Leadership in South Pacific Islands

Two different kinds of leadership have been identified among societies of the South Pacific islands: Chiefs and Big Men. The Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea and the Dani, from mainland Papua New Guinea, exemplify these contrasting types. Trobrianders have Chiefs who have inherited power, are socially elevated above the rest of their group, and can exert some semi-coercive types of power. The Dani, on the other hand, have Big Men who develop influence rather than possessing power. Big Men must achieve whatever political or social ends they desire by means of persuasion and the exertion of various levels of influence. The difference between the inherited and non-inherited forms of leadership can be seen most easily in the high degree of regulated behaviors by and toward the Trobriand Chiefs as opposed to the relative lack of ceremony connected with the Dani's Big Men. Hereditary Chiefs owe their positions to a body of historical beliefs that constitute the organizational principles on which Trobriand societies are based. Their status inheres in their persons, yet their power can be extended or limited as the result of the abilities of individual Chiefs. Big Men's status is, technically, ad hoc in nature, yet the fact that wealth is a determining factor, and can be inherited, often means that Big Men are the sons of Big Men. A comparison of leadership in these two groups will demonstrate the essential similarities and differences between these two modes of lead

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however, the effective Big Man will use his abilities to influence the prevailing attitudes so that they fall in line with his plans. Comparatively speaking, therefore, it would seem that the chiefs of the Trobriand islands are by far the more powerful persons. Yet, when the spheres of influence of the two types of leader are compared (at least between the Trobrianders and the Dani) the Big Men exert a great deal of political influence while chiefs exert power that is principally magisterial and acquisitive but supplies, for the most part, few occasions for the coercive exercise of power. And, in terms of the struggle to retain status, while the chiefs can never not be chiefs the actual extent of their power and influence is limited or extended in a fashion similar to that of the Big Men. The apparent anomalies of their respective situations derive in part from social organization and group size among the Trobrianders and the Dani. Trobrianders live in hamlets, comprising 6 to 20 households, and between 2 and 8 closely placed hamlets constitute a village. Each hamlet represents a matrilineage, yet "only a few members of the matrilineage may reside there [since] marriage is exogamous within a hamlet," though not within a vi

Category: Psychology - L