Agrarian Society

AGRARIAN SOCIETY
DEFINATION
Dominant types of economic activity into agrarian
and industrial societies.
In an agrarian society the dominant type of
economic activity is agricultural
Two-third to three-fourths of the world’s people
live in agrarian or peasant societies.
DEFINATION
The earliest men lived in relatively small bands,
formed on the basis of family and blood ties.
Their economy consisted of seed and root
gathering, of hunting and fishing. The Neolithic
Revolution marks one of the greatest changes in
the history of society, one matched only by the
Industrial Revolution. The Neolithic Revolution
began in the Near east and the Nile Valley about
13,000 years ago.
DEFINATION
During this period men began to polish some of their
stone tools, giving them a sharper cutting edge, and they
invented the arts of pottery and weaving. But these were
not the most important changes. It was the domestication
of plants and animals which laid the foundation of
agrarian society.
The development of agriculture greatly altered the social
structure and institutions. The new form of economy
made possible a more rapid growth in population. It also
meant a more settled abode. Man founded villages and
thereby created the need for new forms of social
structure and social control.
Structure and Features of Tribal Society:
(i) Occupational Structure:

Generally associated with the domestication of plants and
animals. The domestication of plants means farming and
that of animals means herding. Often there is mixture of
farming and the use of such domesticated animals as cow,
goat and sheep.
Along with agricultural and herding there are other
economic activities of the people in an agrarian society.
Thus there are artisans like weavers, potters, blacksmiths,
petty shopkeepers, service holders such as sweeper,
watchman, domestic servant and others pursuing lowly
occupations.
(ii) Forms of Land Ownership in Agrarian
Societies:
There are landlords, supervisory farmers, cultivators and
share croppers. The landholders own the land but do not
work on it. They let it out for sharecropping. The supervisory
farmers are those who live by having their land cultivated by
hired labourers. The cultivators cultivate the land for
themselves. The share-croppers are those who live by tilling
other people’s land or; a crop-sharing basis.
The artisans own their means of production and produce by
their own labour in their homesteads. The traders are not
large size businessmen. It may be noted that the artisan and
trader class in an agrarian society sometimes also own land
which they either cultivate through hired labour or let it out
for shareholding.
(iii) Village Community System:
An agrarian society is highlighted by the institution of village
community system. The agrarian economy made fixed dwelling houses
necessary. Living close together for protection and co-operation and
living nearer to the land gave birth to agricultural villages. The village is
not only the residential place of farmers; it is also the social integrator.
It serves as the nucleus of the society and life operates almost

completely within the village. The life-patterns of the people are fixed.
Their habits, attitudes and ideas are sharply marked off from those of
the people living in the industrial society. The production-relations
between the different classes living in the village community become so
stabilised that even the new forces find it difficult to break them
through.
Inspite of all the talk of uplifting the ‘Harijan’ (agricultural labourers)

from their miserable conditions, the Indian leaders have not succeeded
to break through the production-relations between the agricultural
labourer and his landlord.
(iV) MINIMAL DIVISION OF LABOUR:
Another structural feature of agrarian society is a minimal division of labour.

Except for the basic division founded on age and sex differences, there are
few specialized roles. There is only one predominant type of occupation i.e.,
domestication of plants and animals. For all the people the environment,
physical as well as social, is the same.
The agrarian society is a homogeneous society where people are engaged in

the same economic pursuit. There is not much division and sub-division of
work. There is no multiplicity of organisations, economic and social.
There are no trade unions or professional associations. The different physical

types, interests, occupational roles, values, religious groups and attitudes so
obvious in an industrial society are absent from the agrarian society. The
people tend to be much alike in body build as well as cultural patterns.
(v) Role of Family:
One striking feature of the agrarian society is the great importance of
the family, not only as a reproductive and child-rearing agency but as
an economic unit. In many societies it is not the individual as such but
the entire family as a group that tills the soil, plants and harvests the
crops, and carries out co-operatively the other necessary farm functions.
The farm family is of the patriarchal type: the father is the final arbiter
in most of the family’s major decisions. The status of the family is the
status of the individual. There are established family traditions in
regard to marriage, religion, recreation and occupation.
The life of ail men and women is merged in family life. Since there are
not many special organizations, family is the only organisation to
perform the tasks of aid and protection.
(vi) Sense of Unity
The members of an agrarian society exhibit a strong in-
group feeling. Since the whole of their social lives is
wrapped up in a society which is physically, economically
and socially homogenous, they are inclined to view the
entire outside world as an out group.
There is a strong ‘we- feeling’. In the name of village glory,

the people are ready to sacrifice their lives. Any outsider
violating the village norms and customs is heavily punished.
The relations among the village people are personal. In an

agrarian society neighbourhood is one of the important units
which has disappeared from the industrial society.
vii) Informal Social Control:
The members of an agrarian society exhibit a strong in-group
feeling. Since the whole of their social lives is wrapped up in a
society which is physically, economically and socially
homogenous, they are inclined to view the entire outside world
as an out group.
There is a strong ‘we- feeling’. In the name of village glory, the

people are ready to sacrifice their lives. Any outsider violating
the village norms and customs is heavily punished.
The relations among the village people are personal. In an

agrarian society neighbourhood is one of the important units
which has disappeared from the industrial society.
(viii) Simplicity and Uniformity
Life of the people in an agrarian society is marked by
simplicity and uniformity. Their main occupation is
agriculture which largely depends upon the vagaries of
nature. The farmer acquires an attitude of fear and awe
towards natural forces and starts worshipping them. The
people thereby come to develop deep faith in religion and
deities.
An agrarian society is a religious society. Moreover, the

farmers lead a simple life. Their clothing, agricultural
practices and vehicles have been carried out with little
change for generations. They regard simple life as good
life.
CONCLUSION
To conclude, it may also be said that agrarian society in our times is being
influenced more and more by the features of industrial society. The farmer now
produces surplus goods for a wider market, makes use of the money economy of
industrial era and takes part in a larger political order by paying taxes and voting.
The continued extension of commercial farming with an eye to profits, along with
the introduction of machinery has greatly influenced the social organisation of
agrarian societies. The Indian society which is an agrarian society is gradually
undergoing transformation under the impact of industrialisation.
The introduction of commercialization and mechanization into agriculture means

that the urban ways of life more and more influence agrarian culture. And once
the shift gets well under way, business and industrial views and methods will
affect not only production and marketing but the level of living and other cultural
patterns as well.
THANK
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AGRARIAN SOCIETY

(i) Occupational Structure:

It serves as the nucleus of the society and life operates almost

Inspite of all the talk of uplifting the ‘Harijan’ (agricultural labourers)

Another structural feature of agrarian society is a minimal division of labour.

The agrarian society is a homogeneous society where people are engaged in

There are no trade unions or professional associations. The different physical

There is a strong ‘we- feeling’. In the name of village glory,

The relations among the village people are personal. In an

There is a strong ‘we- feeling’. In the name of village glory, the

The relations among the village people are personal. In an

An agrarian society is a religious society. Moreover, the

The introduction of commercialization and mechanization into agriculture means

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