Kochh Mandai, Eastern Bengal - 1860

This photograph shows a half-length portrait of a man of the Kochh Mandai tribe holding a thick-bladed agricultural knife. The precise location of this tribe's origin is unknown, though at the time of this photograph they inhabited tracts of jungle to the north of Dacca in Bangladesh. This print is one of a series of portrait studies of individuals and groups which were taken in response to the Government of India's call for photographs representing various ethnic types.

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