not the same as a chief over a chiefdomA chiefdom is a form of political organization intermediate between a tribe and a state, and is based on kinship. There may be 100's of people and several villages; and a chiefdom is associated with agriculture and domestication of animals; a chieftainship is simply a lesser chief over a separate village; there may be many chieftainships with a chiefdom, if there are many villages; for example if a chiefdom had five villages within the organization, there may possibly be five chieftains – one over each village, but the chieftain is below the status of a chief
