Big Man

The Big Man refers to the first human occupation of the center. Previously, the center had only been occupied by totemic and appetitive objects.

Origin

Before the emergence of the Big Man, distributions from the center were roughly equal, and not proportional to one's contribution towards the community. This led to increasing resentment, as members of the group felt they were not receiving their "fair share." Eventually, this resentment led to another crisis, which was defused by the emergence of the Big Man by placing a human at the center to manage distributions.

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

Additional Information

Eric Gans borrows this term from the anthropologist Marshall Sahlins.