Editing Matrilineality

{{short description|Tracing of kinship through the female line}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}<!--[[Special:Diff/201943869|since 2008]]-->
{{Anthropology of kinship |concepts}}
'''Matrilineality''', at times called '''matriliny''', is the tracing of [[kinship]] through the female line. It may also correlate with a [[social system]] in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's [[Lineage (anthropology)|lineage]], and which can involve the [[inheritance]] of property and titles. A matriline is a [[line of descent]] from a [[female]] [[ancestor]] to a [[Kinship|descendant]] of either [[gender]] in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers. In a matrilineal [[Kinship and descent|descent system]], individuals  belong to the same [[descent group]] as their mothers. This is in contrast to the currently more popular pattern of [[patrilineal descent]] from which a [[family name]] is usually derived. The matriline of historical nobility was also called their '''enatic''' or '''uterine''' ancestry, corresponding to the [[patrilineal]] or "agnatic" ancestry.

== Early human kinship ==
Scholars disagree on the nature of early human, that is, [[Homo sapiens]], kinship.{{Efn|Neanderthals may have been patrilocal in mating patterns, again evidenced by aDNA (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05283-y, but also see https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3088635/, and https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05283-y for a population at the easternmost fringe of their known range).}} In the late 19th century, most scholars believed, influenced by [[Lewis H. Morgan]]'s book ''[[Ancient Society]]'', that early kinship was matrilineal.<ref>Murdock, G. P. 1949. ''Social Structure''. London and New York: Macmillan, p. 185.</ref> [[Friedrich Engels]] took this up in ''[[The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State]]''. This thesis that our first domestic institution was the matrilineal [[clan]], not the [[family]], became [[Communist theory|communist orthodoxy]]. However, by the 20th century most social anthropologists disagreed,<ref>Malinowski, B. 1956. ''Marriage: Past and Present. A debate between Robert Briffault and Bronislaw Malinowski,'' ed. M. F. Ashley Montagu. Boston: Porter Sargent.</ref><ref>Harris, M. 1969. ''The Rise of Anthropological Theory.'' London: Routledge, p. 305.</ref> although during the 1970s and 1980s, [[feminism|feminist]] scholars often revived it.<ref>Leacock, E. B. 1981. ''Myths of Male Dominance. Collected articles on women cross-culturally.'' New York: Monthly Review Press.</ref>

In recent years, [[evolutionary biologist]]s, geneticists and [[palaeoanthropologist]]s have found indirect genetic and other evidence of early matriliny.<ref>Hrdy, S. B. 2009. ''Mothers and others. The evolutionary origins of mutual understanding.'' London and Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.</ref><ref>Knight, C. 2008. [http://www.radicalanthropologygroup.org/old/class_text_105.pdf Early human kinship was matrilineal.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407063411/http://www.radicalanthropologygroup.org/old/class_text_105.pdf |date=7 April 2014 }} In N. J. Allen, H. Callan, R. Dunbar and W. James (eds.), Early Human Kinship. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 61–82.</ref><ref>Opie, K. and C. Power, 2009. ''Grandmothering and Female Coalitions. A basis for matrilineal priority?'' In N. J. Allen, H. Callan, R. Dunbar and W. James (eds.), ''Early Human Kinship''. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 168–186.</ref><ref>Chris Knight, 2012. [http://libcom.org/history/engels-was-right-early-human-kinship-was-matrilineal Engels was Right: Early Human Kinship was Matrilineal.]</ref> Some genetic data suggest that over millennia, female [[sub-Saharan Africa]]n hunter-gatherers have lived with their maternal kin after marriage.<ref>Schlebusch, C.M. (2010) Genetic variation in Khoisan-speaking populations from southern Africa. Dissertation, University of Witwatersrand this is available online, see pages following p.68, Fig 3.18 and p.180-81, fig 4.23 and p.243, p.287</ref> Also, when sisters and their mothers help each other with childcare, the descent line tends to be matrilineal.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wu | first1 = J-J | last2 = He | first2 = Q-Q | last3 = Deng | first3 = L-L | last4 = Wang | first4 = S–C | last5 = Mace | first5 = R | last6 = Ji | first6 = T | last7 = Tao | first7 = Y | year = 2013 | title = Communal breeding promotes a matrilineal social system where husband and wife live apart | journal = Proc R Soc B | volume = 280 | issue = 1758| page = 20130010 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2013.0010 | pmid = 23486437 | pmc = 3619460 }}</ref> [[Biological anthropology|Biological anthropologists]] now largely agree that cooperative childcare helped the large human brain and human psychology to evolve.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Burkart | first1 = J. M. | last2 = Hrdy | first2 = S. B. | last3 = van Schaik | first3 = C. P. | year = 2009 | title = Cooperative breeding and human cognitive evolution | journal = Evolutionary Anthropology | volume = 18 | issue = 5| pages = 175–186 | doi=10.1002/evan.20222| citeseerx = 10.1.1.724.8494 | s2cid = 31180845 }}</ref> 

Matriliny is often tied to [[matrilocality]], which shows significant nuance. Pastoralists and farmers often gravitate toward patrilocality.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Verdu |first1=Paul |last2=Becker |first2=Noémie S. A. |last3=Froment |first3=Alain |last4=Georges |first4=Myriam |last5=Grugni |first5=Viola |last6=Quintana-Murci |first6=Lluis |last7=Hombert |first7=Jean-Marie |last8=Van der Veen |first8=Lolke |last9=Le Bomin |first9=Sylvie |last10=Bahuchet |first10=Serge |last11=Heyer |first11=Evelyne |date=2013 |title=Sociocultural behavior, sex-biased admixture, and effective population sizes in Central African Pygmies and non-Pygmies |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=918–937 |doi=10.1093/molbev/mss328 |issn=1537-1719 |pmc=3603314 |pmid=23300254}}</ref> However, studies show that hunter-gatherer societies have a flexible [[philopatry]] or practice multilocality; matrilocality and [[Patrilocal residence|patrilocality]] are not the only possibilities.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marlowe |first=Frank W. |date=2004 |title=Marital Residence among Foragers |url=https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=P00035606 |journal=Current Anthropology |language=en |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=277–283|doi=10.1086/382256 |s2cid=145129698 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Flexibility leads to a more egalitarian society, as both men and women can choose with whom to live.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Hill |first1=Kim R. |last2=Walker |first2=Robert S. |last3=Bozicević |first3=Miran |last4=Eder |first4=James |last5=Headland |first5=Thomas |last6=Hewlett |first6=Barry |last7=Hurtado |first7=A. Magdalena |last8=Marlowe |first8=Frank |last9=Wiessner |first9=Polly |last10=Wood |first10=Brian |date=2011-03-11 |title=Co-residence patterns in hunter-gatherer societies show unique human social structure |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21393537/#:~:text=We%20found%20that%20hunter-gatherers,residential%20groups%20are%20genetically%20unrelated. |journal=Science |volume=331 |issue=6022 |pages=1286–1289 |doi=10.1126/science.1199071 |issn=1095-9203 |pmid=21393537|bibcode=2011Sci...331.1286H |s2cid=93958 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dyble |first1=M. |last2=Salali |first2=G. D. |last3=Chaudhary |first3=N. |last4=Page |first4=A. |last5=Smith |first5=D. |last6=Thompson |first6=J. |last7=Vinicius |first7=L. |last8=Mace |first8=R. |last9=Migliano |first9=A. B. |date=2015-05-15 |title=Human behavior. Sex equality can explain the unique social structure of hunter-gatherer bands |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25977551/ |journal=Science |volume=348 |issue=6236 |pages=796–798 |doi=10.1126/science.aaa5139 |issn=1095-9203 |pmid=25977551|s2cid=5078886 }}</ref> So, for example, among the pygmy [[Aka people|Aka Peoples]] a young couple usually settles in the husband's camp after the birth of their first child.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Destro-Bisol |first1=Giovanni |last2=Donati |first2=Francesco |last3=Coia |first3=Valentina |last4=Boschi |first4=Ilaria |last5=Verginelli |first5=Fabio |last6=Caglià |first6=Alessandra |last7=Tofanelli |first7=Sergio |last8=Spedini |first8=Gabriella |last9=Capelli |first9=Cristian |date=2004-09-01 |title=Variation of Female and Male Lineages in Sub-Saharan Populations: the Importance of Sociocultural Factors |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msh186 |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=21 |issue=9 |pages=1673–1682 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msh186 |pmid=15190128 |issn=0737-4038|url-access=subscription }}</ref> However, the husband can stay in the wife's community, where one of his brothers or sisters can join him. Kinship and residence in hunter-gatherer societies may thus be complex and multifaceted. Supporting this, a re-check of past data on hunter gatherers showed that about 40% of groups were bilocal, 22.9% matrilocal, and 25% patrilocal.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dyble |first=M. |date=2016 |title=The behavioural ecology and evolutionary implications of hunter-gatherer social organisation |s2cid=202198539 |language=en}}</ref>

