Tribes in Ancient India c10.61

c10.61

The Cedis of the Vedic period, like other tribes, e.g. the Purus, were a group of families, says Dr. V. A. Smith, and in each family the father was master. The whole tribe was governed by a Rājā whose power was checked to an undefined extent by a tribal council. The details recorded suggest that the life of the people was not unlike that of many tribes of Afghanistan in modern times, before the introduction of fire-arms.⁵