Tribes Nomads and Settled Communities Class 7

Tribal societies were generally egalitarian and did not follow the Varna system or Brahmana rules regarding land ownership. They typically managed land and resources collectively based on their own customs.

The Mundas and Santals are well-documented tribal groups that historically inhabited the regions of present-day Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

A caravan of Banjaras was known as a tanda, not a tonga. The term tonga refers to a light horse-drawn carriage used for transport.

The historical trend was actually the opposite; as society became more complex and integrated, many tribal groups were incorporated into the Varna-based caste system, moving away from their original tribal identities.

The Ahom society was organized into clans known as khels. Each khel controlled several villages, and the peasantry was organized through these units.

Buranjis are historical chronicles and manuscripts written by the Ahoms, initially in the Ahom language and later in Assamese, providing a detailed record of their history.

In many medieval agrarian societies, land was held communally by the village, and the village head or community elders had significant authority over its distribution, limiting the king's arbitrary power.

Sib Singh was a prominent king of the Ahom kingdom, which ruled over the Brahmaputra valley for several centuries.

The Ahom state relied on forced labor known as paiks. Every adult male in the kingdom had to serve in the military or perform public works as part of this system.

The Ahoms migrated from present-day Myanmar to the Brahmaputra valley in the 13th century, where they established a powerful kingdom.

The Gond kingdom was organized into a hierarchical structure: the kingdom was divided into Garhs, which were further divided into Chaurasis (groups of 84 villages), and then into Barhots (groups of 12 villages).

Aman Das, a Gond king, adopted the title Sangram Shah, reflecting his military achievements and the expansion of his kingdom.

The Gond kingdom was known as Garha Katanga, which became a powerful state in central India during the medieval period.

Historical sources about tribal communities were limited because tribal societies were often oral cultures without written records, and mainstream historians had limited access to or understanding of tribal areas and customs. This lack of documentation led to fewer historical accounts about tribes.

Members of tribal groups were typically united by kinship bonds, meaning they shared common ancestry or family ties, which formed the basis of their social cohesion.