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( Rigvedic tribes)
The Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the Rigveda are described as semi-nomadic pastoralists, subdivided into temporary settlements (vish, vis) and headed by a tribal chief (raja, rajan) assisted by a priestly caste. They formed a warrior society, engaging in endemic warfare and cattle raids ("gavi??i") among themselves and against the "Dasyu" or Dasa. The size of a typical tribe was probably of the order of a few thousand people. The account of the Dasharajna battle (Battle of the Ten Kings) in Mandala 7, hymn 18, mentions 6,666 casualties in a devastating defeat of a confederation of ten tribes, suggesting that a single tribe could muster a few thousand warriors on average, while the average size of a whole tribe may have been 3,000-6,000 (A late Vedic tribe, the Vesali, mentioned in the Pali texts, has 7000 "rajas", that is noblemen.) While the number of 6,666 cannot be taken literally, this order of magnitude is consistent with the typical size of tribes of Eurasian nomads. List of tribes (incomplete, please expand) name="See_also" id="See_also">
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