Page 1 - LN-sub topic 1-Beyond Big Cities Tribal Socities
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SAI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL


                                                  SUB – HISTORY

                                                        STD VII


                                       Module: 22 (NOTES) (page 91-94)

                                   CH- 7: TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES

                       BEYOND BIG CITIES: TRIBAL SOCIETIES
                     The term tribe is used to refer to a category of human social group. Tribal
                       people in India care called Adivasis and they are considered the aboriginal
                       population of India.
                     Tribes are people who do not follow norms laid down by society.
                     Members of each tribe were united by kinship bonds.
                     Most of the tribes were dependant on agriculture; others were herders or
                       hunter gatherers.
                     Tribes were nomadic and moved from one place to another. They were found
                       in almost every region of the subcontinent.
                     Many tribes lived in forests, hills, deserts and other places which were difficult
                       to reach.
                     They preserved their culture and heritage through oral tradition.
                       There were even clashes between tribes and powerful caste-based societies.

                       Who were Tribal people?
                     Contemporary historians and travelers from medieval India hardly give any
                       information about the tribes.
                     Many tribes emerged as political powerful groups through their areas of
                       influence and activities varied.
                     Some of the powerful tribes were -
                             Khokar (Punjab)
                             Langahs and Arghuns (Multan and Sind)
                             Gaddis (Himalaya)
                              Kolis and Berads (Gujurat)
                              Gonds (Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh)
                     The tribal societies underwent a change as result of interaction with the Hindu
                       and Islamic societies.


               Clan – A clan is group of families or households claiming descent from a common
               ancestor.
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