we will also visit the General Post Office, Shaheed Minar, Eden Gardens, Howrah Station, the famous Writers’ Building, Maidan, the City Hall, and Fort William.

© Photos by Ana Robles taken during a tribal trip to India.

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