Case Studies Essay, Research Paper
Leadership in the Vice Lords Vice Lords? define a Leader as a person who has followers. To
a person outside the world of the fighting clubs, this may seem
overly simplistic, but what defines one as a Leader or Follower
is self-evident only to the Vice Lords. There are several reasons
for this. Leadership is highly contextualised- that is, there are
few contexts when an individual"s identity as Leader
emerges. Further, the same person may assume identities of both
Leader and Follower at different times. A leader is one who exercises power. The exercise of
leadership is thus the exercise of power. Among Vice Lords a
person is recognised as a Leader when he has the ability to get
others to do his will. Among Vice Lords, however, power is not
based on force. A Leader exercises power through what we call
influence. Vice Lords follow others because they like them, or
respect them, or because they think they will gain something by
doing so, but not because they fear them. The positions of Leader
and Follower are interchangeable; a leader in one context can be
a follower in another. Some Vice Lords who are considered Leaders
sometimes assume Follower identities in certain situations. There
is a formal hierarchy of leadership positions that partially
accounts for this. There are two kinds of contexts in which power is exerted.?
The first kind includes situations that demand physical action.
Some obvious examples are: gangbanging, wolf packing, and
hustling. The second kind of context in which leadership
identities are relevant are those defined by public decision
making. Some decisions which affect the club are made during
discussions between Vice Lords while hanging on a corner or in an
alley. Usually, however, public decision-making takes place
during club meetings. The strength of an individuals" power is subject to
constant fluctuation. Power is based on the number of
one"s followers, but a Leader"s following is
constantly changing, and the exact extent of a person"s
power is not usually known.
? Trobrianders – In the minds of the Trobrainders, the myth stories recount
the actions of real people who made decisions that continue to
affect that affairs of each succesive generation. Among all the
ancestors who established matrilineages, only some of them came
to Kiriwina with extensive food taboos and certain body shell
decorations; these, from the beginning, ranked them as chiefly
lineages, and separated them from the commoner matrilineages,
whose ancestors came without these elaborate sumptuary rules
(that is, rules about foods and decorations that are permitted or
prohibited). – In the case of chiefly lineages, however, those who came
with them as commoners worked for them by raising their pigs and
growing betel nuts and coconut palm trees. From time to time, the
chiefs rewarded them with stone axe-blades or shell valuables.
Today, these obligations continue, so whenever the Omarakana
Tabalu chiefs need pork, coconuts, or betel nuts for a feast,
they send a message to the men whose ancestors came with their
ancestors from the same place of origin. – What the origin stories make clear is that rivalry among
chiefs always was a fact of life and that weaknesses are tested
as one chief strives for an advantage over another. Chiefly
decorations validate one"s authority to claim the ranking
brought on by one"s ancestors; therefore, it is no
surprise that competition between chiefly matrilineages often is
expressed over these "kingly" regalia. – Not only does a chief"s presence carry an aura of
defence and fear, but even the hamlet of a chief represents a
place of danger to those who are members of commoner
lineages. – A chief must work not only to solidify his arena of power
and status but also to protect and prevent other chiefs from
destroying or diminishing his ancestral heritage. – Historically, individual chiefs created differences in the
ongoing political status of a lineage. A person"s right to
sit higher than the rest comes from his birth and the authority
brought by his ancestors. How many people will actually sit under
him comes from the authority he himself is able to summon. By
authority, Weiner means the right to claim legitimacy that is
acknowledged by the members of the society. – Although a hamlet leader controls the matrilineage"s
property, he must also try to retain some direction over the
affairs of those members who live elsewhere. It is a
leader"s hard work and managerial skills rather than the
actual make-up of the hamlet that ultimately gives rise to his
power. – The power of a Trobriand chief is localised, only spreading
out into other hamlets and villages through individual
matrilineages, which either have a woman member married to the
chief or whose ancestors came from the same place of origin. – In villages without chiefs, a primary goal for each hamlet
leader is to establish and maintain alliances between hamlets
within the village, so that a hamlet leader can depend on some of
the other village men for support. A chief, however, tries to
expand his links further by creating support with hamlet leaders
in many different villages. – Polygyny enables a chief to enhance his economic situation,
as a chief with many wives receives annual harvest yams from the
matrilineal kin of each one. – Chiefs are not first among equals, there is a distinct
permanent division between lineages. – There is another dimension to the power of a chief. The
regalia of rank is underwritten by the exercise of authority that
controls the seemingly uncontrollable. Important chiefs must
demonstrate that they know formidable kinds of magic spells that
successfully give them control over villager"s lives and
the growing cycle of yams. – The spells that are most talked about because they are so
dangerous are those for sorcery and those that control the
weather. These traditional spells are the property of certain
matrilineages and known only by a few men. Not all chiefs own
sorcery spells, but since they usually have more wealth than
ordinary men, they can pay those who know the magic to accomplish
their wishes. – The power that chiefs have through their knowledge of
sorcery breeds fear in others. Opposition to a chief or
participation in such incidents as keeping a long yam rather than
giving it to the chief or worse, being suspected of adultery with
a chief"s wife, stay in the minds of those involved,
making them fear the future. Sudden sickness or death points a
finger at the mistakes made or rules broken, making clear the
price to be paid for autonomous behaviour. – Although chiefs walk with the authority that control over
sorcery gives them, they themselves are not immune to its
effects.
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