ABSTRACT
Aspiring leaders are, in a manner of speaking, political entrepreneurs. As Bailey has written, they engage in the enterprise of amassing resources and using them, skilfully, to attract followers. The basis of power of a neighbourhood leader was, then, the ownership of property, and the high status and authority automatically acquired from occupying an elevated position in the urban social system. Patronage was another source of a leader's power. Personal wealth, in relative terms, was a valuable asset to anyone who wished to attract a following. Leaders were expected to be generous and to offer hospitality to visitors to the best of their ability. The leadership roles which paid the highest dividends in the neighbourhood arena were patron, middleman, and dispute settler. There were several auxiliary roles that leaders also played. One was the role of initiator. Leaders were initiators both in setting precedents and in giving approval, or direction, to the actions of others.