== Matrilineal surname ==       <!-- a target for links from other articles -->
{{Main|Matriname}}
{{further|Extinction of surnames}}
''Matrilineal'' [[surname]]s (matrinames) are names transmitted from mother to daughter, in contrast to the more familiar ''patrilineal surnames''  (patrinames) transmitted from father to son, the pattern most common among [[family name]]s today.<ref name=sykes>Sykes, Bryan (2001). ''[[The Seven Daughters of Eve]]''. W.W. Norton. {{ISBN|0-393-02018-5}}; pp. 291–2. [[Bryan Sykes]] uses "matriname" and states that women adding their own matriname to men's patriname (or "surname" as Sykes calls it) would really help in future genealogy work and historical record searches. Sykes also states (p. 292) that a woman's matriname will be handed down with her [[mtDNA]], the main topic of his book.</ref>

== Cultural patterns ==
In some societies, membership was—and, in the following list, still is if shown in ''italics''—inherited matrilineally.  Examples include many, if not most, Native [[North American]] groups: the [[Cherokee]], [[Choctaw]], ''[[Gitksan]]'', [[Haida people|Haida]], [[Hopi]], [[Iroquois]], [[Lenape]], [[Navajo people|Navajo]] and [[Tlingit people|Tlingit]] among others; the ''[[Cabécar people|Cabécar]]'' and ''[[Bribri people|Bribri]]'' of Costa Rica; the ''[[Naso people|Naso]]'' and ''[[Guna people]]'' of Panama; the ''[[Kogi people|Kogi]]'', ''[[Wayuu people|Wayuu]]'' and [[Kalina people|Carib]] of South America; the ''[[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]]'' people of [[West Sumatra]], [[Indonesia]] and [[Negeri Sembilan]], [[Malaysia]]; the ''[[Trobrianders]]'', ''[[Dobu]]'' and ''Nagovisi'' of Melanesia; the [[Nairs]], some [[Ezhava|Thiyyas]] & [[Muslims]] of [[Kerala]] and the [[Mogaveera]]s, [[Billava]]s & the [[Bunt (community)|Bunt]]s of [[Karnataka]] in south [[India]]; the ''[[Khasi people|Khasi]]'', ''[[Synteng|Jaintia]]'' and ''[[Garo (tribe)|Garo]]'' of [[Meghalaya]] in northeast India and [[Bangladesh]]; the ''[[Ngalop people|Ngalops]]'' and ''[[Sharchops]]'' of [[Bhutan]]; the ''[[Mosuo]]'' of [[China]]; the ''[[Kayah people|Kayah]]'' of Southeast Asia; the [[Basques]] of [[Spain]] and [[France]]; the ''[[Akan people|Akan]]'' including the ''[[Ashanti people|Ashanti]]'', ''[[Bono people|Bono]]'', ''[[Akwamu]]'', ''[[Fante people|Fante]]'' of [[Ghana]]; most groups across the so-called "[[matrilineal belt]]" of south-central Africa; the [[Nubians]] of Southern [[Egypt]] & [[Sudan]]; the ''[[Tuareg people|Tuareg]]'' of west and north Africa; and the ''[[Serer people|Serer]]'' of [[Senegal]], [[The Gambia]] and [[Mauritania]]. The title of the [[Rain Queen]] in [[South Africa]] is inherited via matrilineal [[primogeniture]]: [[dynasty|dynastic]] descent is matrilineal, with only females eligible to inherit.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-07-27 |title=The Balobedu Queenship Recognised and Dignity Restored |url=http://www.cogta.gov.za/?p=867 |access-date=2020-01-24 |website=Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs |language=en-US}}</ref>

Genetic evidence shows matriliny, and matrilocality, among [[Celts]] in [[Iron Age Britain]]. As other data indicate patriarchy in the [[Early Bronze Age]], this may indicate a rare patriarchal to matrifocal transition.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cassidy |first1=Lara M. |last2=Russell |first2=Miles |last3=Smith |first3=Martin |last4=Delbarre |first4=Gabrielle |last5=Cheetham |first5=Paul |last6=Manley |first6=Harry |last7=Mattiangeli |first7=Valeria |last8=Breslin |first8=Emily M. |last9=Jackson |first9=Iseult |last10=McCann |first10=Maeve |last11=Little |first11=Harry |last12=O’Connor |first12=Ciarán G. |last13=Heaslip |first13=Beth |last14=Lawson |first14=Daniel |last15=Endicott |first15=Phillip |date=January 2025 |title=Continental influx and pervasive matrilocality in Iron Age Britain |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=637 |issue=8048 |pages=1136–1142 |doi=10.1038/s41586-024-08409-6 |pmid=39814899 |pmc=11779635 |bibcode=2025Natur.637.1136C |issn=1476-4687}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ferreira |first=Becky |date=2025-01-15 |title=Celtic Women Held Sway in 'Matrilocal' Societies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/science/celtic-women-dna.html#:~:text=An%20ancient%20cemetery%20reveals%20a,according%20to%20a%20DNA%20analysis. |access-date=2025-04-02 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> There is evidence of matrilineal royal descent, from maternal uncle to nephew, in early Iron Age (ca. 500 BCE) Celtics in continental Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gretzinger |first1=Joscha |last2=Schmitt |first2=Felicitas |last3=Mötsch |first3=Angela |last4=Carlhoff |first4=Selina |last5=Lamnidis |first5=Thiseas Christos |last6=Huang |first6=Yilei |last7=Ringbauer |first7=Harald |last8=Knipper |first8=Corina |last9=Francken |first9=Michael |last10=Mandt |first10=Franziska |last11=Hansen |first11=Leif |last12=Freund |first12=Cäcilia |last13=Posth |first13=Cosimo |last14=Rathmann |first14=Hannes |last15=Harvati |first15=Katerina |date=August 2024 |title=Evidence for dynastic succession among early Celtic elites in Central Europe |journal=Nature Human Behaviour |language=en |volume=8 |issue=8 |pages=1467–1480 |doi=10.1038/s41562-024-01888-7 |pmid=38831077 |pmc=11343710 |issn=2397-3374}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian |last2=Anderson |first2=Sonja |title=Ancient Celtic Elites Inherited Wealth From Their Mothers' Sides |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-celtic-elites-inherited-wealth-from-their-mothers-sides-180984486/ |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> There is evidence of matriliny in [[Pre-Islamic Arabia]] among a subclan of the Amarite tribal confederation of [[Ancient Saba]]; the wider society there was overwhelmingly patrilineal.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Korotayev |first1=A. V. |year=1995 |title=Were There Any Truly Matrilineal Lineages in the Arabian Peninsula? |url=https://www.academia.edu/27745315 |journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies |volume=25 |pages=83–98}}</ref> Genetic data has also established matriliny and matrilocality of an elite among [[Ancestral Pueblo people|Ancestral Pueblo People]], from 8th to 11th century AD, in [[Chaco Canyon]], [[New Mexico]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kennett |first1=Douglas J. |last2=Plog |first2=Stephen |last3=George |first3=Richard J. |last4=Culleton |first4=Brendan J. |last5=Watson |first5=Adam S. |last6=Skoglund |first6=Pontus |last7=Rohland |first7=Nadin |last8=Mallick |first8=Swapan |last9=Stewardson |first9=Kristin |last10=Kistler |first10=Logan |last11=LeBlanc |first11=Steven A. |last12=Whiteley |first12=Peter M. |last13=Reich |first13=David |last14=Perry |first14=George H. |date=2017-02-21 |title=Archaeogenomic evidence reveals prehistoric matrilineal dynasty |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=14115 |doi=10.1038/ncomms14115 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=5321759 |pmid=28221340|bibcode=2017NatCo...814115K }}</ref> The initial people of [[Micronesia]] practiced matrilocality, as seen in ancient DNA.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Yue-Chen |last2=Hunter-Anderson |first2=Rosalind |last3=Cheronet |first3=Olivia |last4=Eakin |first4=Joanne |last5=Camacho |first5=Frank |last6=Pietrusewsky |first6=Michael |last7=Rohland |first7=Nadin |last8=Ioannidis |first8=Alexander |last9=Athens |first9=J. Stephen |last10=Douglas |first10=Michele Toomay |last11=Ikehara-Quebral |first11=Rona Michi |last12=Bernardos |first12=Rebecca |last13=Culleton |first13=Brendan J. |last14=Mah |first14=Matthew |last15=Adamski |first15=Nicole |date=July 2022 |title=Ancient DNA reveals five streams of migration into Micronesia and matrilocality in early Pacific seafarers |journal=Science |volume=377 |issue=6601 |pages=72–79 |doi=10.1126/science.abm6536 |pmc=9983687 |pmid=35771911|bibcode=2022Sci...377...72L }}</ref> Ancient DNA from a late neolithic site in Northern China (Fujia in [[Shandong|Shandong Province]]), dated around 2700 BCE, showed both matrilocality and possibly a general preference for the maternal bloodline as opposed to affinal (marital) kin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dong |first1=Yu |last2=Li |first2=Chunxiang |last3=Luan |first3=Fengshi |last4=Li |first4=Zhenguang |last5=Li |first5=Hongjie |last6=Cui |first6=Yinqiu |last7=Zhou |first7=Hui |last8=Malhi |first8=Ripan S. |date=2015 |title=Low Mitochondrial DNA Diversity in an Ancient Population from China: Insight into Social Organization at the Fujia Site |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/595013 |journal=Human Biology |volume=87 |issue=1 |pages=71–84 |doi=10.13110/humanbiology.87.1.0071 |pmid=26416323 |issn=1534-6617|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Clan names vs. surnames ===
Matrilineal groups are often made up of matrilineal [[clan]]s, at times with ''[[descent group]]s'' or ''family groups'' each with a separate female ancestor. Sometimes the male ancestor, that is, the partner of the female ancestor where known, is mentioned as the ancestor though the clan is matrilineal.<ref name=":1" /> Surnames in these situations may follow several patterns. The clan name may be the surname, handed down matrilineally. The clan name may be tracked but not used in the personal names. This is true of the Minangkabau, for instance, who mostly use just one name. It is also true of the Akan, who do use two names, but do not inherit the second name, hence making it a surname but not a family name.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Witte |first=Marleen de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fmf5UqZzbvoC&q=%22Adwoa+Dufie%22 |title=Long Live the Dead!: Changing Funeral Celebrations in Asante, Ghana |date=2001 |publisher=Aksant Academic Publishers |isbn=978-90-5260-003-1 |language=en}}</ref> The surname may also be the name of the descent group.
=== Care of children ===
While a mother normally takes care of her own children in all cultures, in some matrilineal cultures, particularly matrilocal ones, an "uncle-father,"  termed a ''social father'', will take care of, and be guardian to, his nieces and nephews instead of his sons. The biological father plays little role in child rearing.<ref>Schneider, D. M. 1961. The distinctive features of matrilineal descent groups. Introduction. In Schneider, D. M. and K. Gough (eds) ''Matrilineal Kinship.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 1–29.</ref>


