October 30 – Country Market, Dongria Kandha Tribe

India has recognized 62 distinct tribes within its borders.  These tribes generally have their separate dress and customs and their own language, which is part of why they have remained distinct and separate from the greater Indian Population.  Most have very limited contact with the outside world or with the Indian Government.  Many live in mountainous areas which also contributes to their isolation.  Some tribes are basically a stone age people with almost no contact with the outside world.  A few are somewhat less isolated and a few now engage more with the outside world.  The tribe populations number from just a few thousand to over a million.  

Today we are visiting a country market that is visited by the Dongria Kandha Tribe.  They live in isolated mountain areas and bring in produce and other materials to trade for dried fish, salt and other essentials.  The women can be recognized by their three nose rings (one each nostril and one in the middle) and their large hair buns with lots of hair clips.  

Many women were carrying a chicken in wrapped in their clothing.  The chicken will probably end up as dinner by the end of the day.  Our guide also indicated that they people usually go to bed late afternoon and early evening and are up at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. 

The market was fascinating with many goods for sale.  

There were a lot of women who followed us at various times trying to get us to buy bronze pieces.  They had rings and jewelry and small figurines.  Steve, Valerie and Tara all bought figurines. 

The market had a section where you could buy goats and chickens.   

We saw a lot of people with chickens.There was also a section that specialized in dried fish…probably from the fish market we visited yesterday. 

One of the more interesting customs we witnessed was smoking a cigar with the light end INSIDE the mouth.  Apparently it lasts longer that way but oh my goodness.

We all agreed that visit to market was a well worth the time and any accommodation inconveniences we might experience.

We stopped back at our hotel to pick up our luggage and have some lunch.  Then it was off through the countryside. 

to our next stop.  On the way we stopped at a coffee plantation.  India is trying to build a coffee industry and it looks like it might succeed.  The plantation also grows cinnamon, and cardamom.  And also black pepper.  We all struggled with this one.  Because of his accent our guide sounded like he was saying that they were growing “black people”.  And that just didn’t sound right.

While at the plantation it started to sprinkle a bit and once we were on the road it started to rain hard.  And there was one of the most intense lighting storms we had ever seen.  Not much in the way of lighting bolts but the sky was awash with light time and time again for quite some time.

The countryside continues to provide interesting sights.

At one point a group of women had set up a roadblock with the intent to extend their Diwali celebration by stopping vehicles and soliciting money.  In exchange the placed bindi on the foreheads of those of us who stuck our heads out the window.  Valerie got a good one.

Just as the rain was letting up we arrived at a tribal cultural museum (no photos allowed) where we saw a lot of information about many of the tribes as well as many tools, jewelry pieces and articles of clothing. 

One of the more interesting displays was about rice.  The tribes grow over 60+ strains of rice.  Who knew there were that many types of rice?   They also had a lot of details about rice and it turns out that worldwide about 40% of all calories eaten come from rice.  Staggering. 

By the time we got out of the museum it was very dark.  We had another hour of so to go before we got to our next hotel.  When we arrived there was another tour group just checking in.  I think they were at the same hotel as we were last night and were also at the market we visited today.  Tara said there is a pretty decent tourism industry for visiting the tribal areas.

The hotel was adequate (“best available”).  It had a few of the features that we found in some of our accommodations in China.  Most notable is the plumbing to the bathroom sink.  Nice basin, cold water only, and the water from the sink drains down a pipe that then dumps the water into an open hole in the floor behind the sink.  It works.  Just not what we are used to.

At dinner we had some very good dishes including Mongolian Gobi, really tasty.  Gobi is cauliflower.  The dish is considered a Chindian dish (the Indian version of Chinese cuisine). 

We both got to bed pretty early as it had been a long and tiring day.