Telangana SCERT TS 6th Class Social Study Material Pdf 9th Lesson – Community Decision-Making in a Tribe Textbook Questions and Answers.
Community Decision-Making in a Tribe – The Earliest People – TS 6th Class Social 9th Lesson Questions and Answers Telangana
Question 1.
Why do you think was Panch and Patla possible only with in a tribe ? Why is it not possible in societies with people from different communities ?
Answer:
Different communities have difficult customs and traditions. So Panch and Patla was possible only with in a tribe of same customs and traditions.
Question 2.
Have you heard of any such community panchayat in your area ? Discuss its functioning with your teachers, parents and elders.
Answer:
No, I have not heard of any such community panchayat in our areAnswer: Here only elected panchayat is existed. But I have heard about such community panchayat in Aswaraopet, in which my aunt is working as headmistress in a tribal welfare school. The tribes living there are ‘konda reddys’. They also have the same type of community panchayat. Their head of the community is their village headman. There is a panchayat also with a group of elder men. This conducts meetings and trials.
Question 3.
Would you accept the judgement of the Gond panchayat without going to the police or the court ?
Answer:
In tribal villages they settle their disputes through panchayat or panch. It is very common in that villages. Police and court will not interfere in that matter. Tribals don’t accept to consult police and court. It is not acceptable in my opinion. But in the case of a girl the judgement is good and was satisfied by the girl. Sometimes the judgement will be wrong felt by the wishes of people the Panch may remove the Patla and replace him with another person or they look for the alternative legal remedies.
Question 4.
If the Panch did injustice, what alternatives did the tribes have ?
Answer:
- When a dispute is presented to the Panch, two parties are allowed to make detailed presentation of their points of view.
- Panch try to arrive at a solution acceptable to both the parties under customs of the Gonds.
- When all aspects debated senior members propose a settlement.
- Person affected can propose changes and Panch will take the final decision.
- If the Panch did injustice, there are no alternatives the tribe have.
- The decision of the Panch is final in the tribe.
Question 5.
Locate the following districts in the Telangana map where the more tribal people live.
a) Khammam
b) Adilabad
c) Mahaboobnagar
Question 6.
Read the para under the title ‘Village Headman’ and comment on it.
Answer:
Village headman or Patla is a hereditary leader functions on daily basis. Main function of Patla is to ensure unity of villagers and negotiate with outsiders and government agencies on behalf of the villagers. He coordinates community activities and festivals. He entertains and feeds the guests.
I. Conceptual Understanding
Question 1.
What are the major occupations of the tribes ?
Answer:
Generally all families of a tribe do all kinds of work like cultivation, gathering food from forests, grazing animals, making cloth, basket, houses, tools, etc. There are few or no special craft persons. Women and men and even children share the work of the family. However in many tribes men have greater power and role in decision making than women.
Question 2.
Who was Furer Haimendorf ? What did he study ?
Answer:
Scholars called anthropologists have been studying the tribal people. They lived among the tribes and noted down their observation about the culture, life style, beliefs, decision making, etc. of the tribes Furer Haimendorf was one such famous scholar who studied the tribes of TelanganAnswer: He came to Telangana in the 1940s. He studied the Chenchus, the Konda Reddys and the Gonds and wrote books about them. He 5lso studied several other tribes of India, especially in the North Eastern states.
Question 3.
Who cannot be members of the Gond Panch ?
Answer:
When the members of the Panch becomes arrogant and go against the wishes of the people, they cannot be the members of the Gond Panch.
Question 4.
What facts does the Panch take into account in deciding upon a case ?
Answer:
When a dispute is presented to the Panch the first aim of the Panch is to get the facts of the case. The two parties are allowed to make detailed presentation of their points of view. Then some elder member of the community may cross question them to ascertain the actual facts and also ask witnesses of the case to give their evidence.
After this the Panch discusses the provisions of the traditional customs of the Gonds and the decisions in previous cases of similar kind. They try to arrive at a solution acceptable to both parties. When all aspects of the case have been debated one of the senior members proposes a settlement. This is no means a final decision as the person ‘affected may want some change. After hearing his or her response the Panch will take a final decision.
