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62-726: Marumakkathayam was a system of matrilineal inheritance prevalent in regions of the Indian state of Kerala . It is similar to the Aliyasanthana system followed by the Bunt community in Karnataka The word " Marumakkathayam " originated from the Malayalam word "marumakkal" also known as "Anandaravar," which mean "sister's child," " nephews ," or " nieces " in English . Through this system, descent and

124-484: A "heavy dose" of their pre-existing beliefs including matrilineality. 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 . Most women could read and write, while most men were illiterate, concerning themselves mainly with herding livestock and other male activities. The livestock and other movable property were owned by

186-536: A different household. According to this source 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

248-531: A different pattern, however: Example 1. Members of the (matrilineal) clan culture Minangkabau do not even have a surname or family name , see this culture's own section below. In contrast, members do have a clan name , which is important in their lives although not included in the member's name. Instead, one's name is just one's given name . Example 2. Members of the (matrilineal) clan culture Akan , see its own section below, also do not have matrilineal surnames and likewise their important clan name

310-442: A dominant position." 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, taboos, ritual purifications, and etiquette. A recent (2001) book provides this update on

372-604: A lineage. Examples of bilineal lineage include the Yako people of Nigeria . Lineages play a large role in social organization across cultures . They influence inheritance patterns, with property and titles often passed down within the lineage. In addition, lineages often have religious significance, with one's ancestorial history often determining one's religion and position in that religion. The structure of lineages also leads to stability, social obligations , and reciprocity among members, providing support networks and

434-436: A matrilineal descent system , an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as their mother. This ancient matrilineal descent pattern 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. In

496-478: 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. "The principles governing inheritance stress sex, generation and age – that

558-517: A result, They had no time for family reunions, thus the responsibility for the upbringing of their children fell upon the mother or her family. Indeed, this emphasis on martial prowess and a warrior's code of honor is often cited as the foundation of the matrilineal succession system, which is later influenced others. The customary law of inheritance was codified by the Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932, Madras Act No. 22 of 1933, published in

620-467: A social actuality of sexual equality." According to LeBow (based on Schlegel's work), in the Hopi, "gender roles ... are egalitarian .... [and] [n]either sex is inferior." LeBow concluded that Hopi women "participate fully in ... political decision-making." According to Schlegel, "the Hopi no longer live as they are described here" and "the attitude of female superiority is fading". Schlegel said

682-519: A version of male-preference matrilineal 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: His [ 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

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744-597: Is a descent group characterized by unilineal descent . This means that lineage membership is determined by tracing ancestry through either a single line ( unilineal ), either maternal or paternal , or through a combination of both lines ( ambilineal ). This differentiates lineages from other descent groups like clans , which may have a shared ancestor but lack the demonstrably documented or traditionally accepted apical ancestor from whom all members descend. There are three forms of lineage, matrilineage , patrilineage , and ambilineal . In matrilineage , descent

806-751: Is also matrilocal , a man will exercise guardianship rights not over the children he fathers but over his sisters' children, who are viewed as 'his own flesh'. These children's biological father – unlike an uncle who is their mother's brother and thus their caregiver – is in some sense a 'stranger' to them, even when affectionate and emotionally close. According to Steven Pinker , attributing to Kristen Hawkes, among foraging groups matrilocal societies are less likely to commit female infanticide than are patrilocal societies. Some 20 million Akan live in Africa, particularly in Ghana and Ivory Coast . (See as well their subgroups,

868-580: Is discussed in the subsection Role of the Tokoor of one of the above-listed main articles. The Tuareg (Arabic:طوارق, sometimes spelled Touareg in French, or Twareg in English) are a large Berber ethnic confederation found across several nations in north Africa, including Niger , Mali and Algeria . The Tuareg are clan -based, and are (still, in 2007) "largely matrilineal". The Tuareg are Muslim , but mixed with

930-417: Is less common than among farmers. So for example, among the pygmies of Aka, which includes Biaka and Benzene, a young couple usually settles in her husband's camp after the birth of their first child. However, the husband can stay in the wife's community, where one of his brothers or sisters can join him. This can happen in societies where the bride's service is practiced, or in any other societies. According to

992-404: Is not included in their name. However, members' names do commonly include second names which are called surnames but which are not routinely passed down from either father or mother to all their children as a family name . Note well that if a culture did include one's clan name in one's name and routinely handed it down to all children in the descent group then it would automatically be

