Tradtions

Weber's Historical Anthropology
Customary rules, within traditional society, govern the office holder and he rest of population in relation to that office. There is no clear separation between the office and the officeholder. All offices are based upon rank that exists both on and off the job in the person of that individual holding that rank, he is never a private citizen.  All ranks are integrated into a pre-established hierarchy also activated by tradition. The officeholder has a range of authority autonomous of a prearrange code separating the authority of the office from the officeholder existing in a modern civil service. Because the officeholder has a degree of independence in relation to the people below the person holding that office there is no appeal to the decisions made by the person holding rank of that sanctioned authority except a personal emotional moral appeal to someone with a higher rank. There is no clear separation between the authority of the office and one’s private life. Even outside of the workplace the person with higher rank has command over you. Property of the office is the personal property of the officeholder. This gives the officeholder authority over the property of the office and over the people in the region. Authority is often based upon heredity. If the officeholder is appointed the person holding that rank speaks in the name of the monarch and ultimately the divine, not the people.

Traditional authority is binding based upon past traditions. Traditions while they are continually being reinvented operate under the myth that it has always been this way. Even when prophets break with the old ways, it is said to reestablish the correct interpretations of the ancient law, at least in spirit. New legislation can only happen if it is presented, as this new law is really the old law, the way it was in ancient times. We are returning to the correct tradition. Rules need to be defined and justified according to custom.

Rank and status are also characterized according to convention, including who can hold the office. The office exists as a biological part of the person holding that office

P.S.

Gerontocracy is the rule a council of sages called the elders. This is the most conservative and unyielding of the traditional authorities.

Patrimonial is a complex of administrative staff all of which is under the tight control of the chief.

The chief represents the tribe. The king holds office as if it were his personal property. The subjects follow his command as if his word was the supreme laws of heaven.

Benefice is a bundle of rights given as a personal property; this is not inherited, but awarded by the sovereign.

Fiet is a formal contractual arrangement with reciprocal rights and responsibilities based on honor and are inherited.