Chapter - Review:

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• Tribes are people who do not follow norms laid down by society.
• Most of the tribes were dependant on agriculture. Others were herders or hunter-gatherers.
• Tribes were even nomadic and moved from one place to another.
• Many tribes lived in forests, hills, deserts and other places which were difficult to reach. They preserved their culture and heritage through oral tradition.
• There were even clashes between tribes and powerful caste-based societies.
• Contemporary historians and travellers from medieval India hardly give any information about the tribes.
• Many of the tribes emerged as politically powerful groups through their areas of influence and activities varied.
• Some of the powerful tribes were Khokhar tribe in Punjab; Langahs and Arghuns in Multan; Gaddis in the Himalayas;
• Kolis and Berads of Gujarat; Gonds of Chhattisgarh, Bhil tribe in Central India, etc.
• The tribal societies underwent a change as a result of interaction with the Hindu and Islamic societies.
• The pastoral nomads moved from one place to another with their herd of animals.
• They survived on milk products and exchanged ghee, wool, etc. with farmers for grains, cloth, utensils, etc.
• The most important trader nomads were Banjaras. Their caravan was called ‘tanda’. Sultan Alauddin Khilji used Banjaras to move grain to the city markets.
• Pastoral tribes thus basically reared and sold animals like horses and cattle to the prosperous people.
• In the fields of trade and agriculture, there emerged a multi-caste population in many villages on account of the spread of Islam.
• Sufi and Bhakti movement preached equality between different castes and religious groups.
• Inter-caste marriages started between Rajputs and Muslim nobles.
• With the growth of the economy, new jatis and varnas emerged.
• Many tribes became part of rule changes.
• Gonds were sometimes referred to by their tribal dialect, Gondi. They practised shifting cultivation.
• The Gonds rose when Delhi Sultanate declined.
• The Gond kingdom Gondwana in southeastern Madhya Pradesh was founded in the 15th century.
• The Ahom tribe is traced to some tribes living in south-east Asia who had travelled overland through the forests of Assam.
• The religion and culture of Assam is a fusion of the local traditions and of migrant tribes.
• The Ahoms belonged to a warrior class and built roads and irrigation system even before establishing their rule.
• The Ahoms formed the new kingdom by suppressing the older political system of Bhuiyans.

Exercise - Question:

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Que: Match the following:

garh                                        khel

tanda                                      chaurasi

labourer                                       caravan

clan                                        Garha Katanga

Sib Singh                               Ahom state

Durgawati                              paik

Ans:

Garh	Chaurasi
Laborer	Carvan
Clan	Khel
Sib Singh	Ahom state
Durgawati	Garha Katanga

Que: Fill in the blanks:

(a) The new castes emerging within varnas werecalled ____________.

(b) _____________ were historical works written by theAhoms.

(c) The ____________ mentions that Garha Katangahad 70,000 villages.

(d) As tribal states became bigger and stronger, theygave land grants to _________ and ________.

Ans:

(a) Jatis

(b) buranjis

(c) Akbar Nama

(d) poets, scholars.

Que: State whether true or false:

(a) Tribal societies had rich oral traditions.

(b) There were no tribal communities in the northwesternpart of the subcontinent.

(c) The chaurasi in Gond states contained severalcities.

(d) The Bhils lived in the north-eastern part of thesubcontinent.

Ans:

(a) True

(b) False

(c) False

(d) False 

Que: What kinds of exchanges took place between nomadicpastoralists and settled agriculturists?

Ans:

(i) They exchange milk, other pastrol products such as wool, ghee, etc.            

(ii) Agriculture gave them grain, cloth, utensiland other products.  

Que: How was the administration of the Ahom stateorganised?

Ans:

(i) The Ahom state depend upon forced labour or paiks.                           

(ii) The census of the population was taken.                                     

(iii) Each vilage had to send a number of paiks by rotation. 

Que: What changes took place in varna-based society?

Ans:

(i) Smaller castes or jaitis emerged within varnas.                               

(ii) Many tribes and social groups were taken into caste-based society and given the status of jaitis.                                                             

(iii) Jaitis rather than varna, became the basis for organising society.    

Que: How did tribal societies change after being organised into a state?

Ans:

(i) They began to envolve a centralised administrative system.                   

(ii) Some social divisons within a tribal society also took place.                   

(iii) Tribal kings also began to grant land to Brahmputras, poets and scholar.   

Que: Were the Banjaras important for the economy?

