JUANG

The visual series on the Juang community was conceived as a window into their collective ways of life. My focus was to capture the community structure of the Mandaghar, fire rituals, everyday gestures, and the intimate atmosphere of their coexistence. As part of the editorial work, I developed a visual narrative that reflects the identity strength of this community, their totemic customs, and the central importance of collectivity as a way of life. The Juang, one of the most traditional and sober tribes of Odisha, inhabit the districts of Keonjhar, Angul, and Dhenkanal. They are divided into two groups: the Hill Juang, who practice shifting agriculture, and the Plain Juang, who are more adapted to settled farming. Proud of their ancestral lineage, they maintain unique social institutions like the Majang or Mandaghar, a mixed-gender youth dormitory that also functions as a cultural center, communal storehouse, and dispute resolution space.