== Matriliny in specific ethnic groups ==
===Africa ===
==== Akan ====
{{Main|Akan people|Abusua}}
Some 20 million [[Akan people|Akan]] live in Africa, particularly in [[Ghana]] and [[Ivory Coast]].  (See as well their subgroups, the [[Ashanti people|Ashanti]], also called Asante, [[Akyem]], [[Bono people|Bono]], [[Fante people|Fante]], [[Akwamu]].) Many but not all of the Akan still (2001)<ref name="2001book">{{Cite book |last=Witte |first=Marleen de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fmf5UqZzbvoC&dq=Abusua&pg=PA52 |title=Long Live the Dead!: Changing Funeral Celebrations in Asante, Ghana |date=2001 |publisher=Aksant Academic Publishers |isbn=978-90-5260-003-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Studies|first=University of Ghana Institute of African|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4FuWXpYixYUC&q=akan+matrilineal+inheritance|title=Research Review - Institute of African Studies|date=1988|publisher=Institute of African Studies.|language=en}}</ref> practice their traditional matrilineal customs, living in their traditional [[extended family]] households, as follows.  The traditional Akan economic, political and social organization is based on maternal lineages, which are the basis of inheritance and succession.  A lineage is defined as all those related by [[matrilineal descent]] from a particular ancestress.  Several lineages are grouped into a ''political unit'' headed by a chief and a council of elders, each of whom is the elected head of a lineage – which itself may include multiple extended-family households.  Public offices are thus vested in the lineage, as are land tenure and other lineage property.  In other words, lineage property is inherited only by matrilineal kin.<ref name=2001book /><ref name=encyBr>Busia, Kofi Abrefa (1970). ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1970.  William Benton, publisher, The University of Chicago. {{ISBN|0-85229-135-3}}, Vol. 1, p. 477.  (This Akan article was written by Kofi Abrefa Busia, formerly professor of Sociology and Culture of Africa at the University of Leiden, Netherlands.)</ref>

"The principles governing inheritance stress sex, generation and age – that is to say, men come before women and seniors before juniors." When a woman's brothers are available, a consideration of generational seniority stipulates that the line of brothers be exhausted before the right to inherit lineage property passes down to the next senior genealogical generation of sisters' sons. Finally, "it is when all possible male heirs have been exhausted that the females" may inherit.<ref name=com.au />

Each lineage controls the lineage land farmed by its members, functions together in the veneration of its ancestors, supervises marriages of its members, and settles internal disputes among its members.<ref>Owusu-Ansah, David (November 1994). http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+gh0048%29, "Ghana: The Akan Group". This source, "Ghana", is one of the Country Studies available from the US Library of Congress. Archived https://archive.today/20120710173040/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+gh0048) on 10 July 2012.</ref>

The political units above are likewise grouped into eight larger groups called ''[[abusua]]'' (similar to [[clan]]s), named Aduana, Agona, Asakyiri, Asenie, Asona, Bretuo, Ekuona and Oyoko.  The members of each ''abusua'' are united by their belief that they are all descended from the same ancient ancestress. Marriage between members of the same ''abusua'' is forbidden. One inherits or is a lifelong member of the lineage, the political unit, and the ''abusua'' of one's mother, regardless of one's gender and/or marriage. Note that members and their spouses thus belong to different ''abusuas'', mother and children living and working in one household and their husband/father living and working in a different household.<ref name=2001book /><ref name=encyBr />

According to this source<ref name=com.au>ashanti.com.au (before 2010). http://ashanti.com.au/pb/wp_8078438f.html, "Ashanti Home Page: The Ashanti Family unit" Archived https://web.archive.org/web/20070626101235/http://www.ashanti.com.au/pb/wp_8078438f.html on 26 June 2007.</ref> of further information about the Akan, "A man is strongly related to his mother's brother (wɔfa) but only weakly related to his father's brother. This must be viewed in the context of a [[polygamous]] society in which the mother/child bond is likely to be much stronger than the father/child bond. As a result, in inheritance, a man's nephew (sister's son) will have priority over his own son.  Uncle-nephew relationships therefore assume a dominant position."<ref name=com.au />

Certain other aspects of the Akan culture are determined [[patrilineally]] rather than matrilineally. There are 12 patrilineal [[Ntoro]] (which means spirit) groups, and everyone belongs to their father's Ntoro group but not to his (matrilineal) family lineage and ''abusua''.  Each patrilineal Ntoro group has its own surnames,<ref>de Witte (2001), p. 55 shows such surnames in a [[family tree]], which provides a useful example of names.</ref> taboos, ritual purifications, and etiquette.<ref name=encyBr />

A recent (2001) book<ref name=2001book /> provides this update on the Akan: Some families are changing from the above ''abusua'' structure to the [[nuclear family]].<ref name="de Witte 2001, p. 53">de Witte (2001), p. 53.</ref> Housing, childcare, education, daily work, and elder care etc. are then handled by that individual family rather than by the ''abusua'' or clan, especially in the city.<ref>de Witte (2001), p. 73.</ref> The above taboo on marriage within one's abusua is sometimes ignored, but "clan membership" is still important,<ref name="de Witte 2001, p. 53"/> with many people still living in the ''abusua'' framework presented above.<ref name=2001book />

====Guanches====
{{Main|Guanches}}
The [[Berbers|Berber]] inhabitants of [[Gran Canaria]] island had developed a matrilineal society by the time the [[Canary Islands]] and their people, called [[Guanches]], were conquered by the Spanish.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eK28BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA8|title=An Archaeology of the Margins: Colonialism, Amazighity and Heritage Management in the Canary Islands|last=Jose Farrujia de la Rosa|first=Augusto|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|year=2014|isbn=9781461493969|pages=8|language=en}}</ref>

==== Serer ====
{{Main|Serer maternal clans}}
The [[Serer people]] of [[Senegal]], the [[Gambia]] and [[Mauritania]] are patrilineal (''simanGol'' in [[Serer language]]<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [[Simone Kalis|Kalis, Simone]], "Médecine traditionnelle religion et divination chez les Seereer [[Kingdom of Sine|Sine]] du [[Senegal]]", La connaissance de la nuit, L'Harmattan (1997), p 299, {{ISBN|2-7384-5196-9}}</ref>) as well as matrilineal (''tim''<ref name="Serer 1">[[Marguerite Dupire|Dupire, Marguerite]], "Sagesse [[Serer people|sereer]] : Essais sur la pensée [[Ndut people|sereer ndut]], KARTHALA Editions (1994). For ''tim'' and ''den yaay'' (see p. 116). The book also deals in depth about the Serer matriclans and means of succession through the matrilineal line. See also pages : 38, 95–99, 104, 119–20, 123, 160, 172–4 {{in lang|fr}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=Fag2wuiV7t8C&q=Sagesse+sereer:essais+sur+la+pense+sereer+ndut] {{ISBN|2865374874}} (Retrieved : 4 August 2012)</ref>). There are several [[Serer maternal clans|Serer matriclans]] and [[:Category:Serer matriarchs|matriarchs]]. Some of these matriarchs include [[Lingeer Fatim Beye|Fatim Beye]] (1335) and [[Lingeer Ndoye Demba|Ndoye Demba]] (1367) – matriarchs of the [[Joos Maternal Dynasty|Joos matriclan]] which also became a dynasty in [[Waalo]] (Senegal). Some [[matriclan]]s or maternal clans form part of [[Serer history (medieval era to present)|Serer medieval]] and [[:Category:Serer royalty|dynastic]] history, such as the [[Guelowar]]s. The most revered clans tend to be rather ancient and form part of [[Serer ancient history]]. These [[Timeline of Serer history|proto-Serer]] clans hold great significance in [[Serer religion]] and [[Serer creation myth|mythology]]. Some of these proto-Serer matriclans include the ''Cegandum'' and ''Kagaw'', whose historical account is enshrined in Serer religion, mythology and [[traditions]].<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [[Henry Gravrand|Gravrand, Henry]], "La Civilisation Sereer – Cosaan", p 200, Nouvelles Editions africaines (1983), {{ISBN|2723608778}}</ref>

