chief

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sitting Bull with chief insignia that has become a cliché : Lakota chiefs were respected leaders by virtue of their actions, whose powers were limited, specific and time-limited
Modern Ashanti chief from Ghana: recognized traditional powers within a democracy
Tukukino, a Māori chief: Polynesian chiefs inherited their status, were regarded as descendants of the gods and had extensive autocratic powers

A chief is a - supposedly or actually - leading member of a society without a pronounced political system (a tribal society or a chiefs ) . In the course of colonialism , the Europeans introduced this term as an undifferentiated collective term for the supposedly highest person within the very different forms of rule of the conquered. This was done primarily in order to adapt the unknown social structures of foreigners to familiar ones (military leaders, princes, kings , etc.); but also in order to be able to hold certain people to collective responsibility. Although the status, authority and powers of a "chief" were and are completely different depending on the ethnic group, the term is still used.

As an equivalent to the English chief in the translation of the works of the American writer James Fenimore Cooper , the term chief spread in the German-speaking world in the first half of the 19th century, with the general meaning "head of a (half) wild people ”( French chef de tribu “ tribal chief ”). Cooper's historical novels largely described the culture of some North American Indians and helped shape the German image of Indians .

Through the English-language social anthropology and later political ethnology , the expression became a key term in Europe for the description of European early history . In spite of its prehistory and in the absence of alternatives, the term is still used in part in ethnology.

In northwest Germany, "chief" was the name given to the leader of East Frisian ethnic groups in the 14th to 17th centuries (see East Frisian chiefs ).

Origins of the term

The use of the expression “ main ” as pars pro toto for someone in a management position is universally widespread and forms a word stem from Latin caput , for example , which is implemented in all Romance languages.

The specific German word chieftain , formed from Haupt and the ending -ling , has equivalents ( word equations ) in several other Germanic languages ​​and is first attested in Old Frisian , where hâvding or hâvdling denotes a member of the Frisian nobility . Hâvding (hauding) initially referred to a leading person in a trial or a leader in a feud or military association, then a leading member of the nobility. In Middle Low German there is the word hovetling with a corresponding meaning . From 1358 the word is documented as a title of Frisian rulers and landlords. The Dutch word hoofdeling still has this meaning today, and in its High German form chief it is also cited in this sense by Johann Christoph Adelung in his grammatical-critical dictionary of the High German dialect (2nd edition 1796). The authors of the Grimm's German Dictionary (Volume 10 at dtv, originally Volume 4.2, 1877) already point to an expanded use, for example by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Ludwig Uhland : (Tarfe, Saracenian chief :) “Den Saracens , who inhabit Lucera's castle, am made chief. "

In Johann Peter Eckermann's conversations with Goethe in the last years of his life , we hear the 79-year-old Goethe say in 1829: “This is how a people produces its heroes who, like demigods, are at the forefront for protection and salvation; and so the poetic forces of the French united in Voltaire . Such chiefs of a people are great in the generation in which they work; some stick out later, most are replaced by others and forgotten by the time that followed. "

Chief rulers in Friesland (14th - 17th centuries)

Since in the 14th century it was rather personal-lordship forces prevailed over territorial-cooperative forces, the group of these wealthy and powerful (divites et potentes) became independent. There were regular chiefs between Jade and Ems , whose leaders ostentatiously set themselves apart with small standing troops and often stone houses. During the 15th century the chiefs to a clearly defined were stand . Chief was used in this meaning in High German until around 1800. Despite the social upheaval, the word held a less legal than lordship meaning and was used in a more general sense for leaders.

Transfer to (supposed) heads of non-European peoples

In the early phase of colonialism , the concept of chief was transferred to overseas leaders in societies that were not organized by the state. At best, similarly fuzzy terms such as Fürst were occasionally applied to them. Problems were often encountered in contract negotiations with the concept of chieftainship used by the colonizers. Namely, where no chief-like institution and no state power was found, this position was created without further ado by choosing someone who was somehow outstanding, or simply someone who was trusted to have a certain internal assertiveness. In principle, preference was given not to groups, but to individuals and always men, even where a council of elders or a group of women was the most influential body. If hierarchies were recognizable in the eyes of the foreigners, the apparently less influential people were called “ sub-chiefs” . In their eyes, these sub-chiefs led a “sub-tribe”, which in turn, like the main tribe, owned a territory.

