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Atribal chief,chieftain, or headman is a political leader of a social group commonly described as atribe,band, orconfederation of tribes. Chiefs’ authority varies widely by society and context, and in many cases depends on consensus and customary legitimacy rather than coercive power. Inanthropology, terms such astribe,chief, andchiefdom have been used in comparative models of sociopolitical organization, but the analytic use oftribe has also been widely criticized as imprecise and historically burdened. In some contemporary states, forms of chiefly authority are formally recognized or regulated by constitutions and statutes.[1][2][3]
The concept oftribe is broadly applied, based on tribal concepts of societies in westernAfroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as an intermediate stage between theband society of thePaleolithic stage andcivilization with centralized, super-regional government based incities.[citation needed] AnthropologistElman Service distinguishes two stages of tribal societies: simple societies organized by limited instances of social rank and prestige, and morestratified societies led by chieftains or tribal kings (chiefdoms). Stratified tribal societies led by tribal kings are thought to have flourished from theNeolithic stage into theIron Age, albeit in competition withurban civilisations andempires beginning in theBronze Age.[citation needed]
In the case of tribal societies ofIndigenous peoples within larger colonial and post-colonial states, tribal chiefs may represent their tribe or ethnicity throughself-government.[citation needed]
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The most common types of chieftains are the chairman of a council (usually ofelders) and/or a broaderpopular assembly in "parliamentary" cultures, the war chief (may be an alternative or additional post in war time), the hereditary chief, and the politically dominantmedicineman.
The term is usually distinct from chiefs at lower levels, such asvillage chiefs (geographically defined) orclan chiefs (an essentially genealogical notion). The descriptive "tribal" requires an ethno-cultural identity (racial, linguistic, religious, etc.) as well as some political expression (representative, legislative, executive, and/or judicial). In certain situations, and especially in acolonial context, the most powerful member of either aconfederation or afederation of such tribal, clan, or village chiefs is referred to as aparamount chief.[4]
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Classical sources of information about tribal societies are external descriptions, such as fromGreco-Roman ethnography, which identified societies surrounding those of the ethnographers as tribal.
States andcolonialism, particularly in the last centuries, have often subjected tribal societies to their own governments and laws. In some instances, tribes have retained or regained partial self-government, withIndigenous peoples' rights having been fought for and secured on state or international levels.
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InBotswana, the reigningdikgosi of the various tribes serve as advisers to the government as members of theNtlo ya Dikgosi, the nationalHouse of Chiefs. They also serve as theex officio chairs of the tribalkgotlas, meetings of all of the members of the tribes.
The offices and traditional realms of theNanas ofGhana are protected by the republican constitution of the country. The chiefs serve as custodians of all traditional lands and the cultures of the traditional areas. They also serve as members of the GhanaianNational House of Chiefs.
Although both theNigerian traditional rulers and the widerchieftaincy aren't mentioned in Nigeria's currentconstitution, they derive their powers from various "Chiefs laws" and are therefore legally recognized. The traditional rulers and select chiefs usually serve as members of each federating state'sState Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs.
Such figures as theKing of the Zulu Nation and theRain Queen are politically recognized in South Africa because they derive their status, not only from tribal custom, but also from the Traditional Leadership Clause of the country's current constitution. Some of them are members of theNational House of Traditional Leaders.
The pre-colonial states that existed in what is today Uganda were summarily abolished following independence fromGreat Britain. However, following constitutional reforms in 1993, a number of them were restored as politically neutral constituencies of the state by the government ofYoweri Museveni. Such figures as theKabaka of Buganda and theOmukama of Toro typify the Ugandan chieftaincy class.
El caciquismo is a distorted form of government through which a political leader has total control of a rural society expressed as politicalclientelism. This concept was most widespread in Latin America in its different periods of history. In Spain and some Latin American countries, the wordcacique is used pejoratively to refer to those who hold power through obscure networks of influence, even though this type of fraud is not related topre-Columbian era civilizations.
TheAfro-Bolivian people, a recognized ethnic constituency of Bolivia, are led by aking whose title is recognized by the Bolivian government.
The band is the fundamental unit of governance among theFirst Nations in Canada (formerly called "Indians"). Most bands have elected chiefs, either directly elected by all members of the band, or indirectly by the band council; these chiefs are recognized by the Canadian state under the terms of theIndian Act. Bands may have traditional hereditary or charismatic chiefs, who are usually not part of the formal government sanctioned by the Indian Act. There were 614 bands in Canada in 2012.[8] TheAssembly of First Nations, a national organization, elects a "national chief" to act as spokesperson of all First Nations bands in Canada.
A chief might be considered to hold all political power, say by oratory or by example. But on the North American continent, it was historically possible to evade the political power of another by migration. TheMingos, for example, wereIroquois who migrated further west to the sparsely populatedOhio Country during the 18th century. Two Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois,Hiawatha andthe Great Peacemaker, formulated aconstitution for the Iroquois Confederation. TheMuscogee Confederacy consisted oftribal towns headed by "Miccos" (civil chiefs) who presided over town councils, but members of the town were free to ignore council decisions, just as towns were free to ignore decisions of the Confederacy.
Not all tribal leaders are or were men.Wilma Mankiller was a well-known chief of the Cherokee Nation. The chief may not be free to wield power without the consent of a council of elders. For example,Cherokee men were not permitted to go to war without the consent of the council of women.
Arabs, in particularnomadic Bedouins, and some Iraqis and Syrians, are largely organized in tribes, many of whom have official representatives in governments. Tribal chiefs are known assheikhs or elders, though this term is also sometimes applied as an honorific title to spiritual leaders ofSufism.
Apo Rodolfo Aguilar (Kudol I) serves as the chieftain of theTagbanwa people living in Banuang Daan and Cabugao settlements in Coron Island, Palawan, Philippines. His position is recognized by the Filipino government.
TheSolomon Islands have a Local Court Act which empowers chiefs to deal with crimes in their communities, thus granting them considerable effective authority.
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