NCERT Class 7 History Chapter 7: Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities YouTube Lecture Handouts
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NCERT Class 7 History Chapter 7: Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities
- Societies evolved by Varna System as prescribed by Brahamanas
- Tribes: Not divided into unequal classes. Members were united under kinship bonds โ agriculture, hunter, gatherer or herder, they were nomadic and controlled land and pastures jointly.
- Tribes lived in forest, hills, desert and places difficult to reach, tribes retained their freedom & preserved separate culture
- Tribes did not keep written records and preserved rich customs and oral traditions
- Powerful tribes controlled large areas. Punjab โ 13th and 14th century โ Khokhar tribes and later Gakkhar tribes (Their chief, Kamal Khan Gakkhar, was made noble by Emperor Akbar)
- Multan & Sindh - Langahs and Arghuns tribes; Balochis were powerful in NW & divided into smaller clans (group of families or households claiming descent from a common ancestor)
- Western Himalayas โ Gaddi Tribes
- North East - Nagas, Ahoms tribes
- Bihar & Jharkhand - Cheros Tribes (Raja Man Singh, Akbarีs general defeated Cheros in 1591)
- Orissa & Bengal โ Mundas & Santhals
- Maharashtra, Karnataka & Gujarat โ Kolis
- South India - Koragas, Vetars, Maravars
- Western & Central India โ Bhils
- Chhattisgarh, MP, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh โ Gonds
Moving People
- Nomadic Pastoralists - moved long distances with animals
- Lived on milk and pastoral products
- Exchanged wool, ghee, etc. , with settled agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils
- Banjaras โ trader nomads, caravans known as tanda, they bought grains where it was cheaper and sold where it was dearer - Alauddin Khalji used Banjaras to transport grain to the city markets, transported food grains to army during military campaigns
- Itinerant groups: Craftspersons, pedlars and entertainers travel from place to place practising their different occupations
- Both Nomads and Itinerants visited same place every year
- Mendicants acted as wandering merchants
New Castes
- Smaller caste and jatis emerged within varnas
- New caste appeared amongst Brahmans
- Smiths, carpenters and masons were also recognized as separate jatis by Brahmanas
- Jatis & not varna became basis for organizing society
- Rathakaras (chariot makers) : Include architecture, building coaches and chariots โ as mentioned in Uyyakondan Udaiyar, in Tiruchirapalli taluka
- In Kshatriyas โ Rajputs emerged (belonged to different lineages, such as Hunas, Chandelas, Chalukyas) โ it gave way for tribal population to follow
- Emergence of state is related to social change amongst tribals
Gonds
- Lived in Gondwanaland
- Practiced shifting agriculture
- Each clan had its own raja or rai
- Large Gond kingdoms were beginning to dominate smaller Gond chiefs
- Akbar Nama, history of Akbarีs reign, mentioned Gond kingdom of Garha Katanga that had 70,000 villages
- Centralized administration with kingdom divided into garh.
- Garh was controlled by Gonds & divided into 84 villages as chaurasi
- Chaurasi further divided into group of 12 villages as barhots
- Society became unequal
- Brahmanas got land grant from Gond rajas and became influential
- Gond chiefs wished to be recognized as Rajputs
- Aman Das, Gond raja of Garha Katanga, assumed title of Sangram Shah
- His son, Dalpat, married princess Durgawati, the daughter of Salbahan, the Chandel Rajput raja of Mahoba. Dalpat died early but Durgawati was capable and ruled in lieu of 5-year old son, Bir Narain. Mughal forces under Asaf Khan attacked โ Durgawati preferred to died rather than surrender and later her son also died.
- Garha Katanga was rich state & earned by trapping and exporting wild elephants to other kingdoms. Mughals captured precious coins and elephants, annexed and granted the rest to Chandra Shah, an uncle of Bir Narain.
- After fall of Garha Katanga, Gond kingdoms survived for some time and became weaker later
Ahoms
- Migrated to Brahmaputra valley form Myanmar in 13th century
- Created new state of Bhuiyans (landlords)
- 16th century they annexed kingdoms of Chhutiyas (1523) & Koch-Hajo (1581)
- 1530ีs: Used firearms
- 1660ีs: made gunpowder & cannons
- In 1662, Mughals under Mir Jumla attacked Ahoms & defeated them
- State depended on forced labors & those forced to work were called paiks. Each village had to send paiks on rotation
- Early 17th century: Administration was centralized with all adult males in army during war, at other times in building dams and public work
- Society divided into clans or khels. Khel controlled several villages.
- Initially worshipped tribal gods but later influence of Brahmanas increased & during Sib Singh โ Hinduism became common
- Poets and theatre was common
- Work of Sanskrit was translated to local language
- Historical works (buranjis) were written first in Ahom language and then in Assamese
Conclusion
- Varna based society & tribal people interacted
- Many merged with caste based society with time
- Others rejected caste system and Hinduism
- Some became politically powerful
Mongols
- Pastoral and hunter-gatherer tribe
- Inhabited the grasslands (steppes) of Central Asia and the forested areas further north
- By 1206 Genghis Khan had united Mongol and Turkish tribes into a powerful military force. At his death (1227) he was the ruler of extensive territories.
- His successorีs ruled till Russia, Eastern Europe, China and West Asia.
- Organized military and administrative systems based on support of different ethnic and religious groups
โ Manishika