NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English (Woven Words) Essays 4 Tribal Verse

Class : 11th

Subject : English

Chapter : 4(Essays)

Chapter Name : Tribal Verse

Q1 Identify the common characteristics shared by tribal communities all over the world.

Answer. Tribal communities are distant from the materialistic world. They have their own
communities and rules that are the same all over the world. Tribal communities have the same
rituals all over the world. Trial’s believe nature is the purest form of God. They make all attempts
to save nature from exploitation. They believe in intuition rather than the decision. They believe
God is linked to human beings and humans have the ability to extract the truth.

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Q2 What distinguishes the tribal imagination from the secular imagination?

Answer. The imagination of tribal is highly fictional. Tribal imagination is unlike secular
imagination they have all the characteristics of being dreamlike and unreal. In their imagination
all the impossible happens like oceans can fly and mountains can swim. The temporal
sequence does not stop them from restricting the narrative or imagination.

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Q3 How does G.N. Devy bring out the importance of the oral literary tradition?

Answer. G.N Devy through his essay highlights their tradition. Many people don’t consider oral
literature as an important part of literature. G.N. Devy has collected these materials all overage.

Oral tradition is an important thing to learn more about a particular culture. He advocated and
earned more deeply about the culture.

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Q4 List the distinctive features of the tribal arts.

Answer. G.N. Devy list various features of tribal arts. The art was hallucinatory. In oral and
visual forms of depiction, artists from tribal belts seem to interpret verbal or visual space as
marked by an extremely flexible form. The boundaries between art and non-art became blurred.
Tribal painting has abstract concepts, it is not necessary to be logical. No logic or temporal
sequences are necessary. Tribal treats nature as a direct form of God and looks for answers in
it only.

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Q5 ‘New literature’ is a misnomer for the wealth of the Indian literary tradition. How does G.N.
Devy explain this?

Answer. Tribal literature is not new literature. It is an ancient form of literature discovered later
by the people. Discovering it late and then claiming it to be new literature is certainly not
accepted. The literature isn’t new and it is not their problem if you didn’t discover it earlier. Their
language should be heard around and more read about them.

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Q1 How does ‘A Munda Song’ show that the perspective of the tribal mind towards the girl child
is different from that of (other) mainstream communities?

Answer. A Munda Song is sung at the birth of a son or a daughter and it tells about nature is an
important part of life. The birth of a daughter is associated with a cowshed full of cows and that

of the son with its depletion. Hence in their culture daughter is held in high esteem than the son.
In Munda society, women take the lead and play major role in society.

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Q2 How does ‘A Kondh Song’ substantiate the tribal urge to gain domination over time by
conversing with their dead ancestors?

Answer. The Kondh tribe believes in the existence of gods and souls. A Kondh song is usually
sung at the death of a person to stop troubling the living. It is based on the Kondh belief that
people love their abode so much that their souls are displeased to leave the earth even after
death. These spirits, though generally kind, sometimes at times since they are now unable to
take part in the earthly life. It is, therefore, important to make generous offerings to the spirit.
The song begins by saying that the dead spirit will be able to receive offerings only if the family
propers.

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Q3 Adi Song for the Recovery of Lost Health’ is in Miri Agom while Adi Agom is the Adi
community’s language for routine conversation. How does this reflect upon the high level of
language sensitivity of the Adi? Can you think of other parallels in modern languages between
the literary variety and the colloquial variety?

Answer. Miri Agom is a rhythmic language used to chant mantras. It is different from the Adi
Agom song. There are different languages for regular conversation and chanting mantras. In
Hindi and English languages, such similarities can be marked.

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Q1 ‘It is time to realise that unless we modify the established notion of literature as something
written, we will silently witness the decline of various Indian oral traditions.’

Answer. ​Literature is not only limited to written sources. Anything that depicts culture, word or
meanings in written oral form is a part of literature. G.N. Devy says if we fail to revive oral
literature it will lead to a silent decline of Indian oral traditions. Great literature will be lost if we
go on limiting it to written source.

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Q2 ‘Tribal arts are not specifically meant for sale.’ Does this help or hamper their growth and
preservation?

Answer. Tribals arts, are used in preservation of tribal arts. They are simple yet extraordinary in
the forms. Tribal epics are a great source of information from the past. The tribal artist expect
greater patronage.

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Q3 Because India’s tribal communities are basically bilingual there is a danger of dismissing
their languages as dialects of India’s major tongues.

Answer. ​Bilingual communities have power to assimilate in themselves other cultural effects. It
is indeed a highly evolved mechanism for responding to the non-tribal world. In fact, the tribal
oral stories and songs employ bilingualism in such a complex manner that a linguist who is not
alert to this complexity often dismiss the tribal languages as dialects of India’s major tongues.

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Q4 ​While tribal communities may not seem to possess the scientific temper, there are many
ideas from tribal conventions that could enrich modern societies.

Answe​r.These tribal communities may not have scientific knowledge but are more close to
nature. They are are close to nature and away from evils. The Kondh tribe don't believe in the
practice of dowry, instead they fix a price for the bride that the groom pays in cash or kind.

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Q1 Comment on the symbols used in ‘A Munda Song’. What aspect of the tribal worldview do
they reflect?

Answer. ​The symbols of a Munda song
σηοωτηεπροξιμιτψοφτηετριβαλσωιτηνατυρε.τηειρλιϖεσαρεσψνχηρονισεδωιτητηεχηανγινγ

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Q2 Explain the significance of the lines ‘I tie this Ridin creeper to fasten your soul to your body.’

Answer. Ridin is a creeper that has special medicinal qualities. It was believed that Ridin
creeper ensures good health to the body to ensure good effect.

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Q3 ​What is the central argument of the speaker?

Answer. ​The author G.N. Devy, through his essay ‘Tribal Verse’ attempts to familiarise people
with importance of oral literature. He says if we continue to give importance to written culture we
will be losing a great deal of valuable literature.

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