Big Man

From Generative Anthropology
Revision as of 05:52, 14 March 2023 by Idiomatic (talk | contribs)

Eric Gans borrows this term from the anthropologist Marshall Sahlins. The Big Man is important for generative anthropology because it marks the moment at which the sacred center, which was at first occupied only by the sacred object itself (presumably the totemic and appetitive object of the group), comes to be occupied by a human.

This moment marks the beginning of explicit and “legitimated” inequality between humans (namely, the Big Man and the rest of the community).