In Serer culture, inheritance is both matrilineal and patrilineal.<ref name="Serer 2"/> It all depends on the asset being inherited – i.e. whether the asset is a paternal asset – requiring paternal inheritance (''kucarla''<ref name="Serer 2"/> ) or a maternal asset – requiring maternal inheritance (''den yaay''<ref name="Serer 1"/> or ''ƭeen yaay''<ref name="Serer 2">{{in lang|fr}} Becker, Charles: "Vestiges historiques, trémoins matériels du passé clans les pays sereer", Dakar (1993), CNRS – ORS TO M. [http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_5/b_fdi_01/010014636.pdf Excerpt] (Retrieved : 4 August 2012)</ref>). The actual handling of these maternal assets (such as jewelry, land, livestock, equipment or furniture, etc.) is discussed in the subsection [[Serer maternal clans#Role of the Tokoor|Role of the Tokoor]] of one of the above-listed main articles.

==== Tuareg ====
<!-- This section heading is a redirect target for links from other articles -->
{{Main|Tuareg people}}
The [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] (Arabic:طوارق, sometimes spelled Touareg in French, or Twareg in English) are a large [[Berbers|Berber]] ethnic confederation found across several nations in north Africa, including [[Niger]], [[Mali]] and [[Algeria]]. The Tuareg are ''clan''-based,<ref name=Haven07>Haven, Cynthia (23 May 07). http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2007/pr-tuareg-052307.html, "New exhibition highlights the 'artful' Tuareg of the Sahara," Stanford University. Archived https://archive.today/20121210143001/http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2007/pr-tuareg-052307.html on 10 December 2012.</ref> and are (still, in 2007) "largely matrilineal".<ref name=Haven07/><ref name=Spain92>Spain, Daphne (1992). ''Gendered Spaces''. University of North Carolina Press. {{ISBN|0-8078-2012-1}}; p. 57.</ref><ref name=Review66>{{cite journal |last1=Murphy |first1=Robert F. |title=Review of Ecology and Culture of the Pastoral Tuareg, with Particular Reference to the Tuareg of Ahaggar and Ayr |journal=American Anthropologist |date=1966 |volume=68 |issue=2 |pages=554–556 |doi=10.1525/aa.1966.68.2.02a00540 |jstor=669389 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The Tuareg are [[Muslim]], but mixed with a "heavy dose" of their pre-existing beliefs including matriliny.<ref name=Haven07/><ref name=Review66/>

Tuareg women enjoy high status within their society, compared with their [[Arab]] counterparts and with other Berber tribes: Tuareg social status is transmitted through women, with residence often [[Matrilocal residence|matrilocal]].<ref name=Spain92/> Most women could read and write, while most men were illiterate, concerning themselves mainly with herding livestock and other male activities.<ref name=Spain92/> The livestock and other movable property were owned by the women, whereas personal property is owned and inherited regardless of gender.<ref name=Spain92/> In contrast to most other Muslim cultural groups, men wear veils but women do not.<ref name=Haven07/><ref name=Review66/> This custom is discussed in more detail in the Tuareg article's [[Tuareg people#Clothing|clothing section]], which mentions it may be the protection needed against the blowing sand while traversing the [[Sahara|Sahara desert]].<ref>Bradshaw Foundation (2007 or later). http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/tuareg/index.php, "The Tuareg of the Sahara". Archived at https://archive.today/20120720193456/http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/tuareg/index.php on 20 July 2012.</ref>

===Americas ===
==== Bororo ====
{{Main|Bororo}}
The Bororo people of Brazil and Bolivia live in matrilineal clans, with husbands moving to live with their wives' extended families.

==== Bribri ====
{{Main|Bribri people}}
The clan system of the Bribri people of Costa Rica and Panama is matrilineal; that is, a child's clan is determined by the clan his or her mother belongs to. Only women can inherit land.

==== Cabécar ====
{{Main|Cabécar people}}
The social organization of the Cabécar people of Costa Rica is predicated on matrilineal clans in which the mother is the head of household. Each matrilineal clan controls marriage possibilities, regulates land tenure, and determines property inheritance for its members.

==== Guna ====
{{Main|Guna people}}
In the traditional culture of the [[Guna people]] of Panama and Colombia, families are matrilinear and matrilocal, with the groom moving to become part of the bride's family. The groom also takes the last name of the bride.

==== Hopi ====
{{Main|Hopi people}}
The [[Hopi people|Hopi]] (in what is now the [[Hopi Reservation]] in northeastern [[Arizona]]), according to [[Alice Schlegel]], had as its "gender ideology&nbsp;... one of female superiority, and it operated within a social actuality of sexual equality."<ref>[[Alice Schlegel|Schlegel, Alice]], ''Hopi Gender Ideology of Female Superiority'', in ''Quarterly Journal of Ideology: "A Critique of the Conventional Wisdom"'', vol. VIII, no. 4, 1984, p. 44 and see pp. 44–52 (essay based partly on "seventeen years of fieldwork among the Hopi", per p. 44 n. 1) (author of Dep't of Anthropology, Univ. of Ariz., Tucson).</ref> According to LeBow (based on Schlegel's work), in the Hopi, "gender roles&nbsp;... are egalitarian&nbsp;.... [and] [n]either sex is inferior."<ref>LeBow, Diana, ''Rethinking Matriliny Among the Hopi'', ''op. cit.'', p. [8].</ref> LeBow concluded that Hopi women "participate fully in&nbsp;... political decision-making."<ref>LeBow, Diana, ''Rethinking Matriliny Among the Hopi'', ''op. cit.'', p. 18.</ref> According to Schlegel, "the Hopi no longer live as they are described here"<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p44n1">Schlegel, Alice, ''Hopi Gender Ideology of Female Superiority'', ''op. cit.'', p. 44 n. 1.</ref> and "the attitude of female superiority is fading".<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p44n1" /> Schlegel said the Hopi "were and still are matrilinial"<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p45">Schlegel, Alice, ''Hopi Gender Ideology of Female Superiority'', ''op. cit.'', p. 45.</ref> and "the household&nbsp;... was matrilocal".<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p45" />

Schlegel explains why there was female superiority as that the Hopi believed in "life as the highest good&nbsp;... [with] the female principle&nbsp;... activated in women and in Mother Earth&nbsp;... as its source"<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p50" /> and that the Hopi "were not in a state of continual war with equally matched neighbors"<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p49">Schlegel, Alice, ''Hopi Gender Ideology of Female Superiority'', ''op. cit.'', p. 49.</ref> and "had no standing army"<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p49" /> so that "the Hopi lacked the spur to masculine superiority"<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p49" /> and, within that, as that women were central to institutions of clan and household and predominated "within the economic and social systems (in contrast to male predominance within the political and ceremonial systems)",<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p49" /> the [[Haudenosaunee Clan Mother|Clan Mother]], for example, being empowered to overturn land distribution by men if she felt it was unfair,<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p50">Schlegel, Alice, ''Hopi Gender Ideology of Female Superiority'', ''op. cit.'', p. 50.</ref> since there was no "countervailing&nbsp;... strongly centralized, male-centered political structure".<ref name="Schlegel-HopiGenderIdeoFemaleSuper-p50" />

==== Iroquois ====
{{Main|Iroquois}}
The [[Iroquois|Iroquois Confederacy or League]], combining five to six Native American [[Iroquois|Haudenosaunee]] nations or tribes before the [[United States|U.S.]] became a nation, operated by [[Great Law of Peace|The Great Binding Law of Peace]], a constitution by which women retained matrilineal-rights and participated in the League's political decision-making, including deciding whether to proceed to war,<ref>Jacobs, Renée E., ''Iroquois Great Law of Peace and the United States Constitution: How the Founding Fathers Ignored the Clan Mothers'', in ''American Indian Law Review'', vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 497–531, esp. pp. 498–509 (© author 1991).</ref> through what may have been a matriarchy<ref>Jacobs, Renée, ''Iroquois Great Law of Peace and the United States Constitution'', in ''American Indian Law Review'', ''op. cit.'', pp. 506–507.</ref> or "gyneocracy".<ref>Jacobs, Renée, ''Iroquois Great Law of Peace and the United States Constitution'', in ''American Indian Law Review'', ''op. cit.'', p. 505 & p. 506 n. 38, quoting Carr, L., ''The Social and Political Position of Women Among the Huron-Iroquois Tribes, Report of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology'', p. 223 (1884).</ref> The dates of this constitution's operation are unknown: the League was formed in approximately 1000–1450, but the constitution was oral until written in about 1880.<ref name="IroquoisGreatLawUSConst-p498">Jacobs, Renée, ''Iroquois Great Law of Peace and the United States Constitution'', in ''American Indian Law Review'', ''op. cit.'', p. 498 & n. 6.</ref> The League still exists.