Ans: The Banjaras were very important for the economy. They were trader-nomads and controlled trade and commerce. They played an important role in transporting grain to the city markets. They usually bought grain where it was cheaply available and carried it to places where it was dearer. From there, they again reloaded their oxen with anything that could be profitably sold in other places.

Que: In what ways was the history of the Gonds different from that of the Ahoms? Were there any similarities?

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

1. Gonds lived in Gondwana while Ahoms lived in Brahmaputra valley.
2. Gonds practiced shifting cultivation while Ahoms did not practice shifting cultivation.
3. Gond kingdoms were large, Ahom kingdom was small.
4. Gond kingdoms were divided into garhs, Ahoms built a large state.
5. Gonds did not use fire-arms, Ahoms used fire-arms for the first time in the history of the subcontinent.

The similarity is that both were tribes:

1. The Mughals tried to control the lands of both at different point of time.
2. There were changes in society of both due to the diversification of occupations.

Que: Plot the location of the tribes mentioned in this chapter on a map. For any two, discuss whether their mode of livelihood was suited to the geography and the environment of the area where they lived.

Ans: Several tribes live in different parts of India. See the map given below

These tribes settled temporarily at the places which suited them as per their need and livelihood. Whenever they found the environment or their mode of living unfavourable, they migrated to other suitable places.

Que: Find out about present-day government policies towards tribal populations and organise a discussion about these.

Ans:

Policies about Tribal population

• Overall upliftment.
• Land rights.
• Education.
• Cultural and social upliftment.
• Roads, water, industries.
• Mainstreaming.
• Enforcement of reservation in government jobs.

Que: Find out more about present-day nomadic pastoral groups in the sub-continent.

Ans: What animals do they keep? Which are the areas frequented by these groups? Ans. Present-day nomadic pastoral groups in the sub-continent are – Gaddi shepherds living in the western Himalayas, Gujjar Bakarwals, living in Jammu & Kashmir, Banjaras living in Rajasthan. These nomadic people keep sheep, goats, and camels. They frequently visit the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and Rajasthan.

Additional - Question:

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Que: How did the castes of entertainers earn their livelihood?

Ans: They earned their livelihood by performing in different towns and villages.

Que: Which tribe was very influential in Punjab during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries?    

Ans: The Khokhar tribe was very influential in Punjab during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Que: Name the tribe which was powerful in the north-west.

Ans: Balochis

Que: Name any two tribes which lived in the extreme South

Ans: Vetars and Matravers.

Que: Who were specialised artisans?

Ans: Smiths, carpenters, and masons were specialised artisans

Que: Who controlled Garh?

Ans: A Gond clan usually controlled the Garh

Que: What made the Brahmanas more influential in the Gond Society? 

Ans: The Gond raja began to grant land to the Brahmanas. This made them influential.

Que: Who was Aman Das?

Ans: He was the Gond raja of Garha Katanga.

Que: Who was Durgaivaii?

Ans: She was the daughter of Salbahan, the Chandel Rajput raja of Mahoba. She got married to Dalpat, the son of the Gond raja Aman Das.

Que: When did the Mughal forces attack Garha Katanga?

Ans: The Mughal forces attacked Garha Katangst in 1565.

Que: What made Garha Katanga a rich state?  

Ans: Garha Katanga earned huge wealth by trapping and exporting wild elephants to other kingdoms. This made it a rich state.

Que: Name the items which the Mughals captured by defeating the Goods.

Ans: Precious coins and elephants.

Que: Who introduced new methods of rice cultivation?                                          ‘

Ans: The Ahoms introduced new methods of rice cultivation.

Que: When did the Mughals attack the Ahom kingdom?

Ans: The Mughals attacked the Ahom kingdom in 1662.

Que: What do present-day historians use to write tribal histories?  

Ans: They use oral traditions and rich customs of the tribal people to write their (tribals’) histories.

Que: Mention some special features of tribal societies. 

Ans: Some special features of tribal societies are :

• They did not follow the social rules and rituals which the Brahmanas prescribed.
• They were not divided into many unequal classes.
• Members of the society were united by kinship bonds.

Que: How did the tribal people earn their livelihood? 

Ans: The main occupation of the tribal people was agriculture. But there were also hunter-gatherers or herders. Most often they combined these activities to make full use of the natural resources of the area in which they lived. Some tribes were nomadic moving from one place to another.

A tribal group controlled land and pastures jointly and divided these amongst household as per its own rules

Que: Write a short note on Bcuyaras’.