Question 5.
Who becomes the headman (Patla)?
Answer:
Every village has a headman or Patla who is generally heriditary. He is responsible to the Panch but in many cases he can be an effective leader. While the Panch only meet once in a while the headman functions on daily basis. He is usually from the family of the person who had led the formation of the village in the beginning. The main function of the Patla is the ensure the unity of the villagers and to negotiate with the outsiders and government agencies on behalf of the villagers.
Question 6.
What is the relation between the Panch and the Patla ?
Answer:
1) Gond Panch :
a) The village headmen derive their authority from the village ‘Panch’ or the council of adult male householders.
b) This council has the last word in matters concerning the village as a whole and the headman is no more than its chairman.
c) It represents the Gond society as a whole.
d) It doesn’t meet regularly but only when necessary.
2) Patla:
a) Every village has a headman or patla who is generally hereditary.
b) He is responsible to the Panch but in many cases he can be an effective leader.
c) The headman functions on a daily basis.
Question 7.
What is the special role of Patla ?
Answer:
The main function of the Patla is to ensure the unity of the villagers and to negotia; with the outsiders and government agencies on behalf of the villagers. He also coordinates various community work of the village including festivals. He also has to entertain and feed guests of the village. In return for all this he gets one day’s labour m a year on his field from all men and women of the village. This assistance enables him to till more land than his own family can till and thus to feed the guests of the village.
II. Reading the Text (given), Understanding and Interpretation
1. Read the para in page 166 (84) and comment on it.
We read that the customs of the tribe as understood by all the adult members of the community, every family must participates in conducting the activities of the community. Sometimes the community was more powerful than the headman. The headman had to persuade and keep the members of the community happy to retain his position and could not go against their wishes.
We also read that in return for his services to the tribe, he received some special privileges in the form of free labour on his field. This gave him more wealth than the other members of the tribe, but he was expected to spend this for the welfare of the tribe. Such was the arrangement in many of the tribes.
Answer:
Adult males are given much importance in the tribe. No such importance is given to female persons. The headman acts as a well wisher of the tribe. He safeguards the wishes of the tribe / particular community. In return he receives some services. He has to spent his wealth for the welfare of the tribe. 1 think our politicians should learn from these headman.
Question 2.
In what way are the people of a tribe are equal ?
Answer:
The people of a tribe believe that all their resources like land forests and water are the common wealth of the entire tribe and not of individual families or persons. Therefore all members of the tribe can share and use these resources subject to the rules they frame together. In tribal societies there are no sharp differences like rich and poor as everyone has a share in the common resources of the tribe. In some tribes all members of a tribe may till the soil together and share the produce equally.
Question 3.
Is it important for all houses to be represented on the Panch?
Answer:
Among the functions of the Panch is the fixing of the dates of major festivals, allow marriages or divorces, set down norms for marriages or death rites and settle disputes. The Panch can impose fines and may even force a person to leave the village or even order all other Gonds not to leave any relation with him. When a dispute involved people from many villages then council of all the villages concerned will meet in a joint panchayat.
Question 4.
Do you think the girl was satisfied with the decision ?
Answer:
Yes. She wanted the greatest possible insult should be done to him and that he should give in writing that he will not trouble me anymore. The Panch then ordered him to stand in the middle of the Panch and to bow down before the girl, asking her pardon. Thus the girl was satisfied with the decision.
Question 5.
When can a Patla be removed ?
Answer:
Whenever a headman becomes arrogant and goes against the wishes of the people, the Panch may remove him and replace him with another person. Or the other families may just leave the village and settle in a new place.
III. Information Skills
1. Read the following passage.
One day a girl brought a case before the Panch against a man who teased her. When she slapped him for it, he hit her and she fell on the ground, but managed to run away. Then the accused man was asked what he had to say. He admitted his guilt. The Panch asked the girl what she wished to be done to the accused. She said that he should be given the most insulting punishment and that he should give in writing that he would not trouble her anymore in future. The Panch then ordered him to stand in the middle of.the Panch, bow down before the girl and beg for pardon.
Now, answer the following questions.
1) What is a Panch ?
Answer:
It is a council of adult male householders in the village.