Other Iroquoian-speaking peoples such as the [[Wyandot people|Wyandot]] and the [[Meherrin]], that were never part of the Iroquois League, nevertheless have traditionally possessed a matrilineal family structure.

==== Kogi ====
{{Main|Kogi people}}
The Kogi people of northern Colombia practice bilateral inheritance, with certain rights, names or associations descending matrilineally.

==== Lenape ====
{{Main|Lenape}}
Occupied for 10,000 years by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], the land that is present-day [[New Jersey]] was overseen by [[clan]]s of the [[Lenape]], who farmed, fished, and hunted upon it. The pattern of their culture was that of a matrilineal agricultural and mobile hunting society that was sustained with fixed, but not permanent, settlements in their ''matrilineal clan'' territories.  Leadership by men was inherited through the maternal line, and the women elders held the power to remove leaders of whom they disapproved.

Villages were established and relocated as the clans farmed new sections of the land when soil fertility lessened and when they moved among their fishing and hunting grounds by seasons. The area was claimed as a part of the Dutch [[New Netherland]] province dating from 1614, where active trading in furs took advantage of the natural pass west, but the Lenape prevented permanent settlement beyond what is now Jersey City.

"Early Europeans who first wrote about these Indians found matrilineal social organization to be unfamiliar and perplexing. As a result, the early records are full of 'clues' about early Lenape society, but were usually written by observers who did not fully understand what they were seeing."<ref>This quote is from [[Lenape]]'s [[Lenni-Lenape#Society|Society]] section.</ref>

==== Mandan ====
{{Main|Mandan}}
The Mandan people of the northern Great Plains of the United States historically lived in matrilineal extended family lodges.

==== Naso ====
{{Main|Naso people}}
The Naso (Teribe or Térraba) people of Panama and Costa Rica describe themselves as a matriarchal community, although their monarchy has traditionally been inherited in the male line.

==== Navajo ====
{{Main|Navajo}}
The Navajo people of the American southwest are a matrilineal society in which kinship, children, livestock and family histories are passed down through the female. In marriage the groom moved to live with the brides family. Children also came from their mother's clan living in hogans of the females family. 

==== Tanana Athabaskan ====
{{Main|Tanana Athabaskans}}
The Tanana Athabaskan people, the original inhabitants of the Tanana River basin in Alaska and Canada, traditionally lived in matrilineal semi-nomadic bands.

==== Tsenacommacah (Powhatan Confederacy) ====
{{Main|Tsenacommacah}}
The [[Powhatan]] and other tribes of the [[Tsenacommacah]], also known as the Powhatan Confederacy, practiced a version of male-preference matrilineal [[Order of succession#Seniority|seniority]], favoring brothers over sisters in the current generation (but allowing sisters to inherit if no brothers remained), but passing to the next generation through the eldest female line. In ''A Map of Virginia'' [[John Smith of Jamestown]] explains:<blockquote>His <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Chief Powhatan]]'s] kingdome descendeth not to his sonnes nor children: but first to his brethren, whereof he hath 3 namely Opitchapan, [[Opechancanough]], and Catataugh; and after their decease to his sisters. First to the eldest sister, then to the rest: and after them to the heires male and female of the eldest sister; but never to the heires of the males.<ref>Smith, John. ''A Map of Virginia.'' Oxford: Joseph Barnes, 1612. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1008 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050404050733/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1008 |date=4 April 2005 }}, also Repr. in ''The Complete Works of John Smith (1580–1631)''. Ed. Philip L. Barbour. Chapel Hill: University Press of Virginia, 1983. Vol. 1, pp. 305–63.</ref></blockquote>

==== Upper Kuskokwim ====
{{Main|Upper Kuskokwim people}}
The Upper Kuskokwim people are the original inhabitants of the Upper Kuskokwim River basin. They speak an Athabaskan language more closely related to Tanana than to the language of the Lower Kuskokkwim River basin. They were traditionally hunter-gatherers who lived in matrilineal semi-nomadic bands.

==== Wayuu ====
{{Main|Wayuu people}}
The Wayuu people of Colombia and Venezuela live in matrilineal clans, with paternal relationships in the background.

===Asia ===
==== China ====       <!-- a target for links from other articles -->
Originally, [[Chinese surname]]s were derived matrilineally,<ref name=naming>linguistics.berkeley.edu (2004).  http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/~rosemary/55-2004-names.pdf, "Naming practices". A PDF file with a section on "Chinese naming practices (Mak et al., 2003)".</ref> although by the time of the [[Shang dynasty]] (1600 to 1046 [[BCE]]) they had become patrilineal.<ref name=Zhimin>{{cite journal |last1=Zhimin |first1=An |title=Archaeological Research on Neolithic China |journal=Current Anthropology |date=1988 |volume=29 |issue=5 |pages=753–759 |doi=10.1086/203698 |jstor=2743616 |s2cid=144920735 }}</ref>

Archaeological data supports the theory that during the [[Neolithic]] period (7000 to 2000 [[BCE]]) in China, Chinese matrilineal clans evolved into the usual patrilineal families by passing through a transitional patrilineal clan phase.<ref name=Zhimin /> Evidence includes some "richly furnished" tombs for young women in the early Neolithic [[Yangshao]] culture, whose multiple other collective burials imply a matrilineal clan culture.<ref name=Zhimin /> Toward the late Neolithic period, when burials were apparently of couples, "a reflection of patriarchy", an increasing elaboration of presumed chiefs' burials is reported.<ref name=Zhimin />

Relatively isolated ethnic minorities such as the [[Mosuo]] (Na) in southwestern China are highly matrilineal. 

==== India ====
<!-- a redirect target  for links from other articles -->
{{Main|Marumakkathayam|Aliyasantana|Meghalaya#Social_institutions}}
Of communities recognized in the [[Constitution of India|national Constitution]] as Scheduled Tribes, "some&nbsp;... [are] matriarchal and matrilineal"<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1080/13545701.2012.752312 | volume=19 | title=Women's Empowerment and Gender Bias in the Birth and Survival of Girls in Urban India | year=2013 | journal=Feminist Economics | pages=1–28 | last1 = Sinha Mukherjee | first1 = Sucharita| s2cid=155056803 }}, p.&nbsp;9, citing Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar, ''The Cohesive Role of Sanskritization and Other Essays'' (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989), & Agarwal, Bina, ''A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia'' (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994).</ref> "and thus have been known to be more egalitarian."<ref>Mukherjee, Sucharita Sinha, ''Women's Empowerment and Gender Bias in the Birth and Survival of Girls in Urban India'', ''op. cit.'', p.&nbsp;9.</ref> Some Hindu communities in Southwest India practiced matriliny, especially the [[Nair]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Panikkar|first=Kavalam Madhava|author-link=Kavalam Madhava Panikkar|date=July–December 1918|title=Some Aspects of Nayar Life|url=https://archive.org/stream/SomeAspectsOfNayarLife/SomeAspectsOfNayarLifeCopy#page/n0/mode/2up|journal=The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland|volume=48|pages=254–293|doi=10.2307/2843423|jstor=2843423|access-date=2011-06-09|ref=Panikkar1918}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Murray Schneider|first1=David|last2=Gough|first2=Kathleen|title=Matrilineal Kinship|publisher=University of California Press|year=1961|isbn=9780520025295|location=Berkeley|pages=298–384 is the whole "Nayar: Central Kerala" chapter, for example}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=lfdvTbfilYAC Accessible here, via GoogleBooks.]</ref> (or ''Nayar''), [[Ezhava|Tiyyas]]<ref>[[Thomas Nossiter|Nossiter, Thomas Johnson]] (1982). ''Kerala's Identity: Unity and Diversity''. In ''Communism in Kerala: A Study in Political Adaptation''. University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0-520-04667-2}}. Retrieved 2011-06-09. P.&nbsp;30.</ref> and some [[Namboothiri]] Brahmins<ref>{{Cite web |title=Matriarchy Among Namboothiris |url=https://www.namboothiri.com/articles/matriarchy.htm |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=www.namboothiri.com}}</ref> in the state of [[Kerala]], and the [[Bunt (community)|Bunts]] and [[Billava]] in the state of [[Karnataka]]. The system of inheritance was known as [[Marumakkathayam]] in the ''Nair'' community or [[Aliyasantana]] in the ''[[Bunt (community)|Bunt]]'' and the ''[[Billava]]'' community, and both communities were subdivided into [[clan]]s. This system was exceptional in the sense that it was one of the few traditional systems in India that gave women some liberty and the right to property.

