History Class 7 Chapter 7 - 10x10 Learning™10x10learning.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Chapter-7-1-1.pdf · History Class 7 Chapter 7 2016 ©10x10learning.com, ... Paik : was the

History Class 7 Chapter 7 2016

©10x10learning.com, Page 1

CHAPTER 7 TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED

COMMUNITIES

Key Words:

a) Varna: is the four level hierarchy of society , with Brahamans

(Priests and teachers) at the top, followed by Khastriyas, ( rulers and

warriors), Vaishya ( merchants and traders) and Shudra ( manual

workers in fields or household related work as servants) .

b) Jati: is a sub-section within any of the four Varna.

c) Tanda: is a caravan of Banjaras moving as a group of 700 to 800

persons, for transporting of grain and other goods for trade, or for the

ruler’s army.

d) Garh : was the clan based division of the Gond State, comprising

of 84 villages each.

e) Chaurasi: is the sub-division of a Garh in the Gond State.

f) Barhot: is the unit of 12 Gond villages

g) Bhuiyans : were landlords settled in the Brahmaputra valley of

north east, who were overthrown by the Aboms in the thirteenth

century.

h) Paik : was the name given to a labourer forced to work for the

Ahom State. Each village had to send a fixed number of paiks by

rotation, to serve the Ahom State.

i) Khel : is the term for an Ahom clan. All Ahom clans are called

khels.

j) Buranji : are the written historical records of Ahoms, initially

written in Ahom language and later translated in to Assamese.

k) census - was a periodic counting of the number of people in the

Ahom tribe.

Q 1. Match the following:



a) Garh chaurasi

b) Tanda caravan

c) Labourer paik

d) Clan khel

e) Sib Singh Garha Katanga

f) Durgawati Ahom State

Q2. Fill in the blanks- ( Answer is marked in blue)

a) The new castes emerging with in varnas were called jati.

b) Buranjis were historical works written by Ahoms.

c) The Akbar Nama mentions that Garha Katanga had 70,000

villages.

d) As tribal states became bigger and stronger, they gave land grants

to Brahmanas and Temples.

Q3. State whether false or true:

a) Tribal societies had rich oral traditions. True

b) There were no tribal communities in the north western part of the

sub-continents. False

c) The chaurasi in Gond states contained several cities. False

d) The Bhils lived in north eastern parts of the sub continent. False

Q4. What kinds of exchanges took place between nomadic

pastoralists and settled agriculturalists?

Answer. The nomadic pastoralists moved along with their animal

herds and lived on products such as milk, ghee, curds. They also

prepared wool and woollen products. They bartered the goods with

settled agriculturalist for grain, cloth, utensils. They also bought and

sold these goods to other settlements where they moved. They were

important trader nomads.

Q 5. How was the administration of the Ahom state organised ?

Answer. Ahom state was divided into clans called khels. Each Khel

was under its own tribal chief. Each village sent paiks or labourers, by

rotation, for service under the State. The excessive population in a

village was shifted to villages with lesser population. The peasants



were given land by his village community for cultivation. This land

could not be taken away from that person without the consent of the

community.

Q6. What changes took place in varna based society?

Answer. All the new groups that had come to settle in India , as

warriors were included as sub castes of jatis under the Khastriya

Varna, example Rajputs. The nomadic traders and merchants got

included as new jatis under Vaishya varna, while Tribes were

included as new jatis under Shudra Varna. A few ruler class nobles

became jati under Brahman varna .

Q7. How did tribal societies change after being organised into a

state?

Answer. Tribal societies were free and able to worship their own

gods, and have their own way of life of equality and justice. They

controlled their village land and had a rich oral tradition as well as

historical records written in their tribal language.

After becoming a part of a larger kingdom the following changes

occurred:

7.1 The equality of tribal societies was replaced by the

hierarchical varna system of jatis of the Brahamans

7.2 The tribes had to donate land to brahamans and the

temples.

7.3 . When tribal states were annexed by the Mughals, their

traditional treasures and animal wealth was looted.

7.4 The defeated tribes had to pay taxes regularly. The looting

and the regular tax began to impoverish the tribals.

7.5 The Gonds wanted to be recognized as Rajputs, by the

Mughals. To gain in social status they began marrying into

Rajput royalty.

8. Were the Banjaras important for the economy?



Answer. Yes, the Banjaras were important to the economy. They

owned oxen carts and travelled in a caravan of about ten thousand at a

time. They were tribal cum traders who travelled long distances, and

carried grains from villages to the markets in towns. The rulers used

their services to carry supplies for the royal army, whenever it was

moving. As they moved along with all their families and animal

wealth, their social system was more flexible and helped in their

mobility.

Q9. In what ways was the history of the Gonds different from that of

the Ahoms? Were there any similarities?

Answer

Difference in history Similarities

Gonds of

Gondwana

Akbarnama

records that

there were

seventy

thousand

villages in

Gondwana

state of

Garha

Katanga.

Original inhabitants of forests in

central sub continent

1. Clan based division was called

Garh.

2. EachGarh had 84 villages

called chaurasi.

3. The 84 villages in the Garh,

were sub grouped into 12

villages each.

4. Gond raja of Garha Katanga,

with 70,000 villages, assumed

the title of Sangram Singh, as

he wanted to be recognized as

a Rajput.

5. Garha Katanga had become

prosperous by trapping wild

elephants and exporting them

to other kingdoms.

6. After having become wealthy,

Raja Sangram Singh wanted to

gain in social status and

power.

7. For this he married his son

Dalpat , to a Chandela Rajput

princess Durgavati, but Dalpat

1. Both were

divided into

clans under its

own tribal

chief.

2. Both were

further

grouped into

villages of 12

each

3. Both had their

own language ,

gods , and

culture

4. Both were

ruled in a

centralized

manner.



died early.

8. In 1565 , Durgawati , who was

an able ruler, on behalf of her

minor son, was attacked and

defeated by the Mughal Army.

9. The Mughals carried away a

huge booty of gold coins and

elephants, and annexed part of

the Gond kingdom.

10. Thereafter, the remaining

part of the Gond Garha

Katanga, weakened, and was

taken over by Bundelas and the

Marathas.

Ahoms of

Brahmaputra

Valley in the

North East

Had migrated to Brahmaputra

valley , in 13th

century, from

present day Myanmar.

1. Clan based division was

called Khels.

2. Administration was

centralized and Sib Singh was

their important ruler.

3. Each village had to send a

fixed number of labourers

called paiks, for service of

the state.

4. Excess population in one

village was shifted to villages

with lesser population.

5. Land was allocated to paiks

for cultivation, with the

consent of the village, and it

could not be taken away

without approval of the

village.

6. Ahoms was a learned tribal

society. Its many poets and

scholars were given land

grants, and many Sanskrit

works were translated into

local language.



7. Historical records called

buranjis, were written in

Ahom and later in Assamese.

Map of Ahom tribe settlement in the River Brahmaputra valley in 13th

century



Relics of Gupta artifacts at the time of Ahom settlement in Assam



Ahom script

Statue of Ahom warriors near Sivasagar town, Assam.

Gondwana clay art depicting village life



.

Madan Mahal built by 10th

Gond king – from two different angles



Rani Durgawati



The Gond kings were a part of the aboriginal Gond tribes that inhabit

the central Indian regions of present day Vidharba

The village Pithera is situated on the high land of the Narmada. In the

later half of 17th C. the Gond King Raja Balat Singh who was the

ruler of 184 villages



Remains at Mandla

Gond tribes in present day State of Chhatisgarh



Map with the Sultanate regional kingdoms



Source: Maps downloaded from internet in 2015

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