Bonda Wall Textile

From curse to boon 

Earthy, versatile, resilient, sustainable. Just a few ways to describe the Bonda loincloth. Legend has it that Sita was bathing in the waters of Malkangiri's forests during her exile, when a passing group of Bonda women were amused by the sight. This enraged the goddess, who cursed them to forever roam unclothed, with shaven heads. When they pleaded with her to be merciful, she tore a strip of her saree and threw it at them to cover their lower bodies. Thus was born the ringa.

This installation highlights the relationship between the Bondas and the land in which their African ancestors settled over 60,000 years ago. Traditionally, ringas were woven using the extremely durable fibre of kerang trees, one of the oldest textiles known to man. The colours came from vegetable dyes. Today, although kerang has largely been replaced by cotton - the rudimentary looms and resulting garments remain otherwise unchanged.

Dimensions: 68.5” (W) X 39” (L)