In the matrilineal system of [[Kerala]], southern India, the family lived together in a [[tharavadu]] which was composed of a mother, her brothers and younger sisters, and her children in a system called as [[Marumakkathayam]]. The oldest male member was known as the [[Karnavar]] and was the head of the household, managing the family estate. Lineage was traced through the mother, and the children belonged to the mother's family. The [[surnames|surname]] would be from the maternal side and all family property was jointly owned. In the event of a partition, the shares of the children were clubbed with that of the mother. The Karnavar's property was inherited by his sisters' sons rather than his own sons. Almost all the kingdoms in Kerala practised this system, with the Karnavar of the family becoming the king. The [[Arakkal kingdom#Ali Rajas and Arakkal Beevis|Arakkal kingdom]] of Kerala followed a similar matrilineal system of descent: the eldest member of the family, whether male or female, became its head and ruler. (For further information see the articles on [[Nair]], [[Ambalavasi]], [[Bunt (community)|Bunts]] and [[Billava]]). [[Amitav Ghosh]] has stated that, although there were numerous other matrilineal succession systems in communities of the south Indian coast, the Nairs "achieved an unparalleled eminence in the anthropological literature on matriliny".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ghosh|first=Amitav|title=The Imam and the Indian: prose pieces.|year=2003|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=9788175300477|page=193|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQHp9wsWaZcC}} To access it via GoogleBooks, click on book title.</ref>

In the [[northeast India]]n state [[Meghalaya]], the [[Khasi people|Khasi]], [[Garo people|Garo]], [[Pnar people|Jaintia people]] have a long tradition of a largely matrilinear system in which the youngest daughter inherits the wealth of the parents and takes over their care.<ref name="Choudhury2016">{{cite book|author=Sanghamitra Choudhury|title=Women and Conflict in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pWyFCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT92|date=5 February 2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-55361-8|pages=92}}</ref>

==== Indonesia ====
{{Main|Minangkabau people}}
In the [[Minangs|Minangkabau]] matrilineal [[clan]] culture in [[Indonesia]], a person's [[clan]] name is important in their marriage and their other cultural-related events.<ref name="Sanday">{{Cite journal |last=Sanday |first=Peggy Reeves |date=December 2002 |title=Commentary: Matriarchy and Islam Post-9/11: A Report from Indonesia |url=https://web.sas.upenn.edu/psanday/reports/matriarchy-and-islam-post-911-a-report-from-indonesia/ |journal=Anthropology News |volume=43 |issue=9 |pages=7 |doi=10.1111/an.2002.43.9.7|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=SandayBk>Sanday, Peggy Reeves (2004). ''Women at the Center: Life in a Modern Matriarchy''. Cornell University Press. {{ISBN|0-8014-8906-7}}. Parts of this book are available online at books.google.com</ref><ref name=Caitlin>Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (21Oct09). http://www.roamingtales.com/2009/10/21/a-matrilineal-islamic-society-in-sumatra/, "A matrilineal, Islamic society in Sumatra". Archived https://archive.today/20130202004556/http://www.roamingtales.com/2009/10/21/a-matrilineal-islamic-society-in-sumatra/ on 2 February 2013.</ref> Two totally unrelated people who share the same clan name can never be married because they are considered to be from the same clan mother (unless they come from distant villages). Likewise, when [[Minangs]] meet total strangers who share the same clan name, anywhere in Indonesia, they could theoretically expect to feel that they are distant relatives.<ref>Sanday 2004, p.67</ref> Minang people do not have a family name or surname; neither is one's important clan name included in one's name; instead one's [[given name]] is the only name one has.<ref>Sanday 2004, p.241</ref>

The [[Minangs]] are one of the world's largest matrilineal societies/cultures/ethnic groups, with a population of 4 million in their home province [[West Sumatra]] in Indonesia and about 4 million elsewhere, mostly in Indonesia. The Minang people are well known within their country for their tradition of matriliny and for their "dedication to Islam" – despite Islam being "supposedly patrilineal".<ref name=Sanday /> This well-known accommodation, between their traditional complex of customs, called [[adat]], and their religion, was actually worked out to help end the Minangkabau 1821–37 [[Padri War]].<ref name=Sanday /> 

The [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]] are a prime example of a matrilineal culture with female inheritance.  With Islamic religious background of [[complementarian]]ism and places a greater number of men than women in positions of religious and political power. Inheritance and proprietorship pass from mother to daughter.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Peletz|first1=Michael G.|title=The King Is Dead; Long Live the Queen!|journal=American Ethnologist|date=2005|volume=32|issue=1|pages=39–41|jstor=3805147|doi=10.1525/ae.2005.32.1.39}}</ref>

Besides Minangkabau, several other ethnics in Indonesia are also matrilineal and have similar culture as the Minangkabau. They are Suku Melayu Bebilang, Suku Kubu and Kerinci people. Suku Melayu Bebilang live in Kota Teluk Kuantan, Kabupaten Kuantan Singingi (also known as Kuansing), Riau. They have similar culture as the Minang. Suku Kubu people live in Jambi and South Sumatera. They are around 200 000 people. Suku Kerinci people mostly live in Kabupaten Kerinci, Jambi. They are around 300 000 people.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

====Kurds====
{{Main|Mangur (Kurdish tribe)|Mokryan}} 
Matriliny was occasionally practiced by mainstream [[Sorani]], [[Zazas|Zaza]], [[Feyli (Kurdish tribe)|Feyli]], [[Gorani people|Gorani]], and [[Alevi]] [[Kurds]], though the practice was much rarer among non-[[Alevi]] [[Kurmanji]]-speaking [[Kurds]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Kevin McKiernan|title=The Kurds|url=https://archive.org/details/kurdspeopleinsea00mcki|url-access=registration|date=7 March 2006|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=9780312325466}}</ref>

The [[Mangur (Kurdish tribe)|Mangur]] clan of the, Culturally, [[Mokri (surname)|Mokri]] tribal confederation and, politically, [[Bolbas Federation]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Minorsky |first1=V. |title=Mongol Place-Names in Mukri Kurdistan |journal=Mongolica |date=1957 |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=75 |jstor=609632 }}</ref> is an enatic clan, meaning members of the clan can only inherit their mothers last name and are considered to be a part of the mothers family. The entire Mokri tribe may have also practiced this form of enaticy before the collapse of their emirate and its direct rule from the Iranian or Ottoman state, or perhaps the tradition started because of depopulation in the area due to raids.<ref>{{cite book|author=Abdurrahman Sharafkandi|title=Çêştî Micêvir}}</ref>

==== Malaysia ====
{{Main|Adat perpatih}}
A culture similar to lareh bodi caniago, practiced by the [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]], is the basis for ''[[adat perpatih]]'' practices in the state of [[Negeri Sembilan]] and parts of [[Malacca]] as a product of West Sumatran migration into the [[Malay Peninsula]] in the 15th century.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://go2travelmalaysia.com/tour_malaysia/ns_historical.htm | title=Negeri Sembilan – History and Culture | access-date=4 March 2017 | archive-date=28 July 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728154442/http://go2travelmalaysia.com/tour_malaysia/ns_historical.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://museumvolunteersjmm.com/2016/04/04/the-minangkabau-of-negeri-sembilan/ | title=The Minangkabau of Negeri Sembilan| date=2016-04-04}}</ref>

==== Sri Lanka ====
{{Further|India}}
Matriliny among the [[Muslims]] and [[Tamils]] in the Eastern Province of [[Sri Lanka]] arrived from [[Kerala]], India via Muslim traders before 1200 CE.<ref>Ruwanpura, Kanchana N. (2006). ''Matrilineal Communities, Patriarchal Realities: A Feminist Nirvana Uncovered''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, paperback ({{ISBN|978-0-472-06977-4}})(fieldwork in 1998–'99 during the [[Sri Lankan civil war]], per p. 45); see p. 51.</ref><ref>This page 51 of the Ruwanpura book is accessible online via Google Books (books.google.com). The book's TOC and pages 1–11 and 50–62 are currently accessible.</ref><ref>[[Dennis B. McGilvray|McGilvray, Dennis B.]] (1989). "Households in Akkaraipattu: Dowry and Domestic Organization among Matrilineal Tamils and Moors of Sri Lanka," in J. N. Gray and D. J. Mearns (eds.) ''Society From the Inside Out: Anthropological Perspectives on the South Asian Household'', pp. 192–235. London: Sage Publications.</ref> Matriliny here includes [[kinship]] and social organization, inheritance and property rights.<ref>Humphries, Jane (1993). "Gender Inequality and Economic Development," in Dieter Bos (ed) ''Economics in a Changing World, Volume 3: Public Policy and Economic Organization.'' New York: St. Martin's Press; pp. 218–33.</ref><ref name=Agarwal1996 /><ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p. 1. Accessible online as above.</ref> For example, "the mother's [[dowry]] property and/or house is passed on to the eldest daughter."<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p. 53. Accessible online as above.</ref><ref>McGilvray, 1989, pp. 201–2.</ref> The [[Sinhalese people]] are the third ethnic group in eastern Sri Lanka,<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, pp. 3–4(accessible online as above) and p. 39.</ref> and have a kinship system which is "intermediate" between that of matriliny and that of [[patriliny]],<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p. 72.</ref><ref>Yalman, Nur (1971). ''Under the Bo Tree: Studies in Caste, Kinship, and Marriage in the Interior of Ceylon.'' Berkeley: University of California Press.</ref> along with "bilateral inheritance", intermediate between matrilineal and patrilineal inheritance.<ref name=Agarwal1996 /><ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p. 71.</ref> While the first two groups speak the [[Tamil language]], the third group speaks the [[Sinhala language]]. The Tamils largely identify with [[Hinduism]], the Sinhalese being primarily [[Buddhist]].<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, pp. 3–4. Accessible online as above.</ref> The three groups are about equal in population size.<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p. 39.</ref>
 	
