“Every Ringa we weave carries our family’s story,” says Muduli, gently running her hand over the striped cloth she has just taken off the loom in Gokharipada village of Odisha’s Malkangiri district.
The Ringa is the traditional handwoven garment worn by Bonda women as a wraparound skirt. Woven with striking horizontal stripes with bands of red, maroon, black, white and blue, it has long been an emblem of the Bonda tribe, one of India’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
Living in the Bonda Hills of Malkangiri district, the community has safeguarded its language, customs and weaving tradition over generations. In this matriarchal society, women carry forward much of that cultural memory, preserving the art of weaving even as the modern world steadily reaches their remote villages.
Anthropologists believe the Bondas are descendants of one of the earliest waves of modern humans to leave Africa nearly 60,000 years ago, though this remains a subject of ongoing research. Their language, Remo, distinct customs and attire have endured despite increasing contact with the outside world. The Bondas accord women a central place in family and community life. Women cultivate crops, collect forest produce, negotiate at the weekly Thursday shandy and preserve traditions such as weaving, passing them from one generation to the next.
Every Thursday, women from villages such as Gokharipada descend from the hills to the weekly shandy at the Onukudelli market. Layers of brightly coloured bead necklaces cover their torsos, aluminium neck rings gleam in the sun, blue shawls draped across their shoulders and the handwoven Ringa wraps around their waist.
From kerang to cotton
Historically, the garment was woven using fibre extracted from the Kerang tree (a small wild shrub native to the Eastern Ghats). Cotton yarn gradually replaced bark fibre as markets became more accessible, although the visual identity of the textile has remained largely unchanged.
“What makes the Bonda weaving tradition unique is that it has always been closely tied to the community’s identity rather than to commerce,” says Navaldeep Thareja, a textile engineer from Sangrur in Punjab. Over the past several years, he has travelled to little-known weaving and craft clusters across India, documenting textile traditions that seldom find space in mainstream conversations. Through his initiative, Behrupiaa Arts, he has recorded the stories of artisans whose creations are deeply rooted in local culture and organises curated tours for visitors.
A woman from the Bonda tribe of Malkangiri district of Odisha, weaving a Ringa cloth in their indigenous loom.
| Photo Credit:
Divya Reddy
“Unlike many handloom traditions in Odisha that evolved around markets, the Bonda community wove the Ringa primarily for personal use. It is one of the few textile traditions where a single garment has remained central to the community’s identity for generations.”
The fabric is tightly woven and is durable. “This is because it was created as everyday clothing rather than ceremonial attire,” Navaldeep explains. Within Bonda households, weaving has never existed as a specialised occupation. It fits into the rhythm of daily life alongside farming, gathering forest produce and household responsibilities.
A ringa cloth woven by the Bonda tribe of Odisha’s Malkangiri district.
| Photo Credit:
Divya Reddy
Muduli recalls that she first learnt weaving by observing the women in her family. “Like most Bonda girls, I watched my mother and the elder women weave from a young age.” Mothers guide daughters, while grandmothers quietly correct mistakes until muscle memory takes over. The loom, therefore, functions as much as a family archive as it does a tool for producing cloth.
Women of the Bonda tribe, a forestdwelling community, in their village in Odisha’s Malkangiri district bordering Andhra Pradesh. Classified as one of India’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, the Bonda tribal people traditionally used only beads and a strip of cloth to cover their body. Over time, modern attire has seeped into these areas.
| Photo Credit:
K R Deepak
A single Ringa generally takes two to three days to complete, depending on the yarn, the design and the time available after daily chores. “We weave whenever we find time between household work and farming,” she says.
Unlike many weaving clusters that create saris, shawls or home furnishings for wider markets, Bonda artisans traditionally produced only the Ringa. “It was never meant for large-scale production,” says Muduli. “We mostly wove it for our own family and community.”
A woman from Bonda tribe of Odisha weaving a Ringa cloth.
| Photo Credit:
Divya Reddy
That pattern is gradually changing. Visitors, textile scholars and collectors increasingly purchase Ringas directly from artisans, providing a modest supplementary income. Some buyers display them as framed textile art, wall hangings or table runners.
Keeping tradition alive
Before every visit to a Bonda village, participants joining Navaldeep’s textile tours receive detailed briefings on local customs, photography etiquette and appropriate behaviour. Groups remain deliberately small and interactions take place only when community members are comfortable.
Sporting heavy beads to cover their tonsured heads, Bonda women at the weekly shandy at Onukudelli in Koraput district of Odisha.
| Photo Credit:
KR Deepak
“We never treat the village as a tourist attraction,” he says. “The purpose is to create understanding while respecting the community’s privacy.” Artisans who wish to engage with visitors often bring their woven Ringas to locally managed homestays instead of opening private homes to tourists. This arrangement allows conversations to unfold naturally while giving weavers complete freedom to participate on their own terms.
The Ringa cloth woven by Bonda tribe of Odisha.
| Photo Credit:
Divya Reddy
Yet the future of the craft is not without uncertainty.
“The biggest challenge is that weaving alone does not provide a steady income,” Muduli says. “Many young people are choosing education and other jobs. Everyday clothing has also changed over time, so fewer young women are learning weaving regularly.”
A woman of the Bonda tribe wearing Ringa returning to the villages in the nearby Bonda hills with the provisions and vegetables purchased at the weekly shandy at Onukudelli in Koraput district of Odisha.
| Photo Credit:
KR Deepak
Ready-made garments have become commonplace. Even so, the Ringa continues to occupy an important place within the community, especially during traditional festivals when families gather dressed in their customary attire.
Muduli welcomes the growing appreciation shown by visitors because every purchase carries encouragement beyond its monetary value. “It makes us happy that people appreciate our weaving and our traditions. When someone values the Ringa, it encourages us to continue this craft and pass it on to the next generation.”
Behrupiaa Arts conducts textile tours to Malkangiri. For details, contact 9953097898.
Published – August 07, 2026 07:54 am IST