2) What was the case brought by the girl ?
Answer:
The case was against a man who teased the girl and when she slapped him for it he hit her and she fell on the ground.
3) Did the mem admit his guilt ?
Answer:
Yes, the man admitted his guilt. .
4) Was the girl satisfied with the decision ?
Answer:
Yes, she got satisfied because the Panch asked the girl what she wished to be done to the accused.
5) What was the judgement ?
Answer:
The Panch ordered the man to stand in the middle of the Panch and to bow down before the girl, asking her pardon.
Question 2.
Collect information about the relationship between Furer Haimendorf and the tribal societies.
Answer:
Furer Haimendorf was a famous scholar who studied the tribes of TelanganAnswer: He came to Telangana in the 1940s. He studied the Chenchus, the Konda Reddys and the Gonds and wrote books about them. He also studied several other tribes of India, especially in the North Eastern states.
IV. Reflection on Contemporary Issues and Questioning
Question 1.
What is the special role of Patla ?
Answer:
Every village has a headman ‘Patla’ who is generally hereditary. He is responsible to the Panch but in many cases he can be ah effective leader.
- The main function of the Patla is to ensure the unity of the villagers and to negotiate with the outsiders and government agencies on behalf of the villagers.
- He also co-ordinates various community work of the village including festivals.
- He also has to entertain and feed guests of the village.
- In return for all this, all men and women of the village work in his fields for one day.
- This assistance enables him to till more land than his own family can, and thus to feed the guests of the village.
Question 2.
Discuss the salient features and short comings of this system.
Answer:
We saw that the customs of the tribe as understood by all the adult male members of the community were very important in conducting the affairs of the community. We also saw that every family had a say in the affairs of the community and together they – were more powerful than the headman. The headman had to persuade and keep the members of the community happy to retain his position and could not go against their wishes.
We also saw that in return for his services to the tribe he received some special privileges in the form of free labour on his field. This gave him more wealth than the other members of the tribe, but he was expected to spend this on the welfare of the tribe. Such was the arrangement in many of the tribes.
Question 3.
Why do you think this was possible only with in a tribe whose members were more or less equal ? What will happen if the members were not equal or if people from different communities lived together ?
Answer:
Usually all members of a tribe consider themselves to be descendents of a common ancestor. Therefore all members of a tribe consider each other to be their relatives. Therefore all members of the tribe can share and use their resources subject to the rules they frame together. In tribal societies there are no sharp differences like rich and poor as everyone has a share in the common resources of the tribe.
For example, tribal land may be divided among all families depending upon size of the family. The land may be redistributed or redivided among the families. So this was possible only within a tribe. If the members were not equal these is not possible to share and use these resources subject to the rules they frame together.
VI. Appreciation and Sensitivity
Question 1.
Many different kinds of societies follow the rule of “people are equal”. Name the different kinds of societies.
Answer:
Many different kinds of societies are called tribes. In Telangana we have the Chenchus, the Konda Reddys, the Gonds, the Koyas, the Yanadis, the Savaras, etc. Almost all states in our country have one tribe or the other living in the forests. They all have different ways of life, different languages, culture, etc. But the societies followed the rule of “people are equal”.
TS 6th Class Social 9th Lesson Notes – Community Decision-Making in a Tribe
- Hereditary : Related to the inheriting of something.
- Shared celebrations : The tribals celebrate their festivals in groups. They share every thing in these festivals. They share the celebrations.
- Anthropologist : A person who studies the human race, especially of its origins, developments, customs and beliefs.
- Common Resources : Tribals use the forest resources for their daily needs. Those re¬sources are common to all of them.
- Community : A group of people who share the same religion, race, job etc., or all the people who live in a particular area.
- Tribe : A group of people of the same race and with the same customs, language, religion, etc., living in a particular area and often led by chief.
- Hearing : An official meeting at which the facts about a crime, complaint, etc. are presented to the person or group of people who will have to decide what action to take.
- Accuse : To say that somebody has done something wrong or is guilty of something.
- Dispute : To argue or disagree strongly with somebody about something.
- Panch : The Council of five adult male householders.
Mind Mapping:
