Aparamount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with achief-based system. This term is used occasionally inanthropological andarchaeological theory to refer to the rulers of multiple chiefdoms or the rulers of exceptionally powerful chiefdoms that have subordinated others. Paramount chiefs were identified by English-speakers as existing in Native American confederacies and regional chiefdoms, such as thePowhatan Confederacy andPiscatawayNative Americans encountered byEuropean colonists in theChesapeake Bay region ofNorth America.
During theVictorian era, paramount chief was a formal title created by British colonial administrators in theBritish Empire and applied in Britain's colonies in Asia and Africa. They used it as a substitute for the word "king" to ensure that only theBritish monarch held that title.[1] Since the title "chief" was already used in terms of district and town administrators, the addition of "paramount" was made so as to distinguish between the ruling monarch and the localaristocracy.[1]
Kenya: Title held by supreme ruler Lago Ogom, after the advent ofBritish colonial rule in Northern Kenya.
Sudan: InSouth Sudan, the title of the chief responsible for apayam (district) elected by the chiefs of eachbuma (village). The Paramount Chief works with the government-appointedPayam Director, both of whom report to acounty Commissioner.
West African paramount chieftains and their countries
of each of the eight major tribes of theTswana, all inBotswana (former Bechuanaland)
In presentLesotho since it emerged as a polity in 1822, aBritish protectorate as Basutoland since 12 March 1868 (11 August 1871 – 18 March 1884 Annexed to Cape Colony as Basutoland territory, then as a separate colony, as one of theHigh Commission Territories). The title changed to king on 4 October 1966, which was the date of the country's independence from theBritish Empire.
over the Awa-Khoi or "Red Nation" (more prominent than six other 'nations') of the Nama (Khoi) people, a Chiefdom established before 1700.
titleOkahandja Herero among that people, also Chief Ministers of Hereoroland (two incumbents 20 July 1970 – 5 December 1980), the 'homeland' of theOvaherero
InSwaziland the term paramount chief was imposed by the British government over Swazi royal objections in 1903, was never recognized by the Swazi royalty, and was changed to "king" in English upon independence in 1968. The SiSwati name for the office isNgwenyama, a ceremonial term for "lion".
In South Africa
Khosikulu of the vhaVenda; after the people's split, (only?) of the haMphaphuli
titleInkosi Enkhulu of the Xhosa people's following polities:amaGcaleka, amaMbalu,amaRharhabe,amaNdlambe, imiDushane, imiQhayi, amaGasela, amaGwali, amaHleke, imiDange, amaNtinde,amaGqunukhwebe
titleInkosi Enkhulu of theamaBhaca (until 1830 called abakwaZelemu)
titleInkosi Enkhulu of theamaKhonjwayo (currently ruled by Dumisani Gwadiso)
titleInkosi Enkhulu of theamaMpondo, currently ruled by Ndamase NDAMASE (West) and Jongilanga Sigcau (East) .
Khan, alternately spelled lowercase askhan[2] and sometimes spelled asHan,Xan,Ke-Han,Turkic:khān,[2][3]Mongolian:qāān,[3]Chinese: 可汗 or 汗,kehan orhan) is an originallyCentral Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, first used by medievalTurko-Mongolnomadic tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is first seen as a title in theXianbei confederation[4] for their chief between 283 and 289[5] and was used as a state title by theRouran confederation.[6]It was subsequently adopted by theGöktürks beforeTurkic peoples and theMongols brought it to the rest of Asia. In the middle of the sixth century it was known as "Kagan – King of the Turks" to thePersians.[4]
It now has many equivalent meanings such as commander, leader, or ruler. The most famous khan was the Great Khan of Mongols:Genghis Khan. Another famous Manchu khan wasNurhachi.
Huguan Siou is the paramount leader for theKadazandusunMurut indigenous community inSabah. The current and the second Huguan Siou isJoseph Pairin Kitingan. The office is near sacred and can be left vacant if no one is deemed worthy to hold the title.[7]
Ariki Nui ofNgati Tuwharetoa, aMāori tribe in the central North Island – a hereditary chieftainship which still has great influence. In the 1850s theMāori King Movement resulted in the election of a Waikato chief as Māori King.
during the October–December 1987 secession agitation on one island, known as the Republic ofRotuma, led by Henry Gibson (remained in New Zealand), his style wasGagajSau Lagfatmaro, rendered as Paramount chief or King of the Molmahao Clan. NB: This title was not recognised by the Rotuma Island Council as the titles Gagaja and Sau have never been used together. The closest thing to a paramount chief is the position ofFakpure, currently belonging to the district chief (gagaj 'es itu'u) ofNoa'tau.
theBritish Sovereign was recognized as "Paramount Chief", even after the country became a republic on 7 October 1987; however, this was not an office of state.
^ab"khan".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.Bartleby.com. Archived fromthe original on 2007-08-19. Retrieved2008-04-25.
^abHenning, W. B., 'A Farewell to the Khagan of the Aq-Aqataran',"Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African studies – University of London", Vol 14, No 3, p501–522. ,
