Class 7 History Chapter 5 Question Answers - Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities

Q1. What are tribes?
Ans: Tribes are the people who do not follow the social rules and rituals prescribed by the Brahmanas and nor were they divided into numerous unequal classes. Such societies are often called tribes.

Q2. How did tribal societies change?
Ans: Caste-based and tribal societies also depended on each other for their diverse needs. This relationship, of conflict and dependence, gradually caused both societies to change.

Q3. How did Sultan Alaudddin Khalji used the Banjaras?
Ans: Sultan Alauddin Khalji used the Banjaras to transport grain to the city markets. They also transported food grain for the Mughal army during military campaigns.

Q4. Give a brief account of the Gonds tribes.
Ans: The Gonds lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana. They practised shifting cultivation. They had many clans and each clan had its own raja or rai. In the Akbar Nama it has been mentioned that the Gond kingdom of Garha Katanga had 70,000 villages.
The kingdom was divided into garhs. This was further divided into units of 84 villages called chaurasi. The Chaurasi was subdivided into barhots which were made up of 12 villages each.

Q5. What did Peter Mundy write about pastoral nomads?
Ans: Peter Mundy wrote about pastoral nomads that they carried wheat, rice and even their wives and children with them. They buy grain from where it was cheaply available and sold it to places where they could earn profit.

Q6. How did tribes obtain their livelihood?
Ans: Tribes obtained their livelihood from agriculture, herders. Some tribes were nomadic and moved from one place to another with their animals. They sell animal produces and buy

other things of their need.

Q7. How did the customs and traditions of tribes preserved?
Ans: Mostly tribal people did not keep written records, but they preserved rich customs and oral traditions. These were passed down to each new generation.

Q8. Give the name of different lineages which were powerful?
Ans: Among the Kshatriyas, new Rajput clans became powerful by the 11th and 12th centuries. They belonged to different lineages, such as Hunas, Chandelas, Chalukyas and others. Some of these had been tribes earlier. Many of these clans came to be regarded as Rajputs.

Q9. What do you understand by Shifting cultivation?
Ans: In the Shifting cultivation trees and bushes in a forest area are first cut and burnt. The crop is sown in the ashes. When this land loses its fertility, another plot of land is cleared and planted in the same way.

Q10. Describe Nomadic pastoralists and their different types.
Ans: Nomads are wandering people. Many of them are pastoralists who roam from one pasture to another with their flocks and herds. They lived on milk and other pastoral products. They exchanged wool, ghee etc., for grain, cloth, utensils and other products. Many pastoral tribes reared and sold animals such as cattle and horses to the prosperous people.
The Banjaras were the most important trader nomads. Their caravan was called tanda. Sultan Alauddin Khalji used the Banjaras to transport grain to the city markets. They transported food grain for the Mughal army during military campaigns.
Different castes of petty pedlars also travelled from village to village. They made and sold ropes, reeds and straw matting and coarse sacks. Some castes were entertainers who performed in different towns and villages for their livelihood.

Q11. Describe the tribes who were powerful.
Ans: The area and influence of a tribe varied at different points of time. Some powerful tribes controlled large territories. In Punjab, the Khokhar tribe was very influential during the 13th & 14th centuries. Later, the Gakkhars became more important. Their chief, Kamal Khan Gakkhar was made a ‘mansabdar’ by Emperor Akbar.
In Multan and Sind, the Langahs and Arghuns dominated extensive regions. The Balochis were another large and powerful tribes in the north-west. In many areas of present-day Bihar and Jharkhand, Chero Chiefdoms had emerged by the 12th century.

Q12. State Ahoms faith in religion and their historical work.
Ans: The Ahoms worshipped their own tribal gods however, the influence of Brahmanas increased. Temples, Brahmanas, poets and scholars were granted land by the king. In the reign of Sib Singh, Hinduism became the predominant religion, but the Ahom kings did not completely give up their traditional beliefs after adopting Hinduism. The Ahoms translated important works of Sanskrit into the local language which are counted as Historical works.

Q13. Give a brief account of different communities of tribes and their place of habitation.
Ans: In Punjab, the Khokhar tribe was very influential during the 13th and 14th centuries. Langahs and Arghuns tribals dominated extensive regions in Multan and Sind. The Balochis were another large and powerful tribe in the north-west. They were divided into many smaller clans under different chiefs. In the western Himalaya lived the shepherd tribe of Gaddis.
The north-eastern part of the subcontinent too was entirely dominated by tribes-the Nagas, Ahoms and many others. In many areas of present-day Bihar and Jharkhand, Chero Chiefdoms had emerged by the 12th century.
The Mundas and Santals tribes lived in this region and also in Orissa and Bengal. Kolies, Berads and others belonged to Maharashtra highlands and Karnataka. Kolies also lived in many areas of Gujarat. In South, there were large tribal populations of Koragas, Vetars, Maravars and others.
The large tribes of Bhils were spread across western and central India. Many of them had become settled agriculturists and some even zamindars. The Gonds were found in great numbers across the present-day states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Q14. Who were the Ahoms? Give brief information about the Ahoms.
Ans: The Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from Myanmar in the 13th century. During the 16th century they annexed the kingdoms of Chhutiyas and Koch-Hajo and subjugated many other tribes. The Ahoms built a large state and for this they used firearms and high quality gunpowder and cannons.
Almost all adult males served in the army during war. They were engaged in building dams, irrigation systems and other public works. The Ahoms also introduced new methods of rice cultivation. The Ahom society was divided into clans or khels and a Khel controlled over several villages.