Page 39 - SST Class 08

Herding and Rearing
Ancient towns
KAMBOJA
MAGADHA Mahajanapadas Some tribal groups lived by herding and
Takshashila
rearing animals. They were dependent on
GANDHARA
Chenab Vipasa their herds of sheep or cattle. Most of the
Ravi
KURU
Satluj Kurukshetra tribal people were nomads. They moved
Indus Indraprastha PANCHALA about with their animals. When the supply
SURASENA MALLA Kapilavastu
Mathura Shravasti VIDEHA SHAKYAS of food for these animals got exhausted in
Charmanvati Kaushambi KASHI Pataliputra
MAGADHA
Ayodhya
MATSYA KOSALA LICHCHHAVIS an area, they moved to another area.
Vaishali
VATSA Prayag Rajagriha ANGA Champa Tropic of Cancer Settled Agriculture
CHEDI MAGADHA
AVANTI
Ujjayini I N D I A With time, many tribal settled down perma-
Tamralipti
nently at one place. They began to cultivate
Bhrigukachchha
crops on fields near their houses. Among
ASMAKA
Pratisthana B A Y
some groups, the land belonged to the clan
O F
ARABIAN Godavari
B E N G A L and not to individual tribal. In such groups,
SEA Krishna
the tribals shared the harvested crop accord-
ing to the needs of the household. In the
nineteenth century, the Mundas and the
Santhals took to settled agriculture in a big
Kaveri
Present International
Boundary of India
way.
HOW DID BRITISH RULE AFFECT
I N D I A N TAMRAPARNI O C E A N
(CEYLON)
THE TRIBALS?
Shifting Cultivation The lives of tribal groups changed during British
Jhum cultivation is basically shifting cultivation. It rule in many strange and unexpected ways :
was done on small patches of land, mostly in g The tribal groups were considered important
forests. The cultivators cut the tree-tops to allow people, because it is they who controlled
sunlight to reach the ground. They burnt the their territories. Under the British rule, they
vegetation on the land to clear it for cultivation. lost their administrative power and were
Once, the crop was ready and harvested, they forced to follow law made by British officials
moved to another field and left that field fallow in India.
for several years. g Before the British arrived, tribal chiefs were
Hunting and Gathering important people; they had some money
and the right to manage their lands and
In many regions, tribal groups lived by hunting
people.
animals and gathering forest products. They used
many forest shrubs and herbs for medicinal g But, under the British rule, they lost much of
purpose. They sold forest products in the local their powers and were asked to discipline
markets. The Baigas of Central India refused to their tribe on behalf of the British govern-
work for others. Tribal groups had to indulge in ment.
buy and sell activities to get the goods that were g This subjugation meant that the tribal chiefs
not produced within the locality. This made them lost the authority among their people, and
dependent on traders and moneylenders. gradually also the will to fulfil their tradi-
tional functions.

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