Answer:
Historically, the economy of most tribes was subsistence agriculture or hunting-gathering. They traded with outsiders for the necessities they lacked such as salt and iron. Different tribes have their own means of livelihood. Even in each tribe, people engage themselves in different professions. Some tribes practice shifting agriculture. They clear a patch of the forest and cultivate the land. After a few years when the land loses its fertility, they move on and clear another area of the forest and use that for agriculture. This is also called slash and burn agriculture. This is because they often burn the vegetation to clear the land. Also, the ash was a natural fertilizer for the crops they grew. Some tribes are hunters- gatherers. But today, this is not very common. They depend on other means of livelihood such as gathering forest products such as honey, and selling them. Some tribes have settled down and farm their own piece of land. They also rear animals to supplement their income. Also, some tribes were skilled dancers and acrobats, and they use this skill to earn their livelihood. For example, the Nayaks are itinerant drama troupes in Gujarat. They move from village to village to perform. Artisan tribes earned their livelihood by crafts like basket making, tool making, spinning and weaving. The Birhor of Bihar made ropes and in the past were nomadic the members of the group learnt the skill. There were pastoralist tribe like the Toda in the Nilgiris and the Gujjar, the Bakarwal and Gaddi in Himachal Pradesh. They earned their livelihood by rearing and selling sheep, horses and goats. They make seasonal movements to the mountain pastures. They exchanged or sold the dairy products for other items of their use particularly agricultural products.
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