For the colonial politicians it was apparently inconceivable that there were groups that neither had a commanding head nor claimed a territory with defined borders, or whose leadership consisted of a group or women. Temporary associations of house groups or families that came together seasonally and to carry out certain tasks did not correspond to the narrow notion of leadership by a chief (see the North American coastal Salish ). This is often related to an evolutionist worldview. For a long time, it was also customary in western ethnology to speak of indigenous peoples and tribes when there is no state in societies, and to refer to their (supposed) rulers as chiefs. In North America, for example, it was inconceivable that there were ethnic groups without the tribe of three “tribe-territory-chief”.

The process of translating the terms for leading people in ethnic groups is further complicated by the transition from the main colonial languages ​​English and French to German. In North America, “chiefs” were referred to as chefs or chiefs - terms that have different connotations, but which were used as legal terms in contracts and laws. Once the term was established, it was translated into German as "chief" without further examination, as there seemed to be no other suitable word.

The form of rule of “chiefs” was often perceived in an undifferentiated manner from the Eurocentric point of view. High authority, pure spokesman functions or the functional principle (for example, the war chief is different from the peace chief) were leveled with this perspective. With the fixation on "chiefs" one also created an ethnological follow-up problem, as one empirically found tribes without rulers (German ethnic groups without leaders). This caused difficulties above all for the British colonial administration, as it was prepared for indirect rule : this would have required direct rulers (chiefs), so that the legal form of "chiefs", which was alien to them, was sometimes imposed on these peoples.

Today the corresponding designations are established in most ethnic groups, although there are attempts to revive the proper designations for this type of leadership (s). In internal use, they often exist alongside the legalistic view, in many cases traditional chiefs consciously carry the local names, while the elected chiefs, who are more dependent on the state, call themselves "chief".

The widespread circulation of the books by James Fenimore Cooper and Karl May contributed to the establishment of the name in the European countries of origin of colonialism . During the lifetime of the authors, the conveyed representation appeared very realistic and true to life. We know in particular from Karl May that his representations came only from the literature sources available to him at the time, which mainly included Cooper's leather stocking novels. A similar importance finally came to the film, first the genre " Western ", later the film adaptations of the Karl May novels .

Problems of the term "chief"

"Based on a […] homogenizing perception of the colonial space, a word for rulers and rulers was invented and established in the 17th century with chief ."

The German African scientist Susan Arndt stated in 2004:

“The term is made up of the root word“ main ”and the suffix  “ -ling ”, which has a diminutive (examinee, apprentice) but mostly a derogatory connotation (coward, libertine , etc.). “Chief” is also a derogatory term. I.a. he suggests »primitivity«, which can also be deduced from common visual associations with the word. Since the word is only associated with men, the exercise of power by women in the context of African societies remains hidden. "

The lack of a feminine form of the term transfers "the European, sexist non-perception of the power of women to the colonized areas and equates structural power with masculinity." The self-names of the colonized would also be dismissed linguistically. With this designation one can stand out from the position of the conqueror who penetrated under monarchs or presidents from less important rulers in colonized societies. Thus a "fundamental difference between the European great powers and the areas conquered and colonized by them was produced".

Chief in ethnology

In ethnology , the term “chief” (which is only rarely used) refers to the leaders of rank societies (according to Morton Fried ) - or of tribal societies and chiefdoms according to other authors. However, they are described quite differently.

The tribal chief is given authority for a certain period of time because of special skills or merits. This form of a head is now also referred to as "Big Man". That is, the communities only accept temporary charismatic leaders in certain situations (e.g. "war chief", "hunting chief", etc.). As a rule, this does not involve powers of authority, only reputation and status. It was not until the colonial powers that they demanded authorized agents based on the European model, who were then simply referred to as chiefs.

The chiefs of the type of society known as "chiefdom" inherit their office. Chiefs usually come from the highest social class and have certain privileges over resources. However, their power is limited: they have neither a monopoly on the use of force nor henchmen.

Transferred use

Today, in the media commentary on current political conflicts, the use of the term chief to disparage an opponent is quite common. He is very present in satire, cabaret and advertising.

