Essay on the forms of government in primitive political organization

Forms of government

Types of government have been classified as oligarchy or the government by a few, monarchy or the government by hereditary kingship, gerontocracy or the rule of the elders, democracy or the people’s government and theocracy or the government of the priests or religious authority. Of the above mentioned types of government, monar chy is the most popular among primitive societies.

However, it is seldom found in a pure form. Generally it takes the form of oligarchy and even democracy since the ruler almost never violates the voice of the people. Examples of monarchy can be found in Uganda in East Africa. Oligarchy is generally found among some tribes of Oceania. Democracy may be found in some North Indian tribes. Gerontocracy is found in some Australian tribes.

Local Self-Government

Some sort of local self-government is also an essential part of primitive political organization. The village is the unit of administration. Most of the villages are self sufficient and carry out local self-government. This is run by a council of the elders like the Panchayat in Indian tribal villages. This council has all the rights in internal affairs. This system can be found in most of the tribes of Australia and India.

The most important functions of the council include the protection of public property such as pastures, forests and land, etc. Most of the villages are constituted by twenty to one hundred persons, closely related by blood relationships.

Therefore, each village has a strong community consciousness with the result that each member of the community participates in collective defence and leaves no stone unturned to maintain the prestige of the village.

As the population increases the village is further sub-divided and bifurcated into two or more villages which maintain contact and sometimes carry on unified political administration based on kinship relationships is the most rudimentary form of primitive government.

The Chieftain

The chieftain is the highest office bearer in the primitive political organization. He may be hereditary or otherwise. Sometimes he is also elected by the people. In some societies there are two chiefs, the peace chief and the war chief.

The peace chief is the head of the tribal council which regulates internal relationships. It also decides some cases of crime. In some tribes he is elected for a definite period. The war chief guides the war. This status may be given to anyone having Special abilities in matters of war.

The Headman

The most ancient office bearer in the political organization of the primitive societies is the headman. The headman is generally hereditary, respected and influential. He takes care of almost all the matters concerning his group and issues instructions on every occasion. In some societies he even leads hunting expeditions.

He settles the disputes and his judgment is honoured. However, he is seldom a despot and is generally a democratic administrator.

The Council

An important part of the political organization of the primitive society is the council of elders. It is almost universally available since a single person cannot run tribal administration anywhere.

Even a despotic king has to seek help from the advisors. In some tribes the royal council elects a successor to the king every time a king dies. This selection is based upon certain customs and traditions. Most of the members of the council are the elders of the society.

The council decides by majority-votes; however, in some American Indian council the decision is always unanimous. The main function of the council is to advise the ruler particularly in more complex matters.

The council is constituted on the basis of the villages, the clan or the tribe. Council of a clan includes representatives of every sub-group. The same type of arrangement may be found in the case of other types of councils. In some tribes members of the council are elected.

The advice of the council is respected even by the despotic kings. The king generally respects the opinion of the royal elders. Those often violating the advice of the council cannot retain their office for a long time. Primitive Government and Law

The institution of law is run by a government association. In other words, government is that society (of administrators or representatives) which is appointed in region to establish and maintain the legal order.

The work of the government is to make laws to carry on administration according to them and to arrange for justice when the laws are disobeyed. In this way, the three main functions of government are legislative, judicial and executive.

Is there a government among primitive societies? Different anthropologists have answered this question in different ways. Morgan, Maine and other anthropologists have not accepted the existence of any form of government in primitive society.

According to Dr. D.N. Majumdar, a government association can be seen among many tribes. For example, there is an institution of chieftainship in most of the tribes, and this chieftain performs all the functions of the government. The institution of chieftainship is found in many tribes of Assam in India.

They establish law and order in the tribe with the help of village councils. After the establishment of the British administration, local political institutions began to lose their influence, but they could not be completely wiped out of existence. After the establishment of village panchayats in tribal areas, tribal governments have been re­established. There are generally two kinds of government, republic and non- republic.

1. Republican government.

This form of government is mostly found among those primitive societies where people carry on the work of collecting fruits. Among these people, old and experienced persons define law and organize justice. Panchayat leaders are generally elected and the government is run by majority votes. An example of such a type of government is found among American Indians.

2. Republican administration.

This class of government includes all those administrative organizations which do not depend on a republic. Republican governments are found in societies of simple farmers and among primitive societies of low economic standard.

There are non republican governments among societies with complicated economic organization. Examples of such administrative organizations are seen among the tribes of Africa. Some of these tribes have a strong monarchist administration and there is no leader on special occasions in certain tribes.

Such occasions are often the occasions of hunting or of war. Examples of monarchic administration -are found among Nagas of India. In many tribes there are chieftain-administrators.

The chieftain is hereditary in some cases and elected in others. In various tribes, his rights and duties are different. Most of the chieftains are hunters and warriors and lead the tribe on the occasions of hunting and war. These chieftains are often like kings.

In certain tribes, there are many chieftains under the control of one king. Uganda province was divided in ten districts with twelve chiefs. Every district was under one chief and the remaining two chiefs acted as the king’s ministers.

The government is run by the chieftains elected by the members of the tribe in most of the Indian primitive societies. In some tribes, old persons, elected by the members, together form a panchayat which runs the government. Therefore, examples of both the types of government, republican and non-republican, are found here. After the establishment of British administration, the remaininggovernments among Indian tribes are only republican governments.