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, Akbarีšs 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
Illustration: NCERT Class 7 History Chapter 7: Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities YouTube Lecture Handouts

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 Akbarีšs 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)
  • 1530ีšs: Used firearms
  • 1660ีšs: 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 successorีšs ruled till Russia, Eastern Europe, China and West Asia.
  • Organized military and administrative systems based on support of different ethnic and religious groups

โœ Manishika