THE Big Men and the Big Women they are not physically very large men and women, as one might think; instead they are leader of great influencetypical of some companies in the Pacific (particularly in the archipelagos of Melanesia and Micronesia), which, without possessing any formal official power, obtain prestige through their charisma and theirs generosity. Their status is in fact built by accumulating and redistributing resources (economic and otherwise), rather than through the exercise of one’s authority. Today, the concept of Big Men is somehow also reflected in Western societywhere activists, celebrities and influencers they exert significant influence on their followers without any real formal authority.
Who are the Big Men and why are they called that?
The so-called Big Men they are leaders emerging in Pacific societies, in Melanesia and Micronesia. In these contexts, there are no centralized states or rigid hierarchies: no armies, police or courts. Here, power is negotiated day after day through social interactions, exchanges and acts of generosity.
The name Big Men However, it can be misleading: it is not, in fact, a question of physically very large menbut of leaders whose adjective “big” is synonymous with prestige, moral authority and ability to influence. This prestige does not derive from a political or royal office, but from the community’s recognition for the ability of the Big Man to accumulate and redistribute resources, organize collective events and, above all, demonstrate generosity. Big Men do not exercise authoritarian or coercive power; rather, their status is based on ability to earn the trust and respect of others.
In addition to the Big Men there are also the so-called Big Women. In some islands of New Guinea, in fact, characterized by a lineage matrilinealboth women and men compete for leadership status, competing to earn the prestige of their communities regardless of their biological sex.
The “discovery” of the Big Men by Marshall Sahlins
The first to “discover” the existence of Big Men he was the American anthropologist Marshall Sahlins on one of his trips to the islands of Polynesia. Sahlins learned that the term “Big Men” was used to describe leaders who, despite having no formal authority, gained significant influence and prestige within their communities.
“A Big Men is not born as one nor is he elected, he is a man who must constantly demonstrate that he deserves his title, through acts of generosity, oratorical talent and charisma: he is a leader with prestige but without power”
(Sahlins, 1963).
How to become Big Men (or Big Women)?
Sahlins himself tells us how to become Big Men or Big Women requires a complex path that varies from community to community, but which generally relies on oratory skills, generosity and the ability to build and maintain influential relationships within the community. For example, among the kumdi-engamoi of New Guinea become Big Menalso called wua nium (literally “rich, great and important men”) involves several conditions. An aspiring leader must:
- have many wivessince the amount of land allocated to a man is proportional to the number of wives in his family
- be a skilled speakerit is in fact necessary to know how to communicate effectively and charisma to your community
- have thirty or forty yearssince it is rare for people to have accumulated enough experience, wealth, and social relationships before that age
Finally, once you have gained the reputation of wua niumit is necessary to maintain it through exemplary behavior and continuous work for the benefit of one’s community.
The paradox of prestige without power
Indeed, if the heart of the leadership of the Big Men And the obligation of generosity, they cannot simply accumulate wealth for themselves, but must create a surplus to redistribute to the members of their community. In this sense, i Big Men are constantly committed to give more than they receivebuilding their reputation through a continuous flow of gifts and goods. In doing so, they transform their generosity into prestige and, paradoxically, prestige into the absence of power.
The anthropologist Sahlins, in his writings, also reveals a fascinating paradox: the only way that the Big Men has at its disposal to remain so is to personally produce everything needed to fulfill its “obligation of generosity”. In practice, the Big Men undergoes a authentic self-exploitationworking tirelessly to accumulate resources which it then redistributes to the community, often through collective ceremonies that recall the celebrations potlach widespread among Native Americans.
This process does not involve exploiting the work of others, since the Big Men it does not have the coercive power to do so. In fact, what manifests itself is a “counter-power”: the prestige that the Big Men obtains is not in fact synonymous with political or coercive authority, but is simply a collective social recognition.
If he tried to impose his power on the community, the tribe members would resist, demonstrating that the Big Men it is, in fact, a leader without power. The Big Men or the Big Womenwith its great prestige but limited power, therefore becomes a symbol of how prestige can exist without power.
The Big Men and the comparison with influencers
Nowadays, in an era where information and communication are at the center of our world and at our fingertips, the paradox of prestige without power it is an increasingly current topic. In fact, i Big Men of the Pacific teach us that, even without coercive authority, it is possible to influence communities. In other words, true power may lie in the power of persuasion and social consensusrather than in authority.
If we were to think of gods Big Men contemporaries in our society we could take for example different charismatic figures such as activists, intellectuals, celebrities or influencers who have the prestige to strongly influence public opinion and promote significant changes without having real institutional power. These Big Men contemporaries, such as those in the Pacific, demonstrate that true power is in persuading, not in commanding.
