A study of dermatoglyphics among the groups of Kondhs of Orissa

The paper reports finger dermatoglyphics of three groups of Kondhs namely Kutia, Dongoria and Kuvi, tribes of Orissa, India. The analysis of bilateral finger prints of 663 unrelated males and females includes both qualitative and quantitative characters. Marked bisexual and inter-group differences for several characters have been observed. But bimanual differences have not been observed in finger patterns. All the three groups are characterized by a high frequency of loops. The whorl-loop ratio indicates the low incidence of whorls particularly among the Kuvi males and females and that of inter-group difference have been observed between Dongoria females and Kuvi females. The three groups show very close affinity in the present study. The three groups of Kondhs show similar trend when compared with the available data in India and show very close affinity.