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Research Paper | Anthropology Science | India | Volume 11 Issue 10, October 2022

Perceiving the Livelihood Challenges: An Anthropological Insight into the Dongria Kondhs of the Niyamgiri Hills of Rayagada, Odisha

Prasant Kumar Sahoo

Abstract: Livelihood studies emerge as the hallmark of social sciences in the present context, particularly in the domain of tribalswho happen to be the most backward and marginalized (Sahoo, 2015).Feeding for self and the family is the fundamental aspect of the human existence followed by other socio-political-religious aspects which are secondary in the sense that they form the totality of humanity. So for this, the humankind has to engage upon certain kinds of activities to feed the empty stomach. It is in accordance that the concept of livelihood comes to the picture which is not merely a means for the very survival but itself constitutes a part of that culture. For livelihood is not only the way of earning a living but also the very means to live a life. However in the process of feeding herself she comes across a number of livelihood challenges, both socio-cultural as well as environmental. In this context, the present study throws light on the perceptions of the livelihood challenges as faced by the Dongria Kondhs, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), andexcellent shifting cultivators, residing in the Niyamgiri hill ranges of the Eastern Ghats in the state of Odisha. Any problem, before it materializes at the manifested level, comes first at the level of psychology of the people. Therefore keeping this in mind, the research was carried out to investigate how the natives perceive of the different circumstances coming out of the means of living and livelihoods; what is the thought process and what importance they heed to the subject of life and livelihood; and what they think of the causal factors behind the livelihood challenges - natural or man-made.This is what the cognitive anthropologists and ethno- scientists argue. For the entire worldviews of the people reflect as the overt behavior while the thought process beneath this is the crux of the matter and this particular study is a small endeavour to bring out the thoughts or perceptions about the emerging issues of lives and livelihoods of the Dongrias.

Keywords: livelihood challenges, perception, climate change, shifting cultivation, Dongria Kondhs

Edition: Volume 11 Issue 10, October 2022,

Pages: 901 - 908