1054-400: Is that when sisters and their mothers help each other with childcare, the descent line tends to be matrilineal rather than patrilineal. Biological anthropologists are now widely agreed that cooperative childcare was a development crucial in making possible the evolution of the unusually large human brain and characteristically human psychology. Although others refute the claims of supporters of

1116-415: Is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline, their mother's lineage , and which can involve the inheritance of property and titles. A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant of either gender in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers. In

1178-431: 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. Each lineage controls

1240-540: Is traced exclusively through the maternal line . Children inherit lineage membership from their mother, and the lineage consists of a mother, her children, and her children's children who are all matrilineally related . The Minangkabau people of Indonesia , being a Jew in the Jewish religion , and the Khasi people of India are well-known examples of societies with prominent matrilineal structures. In patrilineage , descent

1302-401: Is traced exclusively through the paternal line . Children inherit lineage membership from their father, and the lineage consists of a father, his children, and his children's children who are all patrilineally related . Patrilineages are more common globally, with examples found in many cultures, such as much of South East Asia . In ambilineal lineage, descent is traced through either

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1364-856: The Trobrianders , Dobu and Nagovisi of Melanesia; the Nairs , some Thiyyas & Muslims of Kerala and the Mogaveeras , Billavas & the Bunts of Karnataka in south India ; the Khasi , Jaintia and Garo of Meghalaya in northeast India and Bangladesh ; the Ngalops and Sharchops of Bhutan ; the Mosuo of China ; the Kayah of Southeast Asia, the Picti of Scotland ,

1426-503: The Ashanti , also called Asante, Akyem , Bono , Fante , Akwamu .) Many but not all of the Akan still (2001) 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

1488-1152: The Basques of Spain and France ; the Ainu of Japan , the Akan including the Ashanti , Bono , Akwamu , Fante of Ghana ; most groups across the so-called " matrilineal belt " of south-central Africa; the Nubians of Southern Egypt & Sudan and the Tuareg of west and north Africa; the Serer of Senegal , The Gambia and Mauritania . Most of the example cultures in this article are based on (matrilineal) clans . Any clan might possibly contain from one to several or many descent groups or family groups – i.e., any matrilineal clan might be descended from one or several or many unrelated female ancestors. Also, each such descent group might have its own family name or surname , as one possible cultural pattern. The following two example cultures each follow

1550-611: The Cegandum and Kagaw , whose historical account is enshrined in Serer religion, mythology and traditions . In Serer culture, inheritance is both matrilineal and patrilineal. It all depends on the asset being inherited – i.e. whether the asset is a paternal asset – requiring paternal inheritance ( kucarla ) or a maternal asset – requiring maternal inheritance ( den yaay or ƭeen yaay ). The actual handling of these maternal assets (such as jewelry, land, livestock, equipment or furniture, etc.)

1612-669: The Fort St. George Gazette on 1 August 1933. Malabar District was part of the Madras Presidency in British India . In the Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932, 'Marumakkathayam' is defined as the system of inheritance in which descent is traced by females, and 'Marumakkathayee' means a person governed by the Marumakkathayam law of inheritance. The system of inheritance is now abolished by The Joint Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975, by

1674-599: The Joos matriclan which also became a dynasty in Waalo (Senegal). Some matriclans or maternal clans form part of Serer medieval and dynastic history, such as the Guelowars . The most revered clans tend to be rather ancient and form part of Serer ancient history . These proto-Serer clans hold great significance in Serer religion and mythology . Some of these proto-Serer matriclans include

1736-640: The Nair community or Aliyasantana in the Bunt and the Billava community, and both communities were subdivided into clans . This system was exceptional in the sense that it was one of the few traditional systems in western historical records of India that gave women some liberty and the right to property. Lineage (anthropology) From Middle English linage , from Old French linage , from ligne , from Latin linea (“line”); equivalent to line + -age . A lineage

1798-456: The U.S. became a nation, operated by 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, through what may have been a matriarchy or "gyneocracy". The dates of this constitution's operation are unknown: the League was formed in approximately 1000–1450, but

1860-681: The abusua framework presented above. The 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. The Serer people of Senegal , the Gambia and Mauritania are patrilineal ( simanGol in Serer language ) as well as matrilineal ( tim ). There are several Serer matriclans and matriarchs . Some of these matriarchs include Fatim Beye (1335) and Ndoye Demba (1367) – matriarchs of

1922-471: The family name or surname for one's descent group (as well as for all other descent groups in one's clan). While a mother normally takes care of her own children in all cultures, in some matrilineal cultures an "uncle-father" will take care of his nieces and nephews instead: in other words social fathers here are uncles. There is not a necessary connection between the role of father and genitor. In many such matrilineal cultures, especially where residence

