Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities | Class 7 History Chapter 7 Extra Questions
Here are expected questions from the chapter Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities
1. What are tribes
Tribes are communities that did not follow the special rules and rituals prescribed by the Brahmanas. Nor were they divided into unequal classes. Such societies are called tribes. Tribes usually obtained their livelihood from agriculture. Some of them were hunter-gatherers or herders. Some of them were also nomadic and moved from place to place. They controlled land and pastures jointly. Tribes usually lived in forests, hills and deserts.
2. Name the influential tribe that lived in Punjab in the 13th and 14th century
Khokhar tribe
3. Name the tribal leader who was made a mansabdar by emperor Akbar?
Kamal Khan Gakkhar
4. Name the tribal communities that controlled the north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent
The Nagas, Ahoms
5. The ……………………………. were a powerful tribe in the north-west
The Balochis
6. Name the shepherd tribes who lived in western Himalaya
Gaddis
7. …………………………. were a powerful tribe lived in present day Bihar and Jharkhand
Cheros
8. Name Akbar’s general who defeated Cheros in 1591
Raja Man Singh
9. …………………….. and ………………………. were tribes who lived in Orissa and Bengal
The Mundas and Santals
10. The Kolis were tribes who lived in …………………………. and ……………………….
Maharashtra and Gujarat
11. How nomadic tribes / pastoralists lived?
Nomadic tribes moved from place to place with their animals. They often lived on milk and other animal products. Sometimes they exchanged ghee and wool with settled agriculturalists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products. They bought and sold these products as they moved from place to place and carried them on their animals.
12. Write a short note on Banjaras
Banjaras were trader nomads. Their caravan was called tanda and consisted of as many as 700 persons. Alauddin Khalji used Banjaras to move grains from villages to city markets. They owned their oxen and used them to transport grain from place to place. Their wives and children travelled along with them. They bought grain from places where it was cheaper and then sold it in places where it was more expensive. During military campaigns they transported food grains for the Mughal army.
13. What are itinerant groups?
Itinerant groups are people like craftspersons, pedlars and entertainers who travelled from place to place practicing their occupations. Pedlars sold items such as ropes, straw mats and coarse sacks. They often visited the same places every year.
14. What are nomads?
Nomads are usually pastoralists who travel from one pasture to another with their flocks and herds. They may visit the same places every year. Pastoral tribes often sold cattle or horses to wealthy people.
15. What are jatis?
Jatis are smaller castes that emerged within varnas. As the society evolved, news jatis or castes appeared amongst Brahmanas. Sometimes tribal people became part of the caste based society and were given the status of castes. Specialized artisans like masons, carpenters and smiths were also recognized as jatis. Eventually, jati became the basis for organizing the society.
16. How did tribes became part of the caste system?
By the 11th and 12th centuries, Rajput clans among Kshatriyas started becoming powerful. Some of they were tribes earlier and later came to be regarded as Rajputs. Eventually, they replaced other rulers. The rise of Rajputs to power inspired other tribals to join the caste system. However, only the leading tribal families could join the ruling class. The rest of them joined the lower castes.
17. Who were Gonds?
Gonds were tribes who lived in the forested region of Gondwana. They were divided into many smaller clans and each clan had their own raja or rai.
18. Garha Katanga was the kingdom of …………………………………
Gonds
19. What is shifting cultivation?
Shifting cultivation is a practice of growing crops in which the cultivated area changes from time to time. Tribes like Gonds practiced this method of cultivation. They would first cut trees and bushes in an area and then burn them. The crop is sown in the ashes. When this area loses its fertility, they will clear another plot of land and grow their crops there.
20. The kingdom of Gonds were divided into ……………………………….
Garhs
21. Each garh was divided into units of 84 villages called ……………………………
Chaurasi
22. Who was Sangram Singh?
Sangram Singh was the Gond raja of Garha Katanga who wanted to be recognized as a Rajput.
23. Who was Durgawati?
Durgawati was the wife of Dalpat, the son of Gond Raja Sangram Singh. She was a capable woman who ruled the country on behalf of her five year old son after the death of her husband. Under her leadership, Garha Katanga became larger.
24. Who attacked Garha Katanga in 1565?
Asaf Khan
25. Why were the Mughals interested in the land of Gonds?
The land of Gonds was very rich. They earned wealth by trapping and exporting wild elephants to other kingdoms.
26. Who were Ahoms?
Ahoms were a tribal community who migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from the present day Myanmar in the 13th century. They created a new state my defeating the landlords. During the 16th century, they annexed the kingdoms of Chhutiyas and Koch-Hajo. They built a large state. Ahoms used firearms in the early 16th century. They were also capable of making high quality gunpowder and cannons.
27. Mughals defeated the Ahoms in ………………………….
1662
28. Who were paiks?
The Ahom state depended upon forced labour. Those forced to work for the state were called paiks. Each village had to send a certain number of paiks.
29. What are Khels?
The Ahom society was divided into clans or khels. As the Ahom society had very few castes of artisans, they came from the adjoining kingdoms. A Khel often controlled several villages. The peasants were given land by their village community.
30. Write a short note on Ahoms?
They were a tribal community that migrated into the Brahmaputra valley in the 13th century. By 16th century they had become quite influential and annexed many kingdoms. Ahoms used firearms as early as 1530s and that helped them expand their kingdom. Initially, they worshipped their own tribal gods; however, by the 17th century, the influence of Brahmanas increased and during the reign of Sib Singh, Hinduism became the most prominent religion. However, they continued to worship their tribal gods. The Ahom society was highly sophisticated and poets and scholars were given land grants. Theatre was also encouraged and many Sanskrit works were translated into the Ahom language.
31. What are buranjis?
Buranjis are historical works written in the Ahom language.
32. ………………………….. mentions that Garha Katanga had 70,000 villages
Akbar Nama
33. The new castes emerging within varnas were called ………………………..
Jatis
34. As tribal states became bigger and stronger, they gave land grants to ……………………………… and …………………………..
Brahmanas and temples
35. What was the relationship between Ahoms and Mughals?
In 1662, the Mughals under Mir Jumla attacked the Ahom kingdom. Although Ahoms put up a brave fight, they were defeated. However, Ahoms rebelled against the Mughals in 1680s.