Under the latest and popular online series of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya entitled ‘Exhibit of the Week’ the ‘Kapdaganda’ A prestigious hand-woven shawl collected from 2019. The Community of Dongria Kondh Rayagada, Odisha. It’s Measurement Length - 162cm., Width – 80 cm displayed in the audience as the third Exhibit of the month of September, 2021 through official website, Facebook, Instagram and twitter page of the IGRMS.
In this regard Praveen Kumar Mishra, Director, IGRMS said that Kapdaganda is a prestigious hand-woven shawl of Dongria Kondh tribe which symbolizes their rich heritage, culture, and ethnic identity. It is mostly woven by the unmarried girls/spinsters, which tells about their skilled needlework.
They embroidered this shawl to gift their beloved ones as a token of love. It is also presented by them to their brother or father as a symbol of affection. The off-white coarse fabric used as raw material is procured from the dom community by bartering harvested crops.
The designs are embroidered on the cloth with the help of a needle by using colourful threads. Earlier they used to prepare the colours from leaves and flowers like turmeric, bean leaves, wild seeds to colour yellow, green, and red respectively. To prevent the colour from fading they used to boil the banana flower in water and dip the coloured threads in it.