[[Patriarchal]] social structures apply to all of Sri Lanka, but in the [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern Province]] are mixed with the matrilineal features summarized in the paragraph above and described more completely in the following subsection:

According to Kanchana N. Ruwanpura, [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern Sri Lanka]] "is highly regarded even among" [[Feminist economics|feminist economists]] "for the relatively favourable position of its women, reflected" in women's equal achievements in [[Human Development Index|Human Development Indices]] "(HDIs) as well as matrilineal and" [[bilateral descent|bilateral]] "inheritance patterns and property rights".<ref>Ruwanpura, (2006), p.1. Accessible online as above.</ref><ref>Humphries, 1993, p. 228.</ref>
She also conversely argues that "''feminist economists'' need to be cautious in applauding Sri Lanka's gender-based achievements and/or matrilineal communities",<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p. 3. Accessible online as above.</ref> because these matrilineal communities coexist with "''patriarchal'' structures and ideologies" and the two "can be strange but ultimately compatible bedfellows",<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p. 10 and see p. 6 ("prevalence of patriarchal structures and ideologies"). Accessible online as above.</ref> as follows:

She "positions Sri Lankan women within gradations of ''patriarchy'' by beginning with a brief overview of the main religious traditions," [[Buddhism]], [[Hinduism]], and [[Islam]], "and the ways in which patriarchal interests are promoted through religious practice" in Eastern Sri Lanka (but without being as repressive as classical patriarchy).<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, pp.&nbsp;4–5. Accessible online as above.</ref> Thus, "feminists have claimed that Sri Lankan women are relatively well positioned in the" [[South Asian]] region,<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p. 4. Accessible online as above.</ref><ref name=Agarwal1996>Agarwal, Bina (1996). ''A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia.'' New Delhi: Cambridge University Press. (First edition was 1994.)</ref> despite "patriarchal institutional laws that ... are likely to work against the interests of women," which is a "co-operative conflict" between women and these laws.<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p. 182.</ref> (Clearly "female-heads have no legal recourse" from these laws which state "patriarchal interests".)<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p. 182 (both quotations).</ref> For example, "the economic welfare of female-heads [heads of households] depends upon networks" ("of kin and [matrilineal] community"), "networks that mediate the patriarchal-ideological nexus."<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, pp.&nbsp;145–146.</ref> She wrote that "some female heads possessed" "feminist consciousness"<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p.&nbsp;142 (both quotations).</ref>{{Efn|Feminist [[consciousness raising]], a means of raising awareness of a feminist perspective or subject}} and, at the same time, that "in many cases female-heads are not vociferous feminists&nbsp;... but rather 'victims' of patriarchal relations and structures that place them in precarious positions.... [while] they have held their ground&nbsp;... [and] provided for their children".<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p.&nbsp;37.</ref>

On the other hand, she also wrote that feminists including [[Malathi de Alwis]] and [[Kumari Jayawardena]] have criticized a romanticized view of women's lives in Sri Lanka put forward by Yalman, and mentioned the Sri Lankan case "where young women raped (usually by a man) are married-off/required to cohabit with the rapists!"<ref>Ruwanpura, 2006, p.&nbsp;76 n.&nbsp;7.</ref>

==== Vietnam====
Most ethnic groups classified as "([[Montagnard (Vietnam)|Montagnards]], [[Austronesian peoples|Malayo-Polynesian]] and [[Austroasian]])" are matrilineal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,469f2f9a2,49749c7e16,0.html|title=UNHCR – Document Not Found|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|last=Refugees|website=UNHCR}}</ref>

On [[North Vietnam]], according to Alessandra Chiricosta, the legend of [[Âu Cơ]] is said to be evidence of "the presence of an original 'matriarchy'&nbsp;... and [it] led to the double kinship system, which developed there&nbsp;.... [and which] combined matrilineal and patrilineal patterns of family structure and assigned equal importance to both lines."<ref>Chiricosta, Alessandra, ''Following the Trail of the Fairy-Bird: The Search For a Uniquely Vietnamese Women's Movement'', in Roces, Mina, & Louise P. Edwards, eds., ''Women's Movements in Asia: Feminisms and Transnational Activism'' (London or Oxon: Routledge, pbk. 2010 ({{ISBN|978-0-415-48703-0}})), p.&nbsp;125 and see p.&nbsp;126 (single quotation marks so in original) (author Chiricosta philosopher & historian of religions, esp. intercultural philosophy, religious & cultural dialogue, gender, & anthropology, & taught at La Sapienza (univ.), Urbaniana (univ.), & Roma Tre (univ.), all in Italy, School of Oriental & African Studies, & Univ. of Ha Noi).</ref>{{Efn|[[Patrilineality|Patrilineal]], belonging to the father's lineage, generally for inheritance}}

===Australia===
The [[Arabana]] people of South Australia are described by [[Francis Gillen]] and [[Walter Baldwin Spencer]] in their 1899 book <i>The Native Tribes of Central Australia</i> (in which the name is spelled Urabunna) as counting their descent "in the female line".

The [[Diyari]] people of South Australia are described by Francis James Gillen and Walter Baldwin Spencer in their 1899 book <i>The Native Tribes of Central Australia</i> (in which the name is spelled Dieri) as counting their descent "in the female line".

The [[Tiwi people]] living on the Tiwi Islands of Australia's Northern Territory base their social structure on matrilineal kinship groups. Traditional marriage practices have persisted in spite of the presence of Christian missionaries on the islands.

===Europe===
====Ancient Greece====
While men held positions of religious and political power, the Spartan constitution mandated that inheritance and proprietorship pass from mother to daughter.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ppGCbh8ggUs Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170911155752/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppGCbh8ggUs Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppGCbh8ggUs|title=The Constitution of the Spartans|last=Historia Civilis|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

====Ancient Scotland====
In Pictish society, succession in leadership (later kingship) was matrilineal (through the mother's side), with the reigning chief succeeded by either his brother or perhaps a nephew but not through patrilineal succession of father to son.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/picts/|encyclopedia=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|title=Picts}}</ref>

===Oceania ===
Some oceanic societies, such as the [[Marshallese people|Marshallese]] and the Trobrianders,<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/argonautsofthewe032976mbp/argonautsofthewe032976mbp_djvu.txt Malinowski, Bronisław. ''Argonauts Of The Western Pacific''], esp. or only chaps. I, II, & VI.</ref> the [[Palauans]],<ref>[http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Palau.html The Palauan culture]</ref> the [[Yapese people|Yapese]]<ref>[http://www.everyculture.com/Oceania/Yap-Kinship.html The Yapese kinship]</ref> and the Siuai,<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1525/aa.1950.52.2.02a00140 | volume=52 | issue=2 | title=Studies in the Anthropology of Bougainville, Solomon Islands. Douglas L. Oliver. | journal=American Anthropologist | pages=250–251| year=1950 | last1=Hogbin | first1=H. Ian }}</ref> are characterized by matrilineal descent. The sister's sons or the brothers of the decedent are commonly the successors in these societies.

== Matrilineal identification within Judaism ==
Matriliny in Judaism or matrilineal descent in Judaism is the tracing of [[Judaism|Jewish]] descent through the maternal line. Close to all Jewish communities have followed matrilineal descent from at least early [[Tannaim|Tannaitic]] (c. 10–70 CE) times through modern times.<ref name="autogenerated14">Reviewed by [[Louis Jacobs]], [https://louisjacobs.org/articles/there-is-no-problem-of-descent/] Originally published in Judaism 34.1 (Winter 1985), 55–59.</ref>

The origins and date-of-origin of matrilineal descent in Judaism are uncertain. [[Orthodox Judaism]] maintains that matrilineal descent is an [[Oral Law]] from at least the time of the Receiving of the Torah on [[Mount Sinai]] (c. 1310 BCE).<ref name="auto">[[Numbers Rabbah]] 19:3</ref> According to some modern academic opinions, it was likely instituted in either the early [[Tannaim|Tannaitic period]] (c. 10–70 CE) or the time of [[Ezra]] (c. 460 BCE).<ref name="autogenerated14"/>

In practice, Jewish denominations define "[[Who is a Jew?]]" via descent in different ways. All denominations of Judaism have protocols for [[Conversion to Judaism|conversion]] for those who are not Jewish by descent.

