Word: dongria
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Every year, in late February, the Dongria Kondh tribe of the eastern Indian state of Orissa gathers at the top of Niyamgiri mountain to celebrate the annual festival of Niyam Raja, the king of the mountain. This year's celebration began on Feb. 20 with a three-hour climb to the summit. Women in white silk saris danced and sang, adorned with wooden jewelry, flowers and tiny knives tucked into their hair as a reminder of their daily confrontation with the forest. Hundreds of Dongria then shared a communal feast of rice and lentils in honor of nature and their...
...isolated tribe of nature-worshipping forest dwellers threatened by a mine - yes, the Dongria bear no small resemblance to the Na'vi of James Cameron's Avatar. That point has not been lost on the international network of activists who have taken up the Dongria's cause. On Feb. 8, they ran an advertisement in the Hollywood trade publication Variety urging Cameron to support them. "Avatar is fantasy ... and real," the ad said. "The Dongria Kondh tribe in India are struggling to defend their land against a mining company hell-bent on destroying their sacred mountain. Please help the Dongria...