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1984-635: The maternal and/or the paternal lines , usually meaning that the individuals choose whether to affiliate with their mother or their father's group , or both. Ambilineal lineage can be bilineal or bilateral . Ambilineal lineages are relatively rare in more under-developed societies, such as South East Asia , and very common in modernized societies, such as the United States and Western Europe . In Bilineal lineage (also known as double descent), children are part of both their mother and their father's groups . This results in many more people in

2046-469: The national Constitution as Scheduled Tribes, "some ... [are] matriarchal and matrilineal" "and thus have been known to be more egalitarian." Several Hindu communities in South India practiced matrilineality, especially the Nair (or Nayar ) and Tiyyas in the state of Kerala , and the Bunts and Billava in the states of Karnataka . The system of inheritance was known as Marumakkathayam in

2108-463: The Akan: Some families are changing from the above abusua structure to the nuclear family . 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. The above taboo on marriage within one's abusua is sometimes ignored, but "clan membership" is still important, with many people still living in

2170-659: The Arabian peoples (first of all among the Amorites of Yemen, and among some strata of Nabateans in Northern Arabia); A modern example from South Africa is the order of succession to the position of the Rain Queen in a culture of matrilineal primogeniture : not only is dynastic descent reckoned through the female line, but only females are eligible to inherit. In some traditional societies and cultures, membership in their groups

2232-545: 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. 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. In

2294-508: The Hopi "were and still are matrilinial" and "the household ... was matrilocal". Schlegel explains why there was female superiority as that the Hopi believed in "life as the highest good ... [with] the female principle ... activated in women and in Mother Earth ;... as its source" and that the Hopi "were not in a state of continual war with equally matched neighbors" and "had no standing army" so that "the Hopi lacked

2356-594: The Kerala State Legislature. By the beginning of the 20th century, marumakkathayam was increasingly seen as an undesirable remnant of a feudal past, and discontented groups including Nair and Ambalavasi men sought to bring reform. The reforms were pushed through in spite of opposition from conservative factions led by Kesava Pillai of Kandamath in the Travancore Court, Sree Mulam State Council and by leading members of society such as C. V. Raman Pillai in

2418-471: 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." The Mandan people of the northern Great Plains of

2480-523: The United States historically lived in matrilineal extended family lodges. 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. The Navajo people of the American southwest are a matrilineal society in which kinship, children, livestock and family histories are passed down through

2542-622: The background. Originally, Chinese surnames were derived matrilineally, although by the time of the Shang dynasty (1600 to 1046 BCE ) they had become patrilineal. 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. Evidence includes some "richly furnished" tombs for young women in

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2604-624: The constitution was oral until written in about 1880. The League still exists. Other Iroquoian-speaking peoples such as the Wyandot and the Meherrin , that were never part of the Iroquois League, nevertheless have traditionally possessed a matrilineal family structure. The Kogi people of northern Colombia practice bilateral inheritance, with certain rights, names or associations descending matrilineally. Occupied for 10,000 years by Native Americans ,

2666-556: The data above, some scientists also say that kinship and residence in hunter-gatherer societies are complex and multifaceted. For example, when re-checking past data (which were not very reliable), the researchers note that about 40% of the groups were bilocal, 22.9% were matrilocal and 25% were patrilocal. A number of scientists also advocate multilocality, refuting the concepts of exceptional matrilocality (matrilineality) or patrilocality (patrilineality). Matrilineal surnames are names transmitted from mother to daughter, in contrast to

2728-477: The early Neolithic Yangshao culture, whose multiple other collective burials imply a matrilineal clan culture. Toward the late Neolithic period, when burials were apparently of couples, "a reflection of patriarchy", an increasing elaboration of presumed chiefs' burials is reported. Relatively isolated ethnic minorities such as the Mosuo (Na) in southwestern China are highly matrilineal. Of communities recognized in

2790-676: 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. 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. The Wayuu people of Colombia and Venezuela live in matrilineal clans, with paternal relationships in

2852-553: The family. One Popular theory pertains to the ancient martial tradition of the Nairs . Boys were sent to military training or warfare at the age of eight, dedicating themselves solely to mastering the art of warfare and rule the Kingdom. For them, death by any means other than on the battlefield was a shameful disgrace. Driven by an unwavering commitment to military excellence, glorious bloodshed and honorable combat, they prioritized martial pursuits over familial or economic endeavors. As

