CHIEFDOMS
Background
The people of Tikopia Island were studied by
New Zealand Anthropologist Raymond Firth
1928-29.
Polynesian ramages typically are
denoted by a prefix along the
lines of Sa, Haa, Pa, etc. followed
by the name of the founding
ancestor.
Many features of chiefdoms can
be understood by reference to
religious beliefs involved with
ancestor veneration.
Ancestor Veneration
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The power of the souls of ancestors is held to endure in
death.
In stratified societies, the power of the dead is in
proportion to their status in life.
The dead are held to be able to influence the fortunes
of the living.
Burial places and objects owned by the dead exude
this power.
Animatism: impersonal power
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Animatism is the belief in a power that runs
through all of nature, over which humans have
some control, for good or evil. It gives efficacy
to magic.
It is manifested as the force in the Star Wars
movies – and was probably inspired by the
concept.
Mana and Tapu
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Impersonal power is called Mana in Polynesia and
Melanesia. In Samoan: also called Mamana.
It is found in unequal degree in places, in men and
women, and in aristocrats and non-aristocrats, hence it is
the supernatural justification of social inequality,
separation, and avoidance.
A corollary concept of mana is tapu, or taboo. The
word expresses the caution or avoidance that must be
exercised in the presence of someone or something with
great mana. A Hawaiian temple is called tapuapuatea.
In Ireland
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These concepts have their counterparts in early
Medieval Ireland where aristocrats were considered
to be nemed individuals, or “holy,” and they were
bound by certain avoidances, or gessa.
Chieftains
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In contrast to the status of headman, chieftain is an
office in that it exists apart from the person who fills
it. In that respect, it is what anthropologists term an
institution: …”..a reasonably enduring, complex,
integrated pattern of behavior by which social
control is exerted…”
Succession to office is determined by rules involving
descent from a chief, such as primogeniture.
Primogeniture is the rule that the first-born male
inherits everything, exclusive to his siblings.
Aristocracy
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In contrast to egalitarian societies in chiefdoms there
are social strata where it is accepted that there are
groups of people that are social superior and
socially inferior. Hence a chiefdom is a stratified
society.
Relatives and descendants of chieftains are a class
of socially superior people. Therefore they
constitute an aristocracy. They are set off by titles,
speech, dress, possession of prestige objects, etc.