Tairora: The politics of despotism in a small society

Traditional leadership in the Tairora area of the Eastern Highlands is discussed with specific reference to one strong man whose reputation is well and widely established in recent tradition. Local reports of his career are examined from various angles, in relation to: socio‐cultural context, including the place of a strong man in a moral system with an egalitarian emphasis; historicity and validity; and the nature, conditions, and limitations of influence and authority in a small‐scale society.