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:
“Tom was a glittering hero once more—the pet of the old, the envy of the young. His name even went into immortal print, for the village paper magnified him. There were some that believed he would be President, yet, if he escaped hanging.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Embraces are cominglings from the head even to the feet,
And not a pompous high priest entering by a secret place.”
—William Blake (1757–1827)