Page 72 - SST Class 07

Religion and Social System With time, they have adapted themselves well in

In the beginning, the Gonds practised many tribal the valley and have forgotten their original
rituals and customs, but as they started to identify language Tai and its script.
themselves with the Rajputs, they embraced History
Hinduism and began to worship Hindu gods and
goddesses along with natural forces like sun, After their arrival in India in the thirteenth
moon, wind etc. At present, some Gonds are also century, the Ahoms settled in Kamrupa (now
Muslims and Christians. Assam). They defeated the local rulers and set up
their kingdom. They kept consolidating and
In the beginning, the Gonds were a homogeneous expanding it for three centuries. They fought with
group, but as the process of state formation began, the other tribals, like the Nagas, Khasis and
the rank hierarchy was established. They were Kacharis in north-eastern India. They came into
divided into several clans, each under a rai or conflict with the Mughals. Aurangzeb defeated
chief. The Gonds marry within their respective them but was not able to keep them under his
clans. They are patriarchal , that is, a clan control for long.
comprises of members descending from a The most important
common male ancestor.
Ahom ruler was Rudra
At present, the Gonds live in forest and hilly areas Singh who ruled from
and are little influenced by the modern way of 1696 to 1714. He
life. The government, however, is making effort to constructed the Kareng
bring them in the mainstream of national life. Ghar at Sibsagar. This is
a palace with three
F ind Outind Out underground floors
known as Talatal Ghar Kareng Ghar
Find out how tribals live in India at present. What
is the government doing to bring them in and the upper storeys are known as Kareng Ghar.
mainstream? He linked the Dikhow River with the Kareng Ghar
and his place at Gargaon by underground tunnels.
Case Study : Ahoms These tunnels also worked as emergency exit.
As compared with the Gonds, the Ahoms showed
Info Bits
distinct features of state formation. They lived in a Info Bits
limited territory and influenced the local
population. They became prominent rulers. Describing about the palace of the Ahom ruler in
Gargaon, a Mughal scribe wrote : “The Raja’s
The name ‘Assam’ has probably been derived from audience hall stands on 66 pillars, each of them 2
the word ‘Ahom’. metres round, with abundant decorative wood and
The Ahoms lived in the stone work. The brass mirrors on the facade made
Brahmaputra valley in the entire palace shine in sunlight’’.
Assam. They are Sib Singh ruled the Ahom
believed to have kingdom from 1718-1744.
belonged to the Mao He built the Shripur
Shan tribe of China Devalay Mandir . As the
who came to India in Ahoms legend goes, a part of the
about thirteenth century under the leadership of body of Sati (Parvati) fell
Sukhapha . They defeated the local rulers and here.
settled here. Soon they became an influential Shripur Devalay Mandir
group and mingled with the local population. They The Ahoms remained
married with the local people and adopted their powerful until the eighteenth century when they
religion and many of their customs and traditions. were weakened by invasions from their eastern
Contemporary Social Science-7
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