Abhishek Basak
The women of the Kutia Kondh tribe of Odisha, ink themselves with beautiful geometric facial tattoos; it is said these identifying marks ensure they recognize each other once they enter the spirit world. The tribe is also known as the ‘the people of the spirit world’. The tattooing procedure involved using thorns to cut the skin. The wounds were then allowed to get infected so that the tattoos became larger, darker and clearer.
The Kutia Kondh tribe
Tribe Kutia Kondh
Geography East India
State Odisha
Kutia Kondh is one of the primitive sections of Kondha tribe. The Kondhas who live in hill top and valleys are known as Kutia Kondh. Kutia Kondh are mostly dependent on shifting cultivation. All the Khonds identify by their clan and usually hold large tracts of fertile land but still practice hunting, gathering and slash-and-burn agriculture in the forests as a symbol of their connection to and ownership of the forest.
