Many indigenous varieties are valued not only for their taste and cultural importance but also for traits such as drought tolerance, flood resilience, pest resistance and adaptability to local conditions. A woman of the Kondh Adivasi community and her daughter show traditional varieties of finger millet and red lentil in Koraput. Agriculture is also part of weddings, during which heritage rice varieties such as Pathanguda, Karkoli, Kandulakathi and Machhakanta are served. Indigenous rice varieties that were once widely cultivated are now grown by only a small number of households. Some indigenous varieties have survived largely because they are essential to festivals, weddings and other community ceremonies.