CBSE Notes Class 7 History Chapter 7-Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities

New artistic, craft, and production endeavors grew in towns and villages when kingdoms rose and fell. Even while significant political, social, and economic changes had been made over the centuries, not all social change was the same, which is why various types of societies evolved in different ways. Recognize how and why this occurred. The division of society into varna categories, as dictated by the Brahmanas and approved by the kings of powerful kingdoms, was already the norm in a significant portion of the Indian subcontinent. The gap between the rich and the poor as well as between the high and low expanded. The social class divide only grew worse under the Delhi Sultans and the Mughals. In the meantime, there were various other societies.

Beyond Big Cities: Tribal Societies

The subcontinent's societies did not adhere to the social norms or religious rituals established by the Brahmanas, nor were they divided into numerous, unequal classes known as tribes. Instead, members of each tribe were bound together by kinship ties. Tribes obtained their living through agriculture, some were hunters, gatherers, or herders, and combined these activities to fully utilize the natural resources of the region in which they lived. Some tribes were nomadic and moved from one location to another. Tri-of connection

Who were Tribal People?

There is virtually little information available about tribes today from historians and travelers since tribal people did not keep written records but instead passed down rich oral traditions and practices to subsequent generations. These oral histories, which can be found in almost every region of the subcontinent, are used by historians today to compile tribal histories. The scope and influence of a tribe fluctuated over time; strong tribes ruled over sizable areas, such as Punjab during the 13th and 14th centuries, when the Khokhar tribe was particularly powerful. The Gakkhars rose to prominence, led by Kamal Khan. Emperor Akbar elevated Gakkhar to the status of noble (mansabdar).The Langahs and Arghuns governed huge districts in Multan and Sind before being captured by the Mughals-Balochis-large and powerful tribe in the north-west-divided into several minor clans under different chiefs-The shepherd tribe of Gaddis dwelt in the western Himalayas-the remote north-eastern part of the subcontinent totally dominated by tribes such as the Nagas, Ahoms, and many more. Chero chiefdoms emerged in numerous parts of modern-day Bihar and Jharkhand by the 12th century.In 1591, Raja Man Singh, Akbar's famous general, fought and destroyed the Cheros, taking a great quantity of treasure with him taken from them, although they were not completely subdued-Mughal soldiers captured many Chero castles and subjugated the tribe under Aurangzeb.The Mundas and Santals were two of the most important tribes in this region, as well as in Orissa and Bengal.Kolis, Berads, and countless others lived in the Maharashtra highlands and Karnataka-Kolis lived in many places of Gujarat-Further south, significant tribal groups of Koragas, Vetars, Maravars, and others existed; a major tribe of Bhils existed in western and central India.By the late 16th century, many of them had settled as agriculturists, and some had even become zamindars.Despite this, many Bhil clans remained hunter-gatherers.The Gonds were found in large numbers in modern-day Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. 

Changing Society: New Castes and Hierarchies

Smaller castes, or jatis, emerged within varnas-new castes appeared amongst the Brahmanas-many tribes and social groups were taken into caste-based society and given the status of jatis-Specialised artisans (smiths, carpenters, and masons) were recognised as separate jatis by the Brahmanas-Jatis, rather than varna, became the basis for organising society- By the 11th and 12th centuries, new Rajput clans--belonging to various lineages such as Hunas, Chandelas, Chalukyas, and others--became dominant among the Kshatriyas.Many of these Rajput clans progressively superseded the older rulers, particularly in agricultural districts.A developed society was established. The rise of Rajput clans to the position of rulers set an example for the tribal people to follow- with the support of the Brahmanas, many tribes became part of the caste system-only the leading tribal families could join the ruling class-large majority joined the lower jatis of caste society-many dominant tribes of Punjab, Sind, and the North-West Frontier had adopted Islam quite early-continued to reject the caste system-many dominant tribes of Punjab, Sind, and the North-West Frontier. 

A Closer Look

The Gonds 

The Gonds lived in a vast area of forest known as Gondwana, which means "country inhabited by Gonds." They practiced shifting cultivation and were further divided into much smaller clans, each of which had its own raja or rai. As the Delhi Sultans' power waned, a few large Gond kingdoms came to rule over the smaller Gond chiefs.The Gond kingdom of Garha Katanga, which had 70,000 villages, was mentioned in The Akbar Nama, a history of Akbar's reign. Its administrative systems were centralized, it was divided into garhs, each of which was ruled by a different Gond clan, and it was further subdivided into chaurasi, which were each made up of 84 villages. Chaurasi were then divided into barhots, which each contained 12 villages. The emergence of large states altered A basically equal society gradually became divided into unequal social classes-Brahmanas received land grants from the Gond rajas-became more influential-The Gond chiefs wished to be recognized as Rajputs-So, Aman Das, the Gond raja of Garha Katanga, assumed the title of Sangram Shah-His son, Dalpat, married princess Durgawati, the daughter of Salbahan, the Chandel Rajput raja of MahobaUnder her reign, the kingdom expanded even further--in 1565, Mughal armies led by Asaf Khan assaulted Garha Katanga-- Rani Durgawati fought valiantly; she was vanquished; she opted to die rather than submit; and her son, too, died fighting. Garha Katanga, a rich state-earned much wealth by trapping and exporting wild elephants to other kingdoms-When the Mughals defeated the Gonds, they captured a huge booty of precious coins and elephants-annexed part of the kingdom-granted the rest to Chandra Shah, an uncle of Bir Narain-Despite the fall of Garha Katanga, Gond kingdoms survived for some time-they became much weaker-later struggled unsuccessfully against the stronger Bundelas and Marathas. 

The Ahoms 

In the 13th century, Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from present-day Myanmar and established a new empire by overthrowing the older political structure of the bhuiyans (landlords).During the 16th century, they acquired the kingdoms of the Chhutiyas (1523) and Koch-Hajo (1581), subdued numerous other tribes, and formed a huge state, using weapons as early as the 1530s.They could even create high-quality gunpowder and guns by the 1660s -the Ahoms fought repeated invasions from the south-west In 1662, the Mughals led by Mir Jumla launched an offensive on the Ahom kingdom-Despite their valiant defense, they were defeated direct Mughal rule of the territory could not last The Ahom state relied on forced labor those forced to work for the state were known as paiks--a census of the population was taken each town was required to send a number of paiks. Ahom clans were split up as a result of people moving from densely inhabited areas to less densely populated areas.All adult males served in the military during the war, and they also built dams, irrigation systems, and other public works projects. They also introduced new techniques for rice cultivation. The Ahom society was divided into clans or khels, and there were very few castes of artisans. As a result, artisans in the Ahom areas came from the neighboring kingdoms. By the first half of the 17th century, administration had become quite centralized. A khel was in charge of numerous villages.The village community gave the farmer land.Without the approval of the populace, not even the king could take it away.The Ahoms used to worship their own tribal deities.The influence of Brahmanas grew in the first half of the 17th century. Temples and Brahmanas granted land by the king-In the reign of Sib Singh (1714-1744), Hinduism became the predominant religion-Ahom kings did not completely give up their traditional beliefs after adopting Hinduism- society was very sophisticated-Poets and scholars were given land grants-Theatre encouraged-Important works of Sanskrit translated into the local language- Historical works, known as buranjis, were written first in the Ahom language and then in Assamese.