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The Bondo, known among themselves as Remo (men) are a small tribe living in the wild and mountainous region north-west of the Machkund River in Orissa. Little has so far been written of this tribe, regarded by plainsmen and officials as entirely savage: the strange dress and appearance of their women, their violent homicidal ways, their unfamiliar tongue and the inaccessibility of their abode has preserved them almost entirely from the march of civilization.

Living high up in the mountains, the Bondo are naturally averse to contact with strangers. Dr. Elwin was able to overcome this aversion and lived among them finally as a friend. This enabled him to make an unusual study of the Bondo character set against the main cultural features of their life. Dr. Elwin was able to study the Bondo’s method of cultivation, their weaving and hunting their approach to sex and marriage their religion and attitude to death and the very important problem of their maladjustment to society, which result in an astonishingly high rate of murder.