[[Orthodox Judaism]]<ref>See Rabbi Moses Feinstein's re-affirmation of matrilineal descent, Elberg, Rabbi S., September, 1984, HaPardes Rabbinical Journal, Hebrew, vol.59, Is.1, p. 21.</ref> and [[Conservative Judaism]]<ref name="autogenerated14"/><ref>{{cite web |author1=Rabbis Joel Roth and Akiba Lubow |title=A Standard of Rabbinic Practice Regarding Determinati·on of Jewish Identity |url=https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/assets/public/halakhah/teshuvot/20012004/31.pdf |website=rabbinicalassembly.org |publisher=The Rabbinical Assembly |access-date=25 March 2020 |language=en |date=1988}}</ref> still practice matrilineal descent. [[Karaite Judaism]], which rejects the Oral Law, generally practices patrilineal descent. [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] has recognized Jews of patrilineal descent since 1968.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staub |first=Jacob J. |date=2001 |title=A Reconstructionist View on Patrilineal Descent |url=https://www.bjpa.org/content/upload/bjpa/c__c/Staub-%20Reconstructionist%20view%20on%20patrlineal%20descent.pdf |website=bjpa.org}}</ref>

In 1983, the [[Central Conference of American Rabbis]] of [[Reform Judaism]] passed a resolution waiving the need for formal conversion for anyone with at least one Jewish parent, provided that either (a) one is raised as a Jew, by Reform standards, or (b) one engages in an appropriate act of public identification, formalizing a practice that had been common in Reform synagogues for at least a generation. This 1983 resolution departed from the Reform Movement's previous position requiring formal conversion to Judaism for children without a Jewish mother.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/reform-movement-s-resolution-on-patrilineal-descent-march-1983|title=Reform Movement's Resolution on Patrilineal Descent (March 1983)|website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref> However, the closely associated [[Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism]] has rejected this resolution and requires formal conversion for anyone without a Jewish mother.<ref>[http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=840313&ct=1051515 Reform Judaism in Israel: Progress and Prospects] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114546/http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=840313&ct=1051515 |date=4 March 2016 }}</ref>

==Exception for the enslaved in the United States==
In the United States, the offspring of enslaved women inherited their mother's status. A significant consequence of this is that children resulting from rape or unions between enslaved women and their owners did not have any of the rights of the father as they would have had under the patrilineal succession that applied to everyone but the enslaved.

== In mythology ==
Certain ancient myths have been argued to expose ancient traces of matrilineal customs that existed before historical records.

The ancient historian [[Herodotus]] is cited by [[Robert Graves]] in his translations of Greek myths as attesting that the [[Lycia]]ns<ref>[[Herodotus]], before 425 [[BCE]]. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/History_of_Herodotus/Book_1, "History of Herodotus".  Graves's notation is "i.173" meaning in Book 1 – Scroll down to paragraph 173 to find the (matrilineal) Lycians.</ref><ref>[[Graves, Robert]] (1955, 1960).  ''[[The Greek Myths]], Vol. 1''.  Penguin Books.  {{ISBN|0-14-020508-X}}; p. 296 (myth #88, comment #2).</ref> of their times "still reckoned" by matrilineal descent, or were matrilineal, as were the [[Caria]]ns.<ref>Graves 1955,1960; p. 256 (myth #75, comment #5).</ref>

In Greek mythology, while the royal function was a [[male privilege]], power devolution often came through women, and the future king inherited power through marrying the queen heiress.  This is illustrated in the [[Homer]]ic myths where all the noblest men in Greece vie for the hand of [[Helen of Troy|Helen]] (and the throne of [[Sparta]]), as well as the Oedipian cycle where [[Oedipus]] weds the recently widowed queen at the same time he assumes the Theban kingship.

This trend also is evident in many [[Celtic mythology|Celtic myths]], such as the (Welsh) [[mabinogi]] stories of [[Culhwch and Olwen]], or the (Irish) [[Ulster Cycle]], most notably the key facts to the [[Cúchulainn]] cycle that Cúchulainn gets his final secret training with a [[warrior]] woman, [[Scáthach]], and becomes the lover of her daughter; and the root of the [[Táin Bó Cuailnge]], that while [[Ailill mac Máta|Ailill]] may wear the crown of [[Connacht]], it is his wife [[Medb]] who is the real power, and she needs to affirm her equality to her husband by owning chattels as great as he does.

The Picts are widely cited as being matrilineal.<ref>http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/GaelsPictland.htm "thanks to the practise of matrilineal descent followed by the Picts, and a large number of eligible would-be kings"</ref><ref>http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/EnglandMercia.htm "the Picts are known as strong adherents to the concept of matrilineal descent"</ref>

A number of other [[Breton people|Breton]] stories also illustrate the motif. Even the [[King Arthur]] legends have been interpreted in this light by some.  For example, the [[Round Table (Camelot)|Round Table]], both as a piece of furniture and as concerns the majority of knights belonging to it, was a gift to Arthur from [[Guinevere]]'s father [[Leodegrance]].

Arguments also have been made that matriliny lay behind various [[fairy tale]] plots which may contain the vestiges of folk traditions not recorded.

For instance, the widespread motif of a father who wishes to marry his own daughter—appearing in such tales as ''[[Allerleirauh]]'', ''[[Donkeyskin]]'', ''[[The King who Wished to Marry His Daughter]]'', and ''[[The She-Bear]]''—has been explained as his wish to prolong his reign, which he would lose after his wife's death to his son-in-law.<ref>[[Margaret Schlauch|Schlauch, Margaret]] (1969). ''Chaucer's Constance and Accused Queens''. New York: Gordian Press. {{ISBN|0-87752-097-6}}; p. 43.</ref> More mildly, the hostility of kings to their daughter's suitors is explained by hostility to their successors.  In such tales as ''[[The Three May Peaches]]'', ''[[Jesper Who Herded the Hares]]'', or ''[[The Griffin (fairy tale)|The Griffin]]'', kings set dangerous tasks in an attempt to prevent the marriage.<ref>Schlauch 1969, p. 45.</ref>

Fairy tales with hostility between the mother-in-law and the heroine—such as ''[[Mary's Child]]'', ''[[The Six Swans]]'', and Perrault's [[Sleeping Beauty]]—have been held to reflect a transition between a matrilineal society, where a man's loyalty was to his mother, and a patrilineal one, where his wife could claim it, although this interpretation is predicated on such a transition being a normal development in societies.<ref>Schlauch 1969, p. 34.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Ruth Bré]], advocate for matriliny
* [[List of matrilineal or matrilocal societies]]
* [[Maiden and married names]]
* ''[[Mater semper certa est]]'', "the mother is always certain" – until 1978 and ''in vitro'' pregnancies.
* [[Matriarchy]]
* [[Matrifocal family]]
* ''[[Partus sequitur ventrem]]''
* [[Wehali]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist|2}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Cameron, Anne (1981) ''Daughters of Copper Woman''. Press Gang Publishers.
* Freud, Sigmund: [[Totem and Taboo]], Leipzig, 1913 (and translations in many languages) gives a counter-position, insisting on patrilineality as the "natural" way. 
* {{cite journal |last1=Goldberg |first1=Stephen |title=Review of Male Dominance and Female Autonomy: Domestic Authority in Martrilineal Societies. |journal=Contemporary Sociology |date=1973 |volume=2 |issue=6 |pages=630–632 |doi=10.2307/2062470 |jstor=2062470 }}
* Holden, C. J. & Mace, R. (2003). Spread of cattle led to the loss of matrilineal descent in Africa: a coevolutionary analysis. ''The Royal Society'' [http://courses.washington.edu/evpsych/Holden%20&%20Mace%20-%20matriliny%20and%20cattle%20-%20PRSL%202003.pdf Full text]
* Holden, C.J., Sear, R. & Mace, R. (2003) Matriliny as daughter-biased investment. ''Evolution & Human Behavior 24:'' 99–112. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070610123102/http://personal.lse.ac.uk/sear/pdfs/holden%20EHB.pdf Full text]
* Knight, C. 2008. Early human kinship was matrilineal. In N. J. Allen, H. Callan, R. Dunbar and W. James (eds.), Early Human Kinship. Oxford: Blackwell, pp.&nbsp;61–82.[http://www.radicalanthropologygroup.org/old/class_text_105.pdf Full text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407063411/http://www.radicalanthropologygroup.org/old/class_text_105.pdf |date=7 April 2014 }}
* Reed, Evelyn (1975) ''Woman's Evolution, from matriarchal clan to patriarchal family''. Pathfinder Press, New York, 1975. ISBN cloth 0-87348-421-5; paper 0-87348-422-3 (also available in Spanish, Farsi, and Indonesian)
* {{cite journal | last1 = Sear | first1 = R | year = 2008 | title = Kin and child survival in rural Malawi: Are matrilineal kin always beneficial in a matrilineal society? | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225787815| journal = Human Nature | volume = 19 | issue = 3| pages = 277–293 | doi=10.1007/s12110-008-9042-4| pmid = 26181618 | s2cid = 40826492 }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Mattison | first1 = S.M. | year = 2011 | title = Evolutionary contributions to solving the "Matrilineal Puzzle": A test of Holden, Sear, and Mace's model | url = https://auckland.academia.edu/SiobhanMattison/Papers/865962/Evolutionary_Contributions_to_Solving_the_Matrilineal_Puzzle_A_Test_of_Holden_Sear_and_Maces_Model_ | journal = Human Nature | volume = 22 | issue = 1–2| pages = 64–88 | doi=10.1007/s12110-011-9107-7| pmid = 22388801 | s2cid = 32332130 }}

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[[Category:Ethnology]]
[[Category:Jewish marital law]]
[[Category:Kinship and descent]]
[[Category:Matriarchy]]
[[Category:Order of succession]]