Bhawanipatna: Tribal lifestyle is completely different from that of city dwellers. ‘Gadani’ is a typical tribal art form used for painting tattoos on the bodies of tribal people and it gives them a unique identity.
Interestingly, many urban youngsters have started adopting it as it is considered fashionable. This has become a style statement for them. The tribal people of Kalahandi who live in dense forests and mountains have their own natural beauty.
However, tribal women had to face the lustful gestures of outsiders. In order to save themselves from unwanted attention, they applied tattoos throughout their body to disfigure themselves. The art of tattoo making is being widely adopted by the Bonda tribal community.
There is a substantial difference between the tattoos drawn on the bodies of tribal people and those of modern youth. Among the Bondas, tattoos are usually made using an iron needle. This often causes septicemia and many tribal people have died due to infection.
Tribal people also use carbon powder collected from earthen lamps (Dibiri) and castor oil and use iron needles for pricking the body.
In some cases, the fluid of banana trees is also used for making tattoos by tribal people. However, gradually this kind of tattoo making went into oblivion among the Bondas.
At present computerised machines and chemicals are being used for tattoo making. This art form is being widely adopted by youngsters.
