In 2014, an official from the forest department in Bissamcuttack block of Odisha went to Kandhuguda village to discuss a longstanding conflict between the villagers and the department. He was perhaps surprised to be confronted by an all-women gathering, with the elders taking the lead. In other Indian villages, he would probably have encountered a male sarpanch in a predominantly male gathering.
But here, among the Kondhs, the majority tribe in the plains of Rayagada district (population: 9, 67,911, of which 5,41,905 belong to various Scheduled Tribes), it is the women who make many of the critical decisions. Though patrilineal, the community ensures that men and women live as equals. As Lokonath Nauri, 65, from Karandiguda village in Niyamgiri, explains, “Niyama Raja (God of Niyamgiri) sitting up in the hills is the male and our village deity is the female [a totem-like wooden structure placed at the entrance of the village]. We flourish because of the existence of these two. There won’t be life if harm comes to either of them.”
Among the Kondhs, the division of labour is based on this philosophy. Women participate equally and defend their views in the kutumbh , the governing unit of every village. While the men farm and hunt, the women take care of the rest of their community’s world.






