SUBJECT: History

CLASS: VII

Chapter 7 - Tribes, Nomads And Settled Communities

Ques and Answers:

Q1. Who were called the tribes?

Ans. Many; societies did not follow the social rules and rituals prescribed by the Brahmanas.
They were not divided into numerous unequal classes also, these groups were called tribes.

Q2. Give main features of the tribal societies.

Ans. Main Features of the Tribal Societies:

 Members of each tribe were united by kinship bonds.

 Many tribes obtained their livebhood from agriculture.
 Others were hunter-gatherers or herders.
 Some tribes were nomadic and moved from one place to another.
 A tribal group controlled land and pastures jointly, and divided these amongst
households according to its own rules.
 Many large tribes evolved in different parts of the subcontinent.
 They usually lived in forests, hills, deserts and places difficult to reach.
 Sometimes they clashed with the more powerful caste-based societies.
 The tribes retained their freedom and preserved their separate culture.

Q3.What led to the change in societies?

Ans3. Caste-based and tribal societies depended on each other for their diverse needs. This
relationship was one of conflict and dependence and so, this led to a change in society.

Q4. How did nomads and mobile people live?

Ans. Nomadic pastoralists moved over long distances with their animals.

 They lived on milk and other pastoral products.

 They also exchanged wool, ghee, etc., with settled agriculturists for grain, cloth,
utensils and other products.
 They bought and sold these goods as they moved from one place to another. They
carried them on the back of their animals.

Q5. What changes took place in varna-based society?

Ans: Considerable changes took place in varna-based society during this period. Varna-based
society and tribal people constantly interacted with each other. The following changes took
place in varna-based society:
• Smaller castes or jatis emerged within varnas.
• On the other hand, many tribes and social groups were taken into caste-based society and
given the status of jatis.
• Specialised artisans such as smiths, carpenters and masons were also recognised as
separate jatis by the Brahmanas.
• Jatis rather than varna became the basis for organising society.
• Among the Kshatriyas, new Rajput clans became powerful.
• Many tribes became part of the caste system. But only the leading tribal families could
join the ruling class. A large majority joined the lower jatis of caste society.
• Many dominant tribes of Punjab, Sind and the North-West Frontier had adopted Islam.
They continued to reject the caste-system.

Q6. How was the administration of the Ahom state organized?

Ans: The Ahom state depended upon forced labour and those forced to work for the state
were called ‘Paiks’. Each village had to send a number of paiks by rotation and people from
heavily populated areas were shifted to less populated places, thus breaking up the Ahom
clan. During the first half of the seventeenth century, the administration became quite
centralised and almost all adult males served in the army during war. They were engaged in
building dams, irrigation systems and other public works and also introduced new methods of
rice cultivation. The Ahom society was divided into clans or khels. A Khel often controlled
several villages. The peasant was given land by his village community and even the king
could not take it away without the community’s consent.

Q7. Mention some special features of tribal societies.

Ans 7.Special features of tribal societies were:

 They did not follow the social rules and rituals prescribed by the Brahmanas. Nor were
they divided into numerous unequal classes.
 Members of each tribe were united by kinship bonds.
 Many tribes obtained their livelihood from agriculture. Others were hunter-gatherers or
herders.
 Some tribes were nomadic and moved from one place to another. A tribal group controlled
land and pastures jointly, and divided these amongst households according to its own
rules.

Q8. How did tribal societies change after being organized into a state?

Ans: (i) Considerable social change took place in the subcontinent. Varna-based society and
tribal people constantly interacted with each other. This interaction caused both kinds of
societies to adapt and change.

(ii) There were many different tribes and they took up diverse livelihoods.

(iii) Over a period of time, many of them merged with caste based society. Others, however,
rejected both the caste system and orthodox Hinduism.

(iv) Some tribes established extensive states with well-organised systems of administration.

They thus became politically powerful. This brought them into conflict with larger and more
complex kingdoms and empires.
Q8. In what ways was the history of the Gonds different from that of the Ahoms? Were
there any similarities?

Ans: History of the Gonds was different from that of the Ahoms in the following ways:

(i) The Gonds lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana – or “country inhabited by
Gonds”. The Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from present-day Myanmar in the
thirteenth century.

(ii) Gonds practised shifting cultivation. The Ahoms also introduced new methods of rice
cultivation.

(iii) Gonds society was not as developed as Ahoms. The Ahoms built a large state, and for
this they used firearms. They could even make high quality gunpowder and cannons.

(iv) Gonds were influenced by Rajputs. In order to gain power and recognition, they had
marriage alliances with Rajputs. Ahoms annexed the kingdoms of the Chhutiyas and of
Koch-Hajo and subjugated many other tribes

There were many similarities between Gonds and Ahoms.

(i) Both the tribal states were attacked by Mughals at different times. Despite their brave
defence, both were defeated by the Mughals.

(ii) Both granted land to the Brahmanas.

(iii) Both developed centralised administrative systems.