2914-647: 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. The Tanana Athabaskan people, the original inhabitants of the Tanana River basin in Alaska and Canada, traditionally lived in matrilineal semi-nomadic bands. The Powhatan and other tribes of the Tsenacommacah , also known as the Powhatan Confederacy, practiced

2976-454: The inheritance of property were passed from the maternal uncle to nephews or nieces. The right of the child was with the maternal uncle or the mother's family rather than the father or the father's family. Through this bloodline, surnames , titles , properties , and everything of the child are inherited from his uncle or mother. The joint family under the matrilineal system is known as Tharavad also knowns Kudumbakkar or veedu, formed

3038-454: The land that is present-day New Jersey was overseen by clans 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

3100-553: The late 19th century, almost all prehistorians and anthropologists believed, following Lewis H. Morgan 's influential book Ancient Society , that early human kinship everywhere was matrilineal. This idea was taken up by Friedrich Engels in The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State . The Morgan-Engels thesis that humanity's earliest domestic institution was not the family but

3162-457: 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. The political units above are likewise grouped into eight larger groups called abusua (similar to clans ), 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

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3224-806: The matrilineal clan soon became incorporated into communist orthodoxy . In reaction, most 20th century social anthropologists considered the theory of matrilineal priority untenable, although during the 1970s and 1980s, a range of feminist scholars often attempted to revive it. In recent years, evolutionary biologists , geneticists and palaeoanthropologists have been reassessing the issues, many citing genetic and other evidence that early human kinship may have been matrilineal after all. One crucial piece of indirect evidence has been genetic data suggesting that over thousands of years, women among sub-Saharan African hunter-gatherers have chosen to reside postmaritally not with their husbands' family but with their own mother and other natal kin. Another line of argument

3286-465: The more familiar patrilineal surnames transmitted from father to son, the pattern most common among family names today. For clarity and for brevity, the scientific terms patrilineal surname and matrilineal surname are usually abbreviated as patriname and matriname . There appears to be some evidence for the presence of matrilineality in Pre-Islamic Arabia , in a very limited number of

3348-399: The nucleus of the society. The eldest male was considered the head of the family, known as the karanavar , and he controlled all the family assets. However, his sons did not inherit the properties; instead, inheritance went to the children of his sisters. This system was not matriarchal as is sometimes misinterpreted, and was strongly patriarchal with only a male allowed to be the head of

3410-466: 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

3472-414: 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

3534-645: The spur to masculine superiority" 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)", the Clan Mother , for example, being empowered to overturn land distribution by men if she felt it was unfair, since there was no "countervailing ... strongly centralized, male-centered political structure". The Iroquois Confederacy or League , combining five to six Native American Haudenosaunee nations or tribes before

3596-495: The states of Cochin and Travancore , and the British Indian province of Malabar , which later joined together to form Kerala in 1957. Matrilineal system or marumakkathayam is traditionally followed by Nairs , Nambyars and some Nambudiri Brahmin families.Some Muslim families of Thalassery,Nadapuram and Kuttiady regions, who was earlier converted from nair caste followed this system. Matrilineal Matrilineality

3658-520: 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. The Hopi (in what is now the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona ), according to Alice Schlegel , had as its "gender ideology ... one of female superiority, and it operated within

3720-475: The universality of matrilocality or patrilocality , pointing out that hunter-gatherer societies have a flexible philopatry or practice multilocality, which in turn leads to a more egalitarian society, since both men and women have the right to choose with whom to live. According to some data, pastoralists and farmers strongly gravitate towards patrilocality, so patrilocality is a common phenomenon among non-Pygmies. But among some hunter-gatherers, patrilocality

3782-615: The women, whereas personal property is owned and inherited regardless of gender. In contrast to most other Muslim cultural groups, men wear veils but women do not. This custom is discussed in more detail in the Tuareg article's clothing section , which mentions it may be the protection needed against the blowing sand while traversing the Sahara desert . The Bororo people of Brazil and Bolivia live in matrilineal clans, with husbands moving to live with their wives' extended families. The clan system of

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3844-720: Was – and, in the following list, still is if shown in italics  – inherited matrilineally. Examples include the Cherokee , Choctaw , Gitksan , Haida , Hopi , Iroquois , Lenape , Navajo and Tlingit of North America ; the Cabécar and Bribri of Costa Rica; the Naso and Kuna people of Panama; the Kogi , Wayuu and Carib of South America; the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra , Indonesia and Negeri Sembilan , Malaysia ;

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