Previous research has demonstrated that the nature of power strategies correlates with the nature of ritual action, and nowhere is political action more important than in Polynesia. Polynesian political systems have served as important comparative examples for the investigation of complex societies, although the nature of some early political systems is not well understood. Through the analysis of the ritual of pigeon catching, the nature of pre-European-contact power strategies in Samoa are inferred in this paper. We demonstrate that Samoan ritual action in pigeon catching was geared toward the legitimization of hierarchical structure instead of simply the power of individual elites. We contend that by legitimizing structures, manifestations of sacred power could be validated and channeled to others for purposes of practical influence. Based on the comparative analysis of pigeon catching, we find that power strategies in Samoa, despite several notable autocratic tendencies, were more corporate than in neighboring Tonga.

中文翻译：

---

仪式化的等级制度：古代萨摩亚的权力战略和鸽子捕捞

先前的研究表明，权力战略的性质与仪式行动的性质相关，政治行动在波利尼西亚最为重要。波利尼西亚的政治制度已成为研究复杂社会的重要比较例子，尽管对一些早期政治制度的性质还不是很了解。通过对捕鸽仪式的分析，本文推断萨摩亚前欧洲接触权力战略的性质。我们证明了萨摩亚人在捕鸽方面的仪式行为是为了使等级结构合法化，而不仅仅是为了个人精英的权力。我们认为，通过使结构合法化，可以验证神圣力量的表现并将其传递给其他人，以达到实际影响的目的。