RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 7 Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities

These comprehensive RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 7 Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities will give a brief overview of all the concepts.

RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 7 Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities

→ In large parts of the subcontinent, society was already divided according to the rules of varna. Due to this difference between the high and low, and between the rich and poor, increased. Under the Delhi Sultans and the Mughals, this hierarchy between social classes grew further.

→ Tribal Societies: Many societies in the subcontinent did not follow the social rules and rituals prescribed by the Brahmanas nor were they divided into numerous unequal classes. Such societies are often called tribes-

• Members of each tribe were united by kinship bonds.
• Many tribes obtained their livelihood from agriculture. Others were hunter- gatherers or herders.
• They usually lived in forests, hills, deserts and places difficult to reach.

→ Who were Tribal People?
Tribal people were found in almost every region of the subcontinent. Some of the major tribes were—khokhar, Gaddis, Shepherd, Ahom, Naga, Santhal, Koli, Koraga, Bhil, Gond etc,

→ Nomads and Mobile people

• Nomadic pastoralists moved over long distances with their animals.
• They lived on milk and other pastoral products.
• They also exchanged wool, ghee, etc., with settled agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products!
• Some nomads also used to carry goods on their animals.

Nomadic people included pastoral castes, hawkers, beggars, dancers, singers and spectacled people.

→ Changing Society: New Castes and Hierarchies

• As the economy and the needs of society grew, people with new skills were required. Smaller castes, or jatis, emerged within varnas.
• Instead of varnas, caste became the basis of social organization.

→ The Gonds

• The Gonds’ lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana and practised shifting cultivation.
• The large Gond tribe was further divided into many smaller clans. Each clan had its own raja or rai. Garh Katanga was a large Gond kindgom.
• The administrative system of these kingdom was becoming centralised.
• Society in large Gond states was divided into unequal social classes.
• The garh Katanga collasped after being defeated by the Mughals.

→ The Ahoms
The Ahoms migrated to Brahmaputra valley from present-day Mayanmar in the thirteenth century. During the sixteenth century, they annexed the kingdoms of the Chhutiyas (1523) and of Koch-Hajo (1581) and subjugated many other tribes.

• The Ahom state depended upon forced labour.
• By the first half of seventeenth century the administration became quite centralized.
• Ahom society was divided into clans or khels.
• Ahom society was very sophisticated.