Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities

Q20. Who were paiks?

Ans. The Ahom state depended upon forced labour. Those forced to work for the state were called paiks.

Q21. Who was Raja Man Singh?

Ans. Raja Man Singh was Akbar’s famous general who attacked and defeated the Cheros in 1591.

Q22. How did castes of entertainers earn their livelihood?

Ans. Castes of entertainers earn their livelihood by performing in different towns and villages.

Q23. What did Mughal capture when they defeat the Gonds?

Ans. When the Mughals defeated the Gonds, they captured a huge booty of precious coins and elephants.

Q24. How did Garha Katanga earn much of its wealth?

Ans. Garha Katanga was a rich state. It earned much wealth by trapping and exporting wild elephants to other kingdoms.

Q25. Who was Rani Durgawati?

Ans.  Durgawati was the daughter of Salbahan, the Chandel Rajput raja of Mahoba. She got married to Dalpat, the son of Gond raja Aman Das.

Q26. Who are nomads?

Ans.  Nomads are wandering people. Many of them are pastoralists who roam from one pasture to another with their flocks and herds.

Q27. Which was the most influential tribe in Punjab during 13^th and 14th century?

Ans. In Punjab, the Khokhar tribe was very influential during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Q28. What are itinerant groups?

Ans.  Itinerant groups, such as craftspersons, pedlars and entertainers travel from place to place practising their different occupations.

Q29. What kinds of exchanges took place between nomadic pastoralists and settled agriculturists?

Ans. Nomadic pastoralists exchanged wool, ghee, etc., with settled agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products.

Q30. What is clan?

Ans. A clan is a group of families or households claiming descent from a common ancestor. Tribal organisation is often based on kinship or clan loyalties.

Q31. What is 'shifting cultivation'?

Ans.  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.

Q32. Write about the occupation of Ahom society.

Ans.  Almost all adult males served in the army during war. At other times, they were engaged in building dams, irrigation systems and other public works. The Ahoms also introduced new methods of rice cultivation.

Q33. Who were Gonds?

Ans.  The Gonds lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana – or “country inhabited by Gonds”. They practised shifting cultivation. The Gonds were found in great numbers across the present-day states of Chhattisgarh,

Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Q34. Write about the administrative system Gond Kingdoms.

Ans.  The administrative system of these kingdoms was becoming centralised. The kingdom was divided into garhs. Each garh was controlled by a particular Gond clan. 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.

Q35. Explain the term 'khel' in reference to Ahom society.

Ans.  Ahom society was divided into clans or khels. There were very few castes of artisans, so artisans in the Ahom areas came from the adjoining kingdoms. A khel often controlled several villages. The peasant was given land by his village community. Even the king could not take it away without the community’s consent.