A Taste of Tribal Life in Southwest Orissa - Feb 2-6 2015

Reading about the less-travelled eastern state of Orissa or Odisha, we became interested in visiting the Koraput valley, home to about 60 groups of Adivasis or indigenous tribes who make up 1/4 of the state's population. We soon learned that it is almost impossible to do so without an organized tour or at least a guide and a special permit which is required for visiting certain places, among them the famous Thursday market at the village of Onkadeli, where men and women of the protected Bonda tribe, known as the "naked people" for their minimal clothing, trek many hours to sell their fruits, vegetables and homemade alcohol.

Searching online for a place to stay in the town of Koraput which makes a good base for exploring the area, we luckily came across Desia, a rural tourism initiative near the small village of Lamtaput, established by the veteran Heritage Tours, the Bantalbiri village community and the local NGO Barefoot, who employs tribal men and women and makes it its mission to provide and promote responsible and respectful eco-tourism while supporting and developing the local tribal communities. Impressed with their vision and attitude we decided to book a four-day package including accommodation and meals although it was way (way) above our budget, hoping for an interesting and unusual experience (which we ultimately gained).  

We reached Koraput after a spectacular scenic train ride on the Kirandul Passenger train from Vizag in Andhra Pradesh, passing through the imposing Eastern Ghats. 

In koraput we stopped at the tourist office in order to acquire the official permit required to visit vulnerable tribal areas and after some difficulties in communication and much confusion were assured it will be taken care of (which in fact it wasn't but it worked out in the end). Waiting there we also met the endearing Chiku, a passionate social worker and activist with a big heart who soon became our friend and invited us to his home. We settled at the Raj Residency in town for one night before moving on to Desia, delighting in a mouth-watering lunch of curries bursting with flavor and a hearty garlic naan. We visited the Jagganath Temple in town, dedicated to lord Jagganath (meaning the lord of the universe) who is widely worshipped in Orissa and considered to be an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, and later stopped by our new buddy Chiku's for tea, Indian sweets (which are a bit too sweet and heavy for me but we had to finish everything afraid to offend our kind hosts) and a lively discussion of life in India vs Israel, religion and our travels, aided by the translation of Chiku's son and the friendly neighbour Rosie. 

Jagganath in black with his
brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra

We woke up early next morning and were picked up by a driver from Desia reaching the charming rural guesthouse an hour later, where we were greeted by the smiling Guso who whipped up a quick breakfast for us while we settled in our uniquely designed room. The great thought put into the architecture and design along with rare attention to detail was evident in every corner, including a beautiful pebble-filled bathroom  and colorful wall paintings. 

Squeezing on the back of his motorcycle we later rode with Guso to a nearby vegetable market, catching a first glimpse at tribal life and noticing the difference of appearance of the people, with the women wrapped in a simple cloth rather than colorful extravagant saris and sporting very large and sometimes multiple nose rings as well as black geometric tattoos. We were astonished to see the barter system still in use, with many people trading grains of rice or lentils for vegetables. We also first tasted the local alcohol drink, a homemade brew made of fermented rice or  derived from palm trees. We came back to Desia and enjoyed a delicious fresh lunch cooked with vegetables Guso just bought at the market, including an excitingly tasty dish of bamboo shoot. 

In the late afternoon, after some rest we  walked with Domuti, one of the girls working in the guesthouse, to visit her village of Bailapada 3km away. We met her family and some other curious neighbors who came to spectacle at the foreigners, and noticed that most of them especially the children seemed a bit suspicious of the new visitors, though they later warmed up to us. We were offered cookies and cups of the local drink and tried to engage in a friendly conversation. Communication proved difficult as no one spoke English except for Domuti whose vocabulary was also limited, so we resorted to smiling politely most of the time and accepting more drinks, to everyone's delight. Domuti's father was very friendly and invited us to stay for dinner, to be made of a chicken he had just slaughtered in what we understood was a daily puja ritual held every night at the village. A bit horrified as we both don't eat meat, we appreciated the gesture but were rather grateful when Domuti dismissed the invitation saying dinner will only be several hours later and we should return to Desia instead. Back at the guesthouse we had a lovely dinner with two new guests who had just arrived, Brigitte and Joelle from France and their lovely guide Samar of Heritage Tours who are a part of the Desia team.  

On our second day we had a nice walk through another small village and later were invited to eat lunch in  the village of Bantalbiri at Pano's house , another woman from the Desia team. After finishing our  tasty food and another cup of local drink we were invited to a neighbour's house for more drinks. The friendly host wanted to treat us to some chicken from last night's puja, and we attempted to politely explain that we don't eat meat.  Just as we thought we were properly understood this time and succeeded in the almost impossible task of conveying the concept of vegetarianism, we were served a plate of what we identified as inner parts of goat. Left with no way out we began what turned out to be the difficult task of eating (and chewing) this local delicacy,  wishing to show appreciation of this gesture of hospitality and not wanting to disrespect these friendly people. After recovering from this ordeal we drove a few kilometers away to the impressive Dudoma Waterfall, spending an hour or so taking in the views and watching a beautiful sunset, returning in the evening for another lovely home cooked meal.

The following morning we finally made it to the much-hyped Onkadeli market, leaving our cameras in the car as no photographs are allowed (the ones below are from the web) as part of the new regulations regarding tribal communities who have been declared particularly vulnerable by the government. It was fascinating to see the strong Bonda women, with shaved or short hair, adorned in the traditional colorful beads covering their bare chest though most of them had recently added a shawl to their attire, adjusting to modern times and perhaps influenced by the many tourists and other local villagers attending the market. With the help of Samar the guide we were thankfully able to interact with some of the people. We spoke (through Samar's translation) to one extraordinary woman who has been walking for nearly 7 hours from her home to the market, carrying a large pot filled to the rim with her home made local drink on her head. We bought a few cups from her along with traditional bracelets the Bonda women make out of a dried local plant. We stuck around for a while longer, sampling more local drinks which are apparently the highlight of the market, as we were told ( though didn't stick around late enough to see for ourselves) that after a few hours in the morning of buying and selling vegetables and fruits, they get down to the real business and basically everyone gets drunk- supposedly children as well!

Returning from the market we once again walked over to the village of Bantalbiri for a wonderful afternoon. I joined the women and young girls in a traditional dance and Daniel was dancing with the boys and playing games with the children, while some men from the village played great music. Though it was obviously not a spontaneous celebration and was in fact constructed for us, the visiting foreigners, at the request of the people from Desia, it was still a lovely experience and a rare chance  to meet and connect with the local people, who were genuinely friendly and exceptionally welcoming. When we left the village they saw us off in a touching traditional ceremony blessing us with a dab of rice on our forehead, putting flowers in our hair and walking us out hand in hand. 

After saying an emotional goodbye to the sweet girls of Desia, we visited another local market selling everything from vegetables to clothes and I bought some ridiculously cheap jewelry (ring 5Rs, earrings 10 Rs). Back in Koraput we squeezed another good lunch at Raj Reidency and a visit to the tribal museum in town which was interesting though the place is run down and in need of some maintenance, before boarding a night train to Gopalpur-on-Sea on the eastern coast of Orissa.