Which ancient tribes have been included in India? Explain

Cultural Heritage

        Cultural Heritage that India has gifted to the world is also prosperous, rich and varied. Cultural heritage is man-made heritage. Whatever man obtains or creates with his intellect, skills is called cultural heritage.

        The people of India, from the prehistoric period, have contributed to the people of the world. For e.g., sculpture is a 5000 years old ancient art. The remains of Indus Valley civilization is evidence of this. The remains of the figures of Gods and Goddesses, human figures, animals and several toys as well as sculptures of a man with a beard and the statue of a dancer are the examples of rich cultural heritage and their contribution to the world.

        Further when we look at the bullock or lion on an inverted lotus of Mauryan Era, the statue of Gautam Buddha in a meditative mood, or the statues of Jain saints and the caves of Ajanta Ellora etc. (prepared by kings), we feel gladdened and proud and we show a great respect and reverence for our cultural heritage.

• Explain the Natural Heritage included in India.

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        Palaces, buildings, sculptures, stupas, 'Viharas' 'Chaitya', temples, mosques, tombs, domes, forts, gates, etc. all these architectural monuments are a part of our cultural heritage. Even the historical places of our freedom movement can also be considered as a part of our cultural heritage.

        This cultural heritage should not only be conserved and preserved but also developed by the people of India age after age. As a result, the continuity of our cultural heritage has been maintained. This has made Indian culture beautiful, charming and pleasing. Simultaneously, it has also bestowed India a prestigious place.

India - Land and People

       The speciality of India is that traces of the different races are found in India. The Dravidians were considered to be the most ancient people of India but the modern researchers of linguistics and anthropology have proved that even before the Dravidians came and settled in India, six more tribes were also found from different lands. They also contributed to our cultural diversity.

• Show how the different tribes in ancient India were 'Indianized'.

These people can be described as under:

1. Negroid (Habsi People): Some historians believe that Negrate or Negros (Habsi) are the most ancient inhabitants of India. They came from Africa and via Balochistan to India. They are black, having the height of 4 to 5 feet and curly hair.

2. Australoid (Nishad People): This tribe of people came from South-East Asia. Their physical characteristics were: black skin, with broad head, flat nose, short in height etc. The Aryans who came later on to India call them 'Nishad'. The origins of the tribes like 'Kol' and 'Munda', 'Khashi' tribe of Assam, the tribes of Nicobar and Myanmar have similarities to the Australoids. Their contribution in the development of Indian culture and civilization is immense.

They made clay utensils, wove cotton cloth and knew many other skills. They had great religious beliefs too.

3. The Dravidians: Beforethe Aryans, the Dravidians used to live in India and they used to speak Dravidian-language. The Dravidians were the direct descendants of Stone Age civilization and the creator of Mohen-jo-Daro culture. The Indian culture is greatly indebted to the Dravidians just like the Aryans in many respects. The Dravidians gave the thought of mother as a 'Goddess' and father as a 'God'; So the thought of Parvati and Shiva or mother and father developed.

        Moreover the tradition of worshipping nature is the gift of the Dravidians. The tradition of worshipping with 'Dhup' (incense stick), Deep (lamp) and 'Aarti' (worship with Aarti) are considered to be the gifts of the Dravidians. The Dravidians developed urban civilization by constructing houses with bricks. They had Matriarchal system of family. They progressed a lot in different crafts like boat and raft, weaving, spinning, dyeing, arts etc.

        Arrows, spears and swords etc were their weapons. They were well-versed in the art of weaving cotton cloth and making tools for agriculture. Due to the dominance of the Aryans in the north of India, the Drvaidians shifted to South India and settled there. As a result, today we can find the people speaking Dravidian-family languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam etc, in South India.

4. Other tribes: Apart from this Alpine, Dinarik and Armenoid tribes are the tribes who migrated from central Asia. All those three tribes have some similarities. The origins (genes) of those tribes are found in a large number in Gujarat, Saurashtra, Maharashtra, Bengal and in Orissa.

5. Mongoloid (Kirat): People possessed the physical characteristics like yellow complexion, flat face, chubby cheeks, almost shaped eyes etc. They came to India from North-East China Via Tibet and settled down at north Assam, East Bengal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and they gradually Indianized themselves.

6. The Aryans: The Aryans were more developed people than any other contemporary tribes. They loved, prayed and worshipped the trees, rivers, mountains, the Sun, wind and rain. They had composed hymns (mantras) for praying various natural elements.

        In due course of time, some religious ceremonies originated out of them, the Yagnaya Gaadi (related to Yajna) which observe the influence of the Aryans on Indian culture.

The Nordic - Aryans were the makers of Aryan culture in India. Excepting the distinguishing features of different tribes which came earlier in India and created a harmonious culture in India with the passage of time, all these tribes which came to India and settled there were amalgamated through inter-tribal marriages. This process helped in the merging of all those tribes into one.

        There was merging of those tribes with their specific style of living, different languages and thoughts into one. So right from the beginning, there was a creation of harmonious culture which gave India a glorious and prosperous heritage. This great heritage of India is a glorious and prosperous heritage. This great heritage of India attracted the attention amongst the people of the world in such a way that during the ancient period, many foreigners came down in big numbers. 

        In the beginning of the second century a new era began with the advent of the foreigners. This is because of Alexander's invasion, the Greeks came to India later. The 'Shakas', 'Kushans', 'Pallavas' and 'Hunas' etc. came and settled in different parts of India over a long period of time. India became their native land. They all then became Indians. Greek emperor Menander was recognized as Milind. After his conversion to Buddhism. Thus, the cultured structure of India was strengthened in many ways. This made Indian culture variegated. These tribes migrated in such a way that they lost their individual identity.

        These foreigners and the Indian tribes were greatly influenced by languages, scripts, names, religions and beliefs etc. Religion played a vital role in Indianizing these foreigners. Some of them accepted Buddhism and some accepted Hinduism. The Kushan emperor Kanishka I adopted Buddhism and contributed notably in propagating Buddhism. Some pillar inscriptions, coins, cave inscriptions, stone inscriptions etc. are a witness to all these.

        These foreign tribes adopted not only the religion but they also adopted language, script, social, traditions etc. They also adopted Indian names and titles. In short, in ancient India the amalgamation of various cultures enriched Indian culture by making it variegated and prosperous.