Ans: The Banjaras were important trader nomads. They usually moved in caravan known as tanda. A tanda contained as many as 6 or 7 hundred persons. They carried their wives and children along with them. They owned their oxen. They bought grain where it was cheaply available and carried it to places where it was dearer. From there, they again reloaded their oxen with anything that could be profitably sold in other places. The Banjaras did not travel more than 6 or 7 miles a day. They preferred cool weather. After unloading their oxen, they freed them to graze.

Que: How did Sultan Alauddin Khalji and the Mughals use the Bcuyaras?

Ans: Sultan Alauddin Khalji used the Banjaras to transport grain to the city markets. Under the Mughals the Banjaras carried grain on their bullocks from different areas and sold it in towns. They transported food grain for the Mughal army during military campaigns

Que: Write a brief note on the administrative system of the Gond kingdom. 

Ans: The Gond Kingdom was divided into garhs. Each garh was controlled by a particular Gond clan. This was further divided into units of 84 villages called chaurasi. The chaurasi was subdivided into barhots which were made up of 12 villages each.

Que: Write in brief about Rani Durgawatl.

Ans: Rani Durgawati was married to Dalpat, the son of the Gond raja of Garha Katanga, Aman Das. Dalpat, however, died early. After his death, Rani Durgawati, being very capable, began to rule on behalf of her five-year-old son, Bir Narain. She extended her kingdom veiy soon. In 1565, when the Mughal forces under Asaf Khan attacked Garha Katanga, she put up a strong resistance. Finally, she was defeated. But she did not surrender, Instead she preferred to die.

Que: Who were the Ahoms? How did they build a large state?    

Ans: The Ahoms were the tribal people who migrated to the Brahmputra valley from present-day Myanmar in the 13th century. They created a new state by suppressing the older political system of the bhuiyans i.e. landlords. During the 16th century, they annexed the kingdoms of the Chhutiyas in 1523 and of Koch- Hajo in 1581. They also subjugated many other tribes. In this way, the Ahoms built a large state and for this they used firearms as early as 1530s.

Que: Give a brief account of the tribal people found in different parts of the subcontinent?

Ans: Tribal people were found in almost every region of the sub-continent. In Punjab, the Khokhar tribe was influential during the 13th and 14th centuries. Later, the Gakkhars became more important. In Multan and Sind, the Langahs and Arghuns dominated extensive regions. The Balochis were another large and powerful tribe in the north-west. In the western Himalayas, the Gaddi Shepherds lived. The Nagas, Ahoms and many others lived in the distant north-eastern part of the subcontinent. In many areas of present-day Bihar and Jharkhand, Chero Chiefdoms had emerged by the 12th century.

However, they were subdued by the Mughals. The Mundas and Santals were other important tribes that lived in these states and also in Orissa and Bengal. The Kolis, Berads and numerous others lived in the Maharashtra highlands, Karnataka and Gujarat. Further there were large tribal populations of Koragas, Vetars, Maravars and many others in South. The Bhils were spread across western and central India. By the late 16th century many of them had become settled agriculturists and some even zamindars. Many Bhil clans, nevertheless, remained hunter-gatherers. The Gonds were found in large numbers across the present-day states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Que: What do you know about the Ahom Society?  

Ans: Ahom society was divided into clans or Khels. There were very few castes of artisans, so artisans in the Ahom areas came from the nearby kingdoms. Kheloften controlled several villages. The peasant was given land by his village community. Even the king could not take it away without the community’s consent. The Ahoms worshipped their own tribal gods. But during the first half of the 17 century Brahmanas achieved great influence which gave rise to Hinduism.

In the reign of Sib Singh Hinduism became a predominant religion. However, the Ahom kings remained stick to their traditional beliefs to some extent even after adopting Hinduism. Ahom society was very sophisticated. Poets and scholars were given land grants. Theatre was encouraged

Que: How did the nomadic pastoralists earn their living? 

Ans: Nomadic pastoralists kept on moving from place to place with their animals. They lived on milk and other pastoral products. They also exchanged items like 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, transporting them on their animals. The Banjaras were trader-nomads who bought grain where it was cheaply available and carried it to places where it was dearer.

From there, they again reloaded their oxen with anything that could be profitably sold in other places. Thus, they played an important role in connecting India to the outside world. Many pastoral tribes reared and sold animals, such as cattle and horses, to the wealthy people. Different castes of petty pedlars travelled from village to village. They made and sold wares like ropes, reeds, etc. Sometimes mendicants acted as wandering merchants. There were also castes of entertainers who earned their living by performing in different towns and villages.