The term Elder, or its equivalent in another language, is used in several countries and organizations to indicate a position of
authority. This usage is usually derived from the notion that the oldest members of any given group are the wisest, and are thus the
most qualified to rule, provide counsel or serve the said group in some other capacity.
Elder systems
Elder is a role played in the organised
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...
that is most common in
tribal
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
subsistence cultures, ''Elderhood'' being the condition or quality of being an elder. It is essentially the state of being in the latter portion of one's life and being looked to for leadership of either a passive or active nature by your peers and\or subordinates due almost exclusively to this fact. Sometimes it involves a ceremonial investiture of some kind, and other times it does not. Sometimes it involves a definite chronological milestone which must be surpassed, while at other times the required age is simply relative to the ages of all of the other members of the group in question. Once having met the peculiar requirements of their individual groups, however, all elders are generally expected to mentor, share their experience, create a sense of oneness for their followings and, most especially, act as the spiritual embodiments of their communities.
Informal elderhoods
An example of informal elderhood is the role of the matriarchal
grandmother
Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...
as it appears in many parts of the
global South. In the absence of viable male alternatives or even in the presence of them, grandmothers in these areas tend to serve as both the de facto heads of their groups of descendants and the catalysts of their periodic reunions and meetings. By doing so they provide their families with a cohesion that would probably be absent if they weren't present. Another example is that of the vocational mentor who guides his or her apprentices with tools of sponsorship, advocacy and the demonstration of skills. He or she serves to facilitate creativity in his or her charges by teaching the methods of the past as they pertain to their various occupations.
Formal elderhoods
In more formal examples of elderhood, elders serve as the members of the governing and/or advisory bodies of higher personages such as
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
s and
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
s in the form of a
council of elders. This often gives them a prestige amongst their peoples that's comparable to that of the classical
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
of ancient Europe. Due to this, elderhood of this variety is generally considered to be something worthy of aspiring to in the communities where it exists.
Elders in online communities
There are long established conceptualisations of elders on the Internet. In such online communities elders are typically thought of as established members who are outbound, often due to unwanted changes they can't prevent.
[Kim, A. (2000). Community building on the Web: Secret strategies for successful online communities. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press.]
Titles in different cultures
*
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
in systems with
Anglo-Saxon origins is synonymous with what in other systems might be known as a city councilman. It derives from the term ''
ealdorman'', meaning "elder man".
*
American Indian elder
Elders, in Indigenous North American cultures, are repositories of cultural and philosophical knowledge within their tribal communities, as well as the transmitters of this storehouse of information.Medicine, Dr. Beatrice (2001). "My Elders Tell M ...
*
Aqsaqal, "white beard" in
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia ( Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic l ...
.
*
Auncient, deriving from the Norman French noun ''ancien'', signifying "an elder", has a restricted use in English ceremonial
orders of precedence, especially in the legal profession.
*
Australian Aboriginal elder
Australian Aboriginal elders are highly respected people within Australia and their respective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. An Elder has been defined as "someone who has gained recognition as a custodian of knowledge and l ...
s are widely respected men and women of authority who have a deep knowledge of traditional lore. They are consulted on any important aspect of Aboriginal life.
*
Gerousia
The Gerousia (γερουσία) was the council of elders in ancient Sparta. Sometimes called Spartan senate in the literature, it was made up of the two Spartan kings, plus 28 men over the age of sixty, known as gerontes. The Gerousia was a pr ...
was the Spartan equivalent of a council. The term means ''Council of Elders''.
* Hor Chan, from
Mayan language
Mayan most commonly refers to:
* Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
, meaning "Chief of Chan". Chan was a term some
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...
used to refer to themselves.
*
Kaumatua are the tribal elders in
Māori society.
*Oday is the term for elder in the
Somali language. Elders hold an important position in
Somali society, particularly within the Somali
customary law or ''
Xeer
''Xeer'' (pronounced ) is the traditional legal system of Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, Somali Region, and the North Eastern Province in Kenya. One of the three systems from which formal Somali law draws its inspiration, the others being civil ...
'', where they serve as judges.
*
Oloye
Oba means ″ruler″ in the Yoruba and
Bini languages of West Africa. Kings in Yorubaland, a region which is in the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria and Togo, make use of it as a pre-nominal
honorific. Examples of Yoruba bearers include Oba ...
is the title of an elder of aristocratic rank amongst the
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitut ...
of West Africa, though they usually translate it as ''
chieftain
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...
''.
* Senator: in the
Senate of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, the senators were men. ''Senator'' comes from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
root ''sen-'' "old" (''senex'' "old man", compare "senior"), and the senators were actually called ''patres'' (fathers).
* Seniūnas, the ruler of
Eldership, (
seniūnija in
Lithuanian),
Lithuania's smallest administrative division.
*
Sheikh means "old man" in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
. The word has specific cultural and religious connotations as well.
*
Starosta, derived from
Slavic word ''stary'' (old), is a title for an official or unofficial position of leadership that has been used in various contexts through most of
Slavic history (see also
Starets
A starets (russian: стáрец, p=ˈstarʲɪt͡s; fem. ) is an elder of an Eastern Orthodox monastery who functions as venerated adviser and teacher. ''Elders'' or ''spiritual fathers'' are charismatic spiritual leaders whose wisdom stems from Go ...
).
* Vanem, ancient ruler of an
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
n parish and county. From 1920–1937, Estonian
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
and
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...
was called ''Riigivanem'', meaning "State Elder". Today, county governors are called ''maavanem'' and parish mayors ''vallavanem''.
* Witan in Anglo-Saxon and other
Germanic traditions was a ''wise man'' although usually just a
noble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Gr ...
. The term is most often used to describe those who attended the
Witenagemot
The Witan () was the king's council in Anglo-Saxon England from before the seventh century until the 11th century. It was composed of the leading magnates, both ecclesiastic and secular, and meetings of the council were sometimes called the Wi ...
.
See also
*
Big man (anthropology)
A big man is a highly influential individual in a tribe, especially in Melanesia and Polynesia. Such a person may not have formal tribal or other authority (through for instance material possessions, or inheritance of rights), but can maintain r ...
*
Religious elder
*
Sheikh
*
Village head
References
Further reading
*
Bolen, Jean Shinoda Crones Don't Whine. Conari Press. Boston. 2003.
*Gutmann, David. Reclaimed Powers. Northwestern U. Press. Evanston, Ill.1994
*Dass, Ram. Still Here.Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying .Riverhead Books.New York. 2001.
*Jones, Terry. Elder: A spiritual alternative to being elderly. Elderhood Institute. 2006.
*Jones, Terry. The Elder Within: Source of Mature Masculinity. Elderhood Institute. 2001.
*Leder, Drew. Spiritual Passages. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam. New York. 1997.
*Levinson, Daniel J. The Seasons of a Man's Life. Ballantine Books. NY. 1978.
*Raines, Robert. A Time to Live. Seven Steps in Creative Aging. A Plume Book. New York. 1997.
*Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman. Ageing to Sageing. Warner Books. N.Y. 1995.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elder (Administrative Title)
Titles
Political anthropology