See also

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: chief  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
  • Gabriele Rasuly-Paleczek: Forms of the socio-political organization. (PDF; 227 kB) In: Introduction to the forms of social organization. Part 5/5, Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology, University of Vienna, 2011, pp. 188–200 , archived from the original on October 4, 2013 (documents from their lecture in the summer semester 2011).;
  • Hans-Rudolf Wicker: Political Anthropology. (PDF: 387 kB, 47 pp.) In: Guide for the introductory lecture in social anthropology, 1995–2012. Institute for Social Anthropology, University of Bern, July 31, 2012, pp. 36–42.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Maharaia Winiata: The changing role of the leader in Maori society: A study in social change and race relations. Blackwood and Janet Paul, Auckland 1967, pp. ?? (English).
  2. ↑ Heiko Steuer : Chief, chiefdom. In: Herbert Jankuhn , Heinrich Beck u. a. (Ed.): Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . 2nd Edition. Volume 13. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1999, p. 294.
  3. ^ A b Walter Hirschberg (Ed.): Dictionary of Ethnology. New edition, 2nd edition. Reimer, Berlin 2005.
  4. ↑ Heiko Steuer: Chief, chiefdom. In: Herbert Jankuhn, Heinrich Beck u. a. (Ed.): Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . 2nd Edition. Volume 13. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1999, p. 291.
  5. ↑ a b chief . In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 10 : H, I, J - (IV, 2nd division). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1877 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ). Still in the short German dictionary for etymology, synonymics and orthography. edited by Friedrich Schmitthenner, Darmstadt 1834, page 121, it says in the entry , the chieftain still "the highest peak, i. Bes. the head. Hence behead, claim, the chief [...] ”.
  6. ↑ So in the Lexicon of the Middle Ages . Volume 4, Column 1959-1960; in the dictionary of the East Frisian language (volume 2, etymologically edited by J. ten Doornkaat Koolman, Norden 1882, p. 2) it does not say Hävd (l) ing , but “afries. haved-ing, havd-ing (chief, capitanus etc.) from haved etc. (head, caput) ”.
  7. ^ Ludwig Uhland : Konradin, fragment. In: The same: Poems (last edition). 1st edition. 1815 (expanded edition by Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck, Altenmünster 2012, without page numbers: side view in the Google book search ).
  8. ^ Johann Peter Eckermann : Conversations with Goethe in the last years of his life. Second part. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1837, p. 66 (recording from Friday, February 13, 1829: Chapter 112 in the Gutenberg-DE project ).
  9. ↑ The Peruvian ethnomusicologist Julio Mendívil writes: “Ethnology has always been a western business. Developed under the auspices of a colonial system and disseminated through the logistical framework provided by the nation-states, it established itself as a scientific discipline which, as Asad puts it, reproduces the structural hierarchy of the world system by contributing to it, a policy to construct and establish the difference between the West and the others. The description of the foreign always contains - intentionally or unintentionally - a contrasting character and thus functions as a negation of the own. In his book Orientalism , Edward Said was able to show that the logic of ethnographic descriptions is based on a binary system of representation that uses the other as an opposition figure for the constitution of one's own identity ”. Quoted from: Julio Mendívil: The »civilized thinking«. Reflections by a Peruvian ethnomusicologist on field research in the “traumatic tropics” of Germany. In: Kien Nghi Ha, Nicola Lauré al-Samarai, Sheila Mysorekar (eds.): Re / visionen. Postcolonial Perspectives of People of Color on Racism, Cultural Politics and Resistance in Germany. Münster 2007, p. 138; regarding Asad, Mendívil refers to Talal Asad: Introduction. In: Same: Anthropology and the Colonial Encounter. Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands 1973, pp. 9-12.
  10. ^ A b Susan Arndt, Antje Hornscheidt (ed.): Africa and the German language. A critical reference work. 2nd Edition. Unrast Verlag, Münster 2009, p. 143.
  11. ^ Susan Arndt : Colonialism, Racism and Language: Critical Considerations of German Africa Terminology. Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb), July 30, 2004, accessed on March 13, 2020.
  12. ↑ Susan Arndt: Chief. In: Susan Arndt, Nadja Ofuatey-Alazard (eds.): How racism speaks from words. (K) Heirs of colonialism in the knowledge archive of the German language. A critical reference work. Unrast Verlag, Münster 2015, p. 688.
  13. ↑ Compare to Susan Arndt , Antje Hornscheidt (Ed.): Africa and the German language. A critical reference work. Unrast, Münster 2004, ISBN 3-89771-424-8 .
  14. ^ Dieter Haller : Dtv-Atlas Ethnologie. 2nd Edition. dtv, Munich 2010, p. ??.