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elders, chiefs, and Big Men: authority legitimation and political evolution in Melanesia
Author(s) -
ALLEN MICHAEL
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1525/ae.1984.11.1.02a00020
Subject(s) - kinship , legitimation , politics , typology , sociology , clan , hierarchy , social stratification , voluntary association , genealogy , centralized government , anthropology , political economy , social science , political science , law , history
This paper provides, from an evolutionary perspective, a comparative typology of Melanesian political systems. The range covered extends from small‐scale polities in which political action is deeply interwoven with the fabric of kinship to those of increased scale, specialization, differentiation, and hierarchy. Perhaps surprisingly, it is found that those communities in which matrilineal principles are accorded importance are also those with the most elaborate and complex forms of political association: in particular, ranked descent groups, hereditary titular systems, voluntary secret societies, and elaborate status hierarchies based on achievement. [political evolution, leadership, matriliny, secret societies, social stratification, Melanesia, Vanuatu]