Publication Information : Article Title : Chiefly Models in Papua New Guinea. Contributors : Richard Scaglion – author. Journal Title : The Contemporary Pacific. Volume : 8. Issue : 1. Publication Year : 1996.
Despite the anthropologically well-known dichotomy between the Melanesian « big man » and the Polynesian « chief » (eg, Sahlins 1963 ; Lindstrom 1982 ; Marcus 1989), there has been a burgeoning literature on chiefs and rhetoric about chiefs in a variety of contemporary legal and political contexts within Melanesia (see White and Lindstrom nd). However, most of this literature seems to derive from « eastern » Melanesia, where there has also been a history of interest in « traditional chiefs. »