The village headman or village chief is a central government post. The village headman is the person appointed to administer an area that is often a single village.
The headman has several official duties in the village. More importantly perhaps the headman is seen as a mediator in disputes and a general “fixer” of village or individuals problems.
Examples of headmanship have been observed among the Zuni, !Kung, and Mehinacu, among others. Nearby tribal leaders recognized or appointed by the Chinese were known as tusi (Chinese: 土司, tǔsī), although they could command larger areas than a single village.
Famous quotes containing the words village and/or head:
“But I go with my friend to the shore of our little river, and with one stroke of the paddle, I leave the village politics and personalities, yes, and the world of villages and personalities behind, and pass into a delicate realm of sunset and moonlight, too bright almost for spotted man to enter without novitiate and probation.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I demand that my books be judged with utmost severity, by knowledgeable people who know the rules of grammar and of logic, and who will seek beneath the footsteps of my commas the lice of my thought in the head of my style.”
—Louis Aragon (1897–1982)