Tribal chief

A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.

Description

Tribal societies with social stratification under a single (or dual) leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.

In the case of indigenous tribal societies existing within larger colonial and post-colonial states, tribal chiefs may represent their tribe or ethnicity in a form of self-government.

The most common types are the chairman of a council (usually of "elders") and/or a broader popular assembly in "parliamentary" cultures, the war chief (may be an alternative or additional post in war time), the hereditary chief and the politically dominant medicineman (in "theocratic" cultures).

The term is usually distinct from chiefs at still lower levels, such as village headman (geographically defined) or clan chief (an essentially genealogical notion), as the notion "tribal" rather requires an ethno-cultural identity (racial, linguistic, religious etc.) as well as some political (representative, legislative, executive and/or judicial) expression. In certain situations, and especially in a colonial context, the most powerful member of either a confederation or a federation of such tribal, clan or village chiefs would be referred to as a paramount chief. This term has largely fallen out of use, however, and such personages are now often called kings.

Indian Chief (motorcycle)

The Indian Chief is a motorcycle that was built by the Hendee Manufacturing Company and the subsequent Indian Motocycle Company from 1922 to the end of the company's production in 1953. The Chief was Indian's "big twin", a larger, more powerful motorcycle than the more agile Scout used in competition and sport riding.

When Indian resumed civilian production after World War II, they revived only the Chief line. Production of Indian motorcycles ended with the last Chief made in 1953.

Origin

The Chief was introduced for 1922 to replace the Powerplus, although the Powerplus was continued under the "Standard" name until 1923. Designed by Charles B. Franklin, the Chief had design features similar to Franklin's earlier Scout, including the gearbox bolted to the engine casings and primary drive by gear train. The Chief had a bore of 3 ¹⁄₈ inches (79 mm) and a stroke of 3 ³¹⁄₃₂ inches (101 mm), giving a displacement of 61 cubic inches, as the Powerplus/Standard had. Unlike the Powerplus/Standard, the Chief was not offered with rear suspension.