Question

State any five types of economies amongst the Indian tribes and briefly explain them.

Answer 1

Following are the main tribal economies :
Food-Gatherers and Hunters: The nomadic tribes like the Andamanese, Onge, Kadar, Kharia, Jarawa, Lodha, etc. practice hunting and food gathering. They practice a subsistence economy and have a simple type of social organization.

Permanent Settled Cultivators: The tribes like Oraon, Munda, Bhumij, Ho, Gond, Santhal, practice permanent settled cultivation. They practice wet cultivation through transplantation method and are unaware of modern means of cultivation and irrigation. They practice crop rotation. Some work as sharecroppers (Bhag-Khasi) and some as agricultural laborers. These landless agricultural laborers also practice seasonal migration to the neighboring states.

Pastoral Economy: The Toda of the Nilgiri hills of South India and Bhotia of Almora practice pastoral economy. They rear buffaloes and cows; the milk and milk- products are exchanged to get the things for everyday use.

Shifting Hill Cultivators : Tribes such as the Gonds, the Nagas, Khasi, Savara, Garo practice this primitive form of cultivation by adopting the ‘slash and bum’ method. It is known as Jhum cultivation by the Assam tribes and as Podu by the Gonds. A hilly forest area is selected for this purpose which is abandoned after three successive cultivating seasons as the soil loses its fertility. Different Kharif crops such as Bajra, Jowar, pulses, potato, tobacco, and sugar-cane are grown through this method.

Craftsmen: Some of the tribals practice their traditional crafts along with their main sources of subsistence. The Naga and the Khasi tribes are proficient in colored handloom products. The Lohar are traditional blacksmiths. As they get only marginal profits in their traditional specialized crafts, they resort to other jobs.