Maroon Dongria Cotton Saree

Dongria Shawls are Woven by the Dongria Kondh - primitive tribe of Odisha, staying in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts of Southwestern Odisha. They are the famous inhabitants of Niyamgiri Hills, who fought against a mining giant and protected their Lord 'Niyam Raja' and their green hills from destruction. ‘Dongr’ means ‘field on mountains’. Unwed Dongria girls sit at ‘Dongr’ embroidering beautiful geometric patterns on plain handwoven shawls, for their to-be-husband. Work of love takes over a month for a single shawl. Triangles represent Niyamgiri Hills. Later, Nuapatna and Sambalpuri weavers incorporated this into full length sarees in both cotton and silk, and we call them 'Dongria Sarees'. The weavers painstakingly make geometric shapes on anchal and borders by dobby, jaala and buti (hand work) techniques. This maroon dongria cotton is a special occasion wear, designed to stun every beholder!