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The Lanjia Saora community, a particularly vulnerable tribal group living in the forested regions of Rayagada and Gajapati districts in Odisha, continues to hold on to visual traditions that are as striking as they are symbolic.
Living in mud-and-thatch homes scattered across undulating terrain, the community sustains itself through shifting cultivation, foraging, and small-scale farming. Their belief system is closely tied to nature, with rituals, music, and dance forming an integral part of everyday life.
Among the most distinctive visual traditions are their large metal earrings — thick, circular ornaments that are not merely worn but fixed into stretched earlobes, often over years. For the older generation, these earrings are markers of identity and endurance, their weight carried with quiet pride. The lobes, elongated and shaped by time, speak of a life lived in close rhythm with inherited customs.
Equally evocative are the tattoos once etched permanently onto the skin. These intricate patterns, often geometric or inspired by nature, were considered both protective and spiritual — an extension of the Saora worldview.
But as one walks through the villages today, a subtle shift is visible.
Among the younger members of the community, tradition is being reinterpreted. The heavy earrings are still present, but many now prefer to wear them as hooked adornments rather than permanently fixing them to the ear. It is a compromise between continuity and comfort, identity and mobility.
The tattoos, too, are no longer always
lifelong commitments. Instead, younger members often recreate the motifs using temporary black markings during festivals and rituals — honouring tradition while allowing for change.
This evolving aesthetic reflects a community negotiating modernity on its own terms.
Photo: K.R Deepak
Good times: A Lanjia Saora man plays the drums during a traditional dance in a village in the Eastern Ghats of the Gunupur region in Rayagada district of Odisha.
Photo: K.R Deepak
Quenching thirst: A male member of the community drinks a traditional brew after taking part in a cultural performance.
Photo: K.R Deepak
In sync: Members of the Lanjia Saora, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), performs a traditional dance.
Photo: K.R Deepak
Double delight: Lanjia Saora women, adorned with large metal necklaces, are seen cheering during a traditional event.
Photo: K.R Deepak
Mark of tradition: An elderly tribal woman with stretched earlobes. A visual tradition marked by wearing traditional wooden ear plugs over several years.
Photo: K.R Deepak
Inked grace: A Lanjia Saora woman smiles during a cultural gathering; tattoos, often geometric or inspired by nature, can be seen etched permanently onto her skin.
Photo: K.R Deepak
Roots and rhythms: Men perform with drums during a traditional dance in a village in Rayagada district of Odisha.
Photo: K.R Deepak
Humble sustenance: A woman drinks a traditional brew, sitting next to her mud-and-thatch home. The community sustains itself through foraging and small-scale farming.
Photo: K.R Deepak
The Saora worldview: Rituals, music, and dance form an integral part of their everyday life.
Photo: K.R. Deepak
In session: Community members take part in a traditional ritual. The group primarily resides in the forested regions of Odisha's Rayagada and Gajapati districts.
Photo: K.R. Deepak
Generational shift: Community women wearing traditional ornaments. While the senior woman is seen wearing the ear plugs fixed into stretched earlobes, the younger person adorns a similar earring but hung with a string, reflecting the changing cultural practice.
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