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History of Matrilineal Societies

The document discusses the history and examples of matrilineal societies. It provides details on the Iroquois Nation of North America, where women controlled property and political power. The Sitones tribe of Germany was also matrilineal. The Garo community of Meghalaya, India is matrilineal and matrifocal, with daughters inheriting their mother's property. Modern issues with matrilineal societies include less effective control over value systems. Patrilineal societies reinforce patriarchy and place women in disadvantaged positions with limited rights and responsibility to maintain family honor. Educational levels tend to be higher for women in closer proximity to matrilineal traditions.

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228 views3 pages

History of Matrilineal Societies

The document discusses the history and examples of matrilineal societies. It provides details on the Iroquois Nation of North America, where women controlled property and political power. The Sitones tribe of Germany was also matrilineal. The Garo community of Meghalaya, India is matrilineal and matrifocal, with daughters inheriting their mother's property. Modern issues with matrilineal societies include less effective control over value systems. Patrilineal societies reinforce patriarchy and place women in disadvantaged positions with limited rights and responsibility to maintain family honor. Educational levels tend to be higher for women in closer proximity to matrilineal traditions.

Uploaded by

Shreya
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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HISTORY OF MATRILINEAL SOCIETIES

This system had find its trace from various systems of thought ranging from religion and
mythology to sociology and various feminism concepts. In the nineteenth century the works of
such classicists as J.J.Bachofen and Lewis Morgan developed the hypothesis that matriarchal
society represented an early stage of development of human society which has now been lost
in pre-history and remains in vestigial form only in certain primitive societies around the
world.

IROQUOIS OF NORTH AMERICA

Individual women could hold property including dwellings, horses and farmed land. Also a
husband lived in the longhouse of his wife's family. Far more importantly, the product of a
woman’s labor belonged to her completely and she had complete control over its economic
worth. . However it also had some qualities of a matriarchal society since women held some
amount of political power too. Thus the chief of a clan could be removed at any time by a
council of the mothers of that clan, and the chief's sister was responsible for nominating his
successor.

THE SITONES

The Sitones were a Germanic tribe that lived near Scandinavia. Also, they’re one of the early
ancestors of Sweden.

GARO COMMUNITY, MEGHALAYA

They are the second-largest tribe in Meghalaya after the Khasi and comprise about a third of the
local population. The Garos are not only matrilineal but matrifocal as well where a woman
continues to stay with her mother’s family after her marriage.Traditionally, the youngest
daughter inherits the property from her mother at the same time though, the men folk govern the
society and domestic affairs and manage the property. this prevents Garos from being completely
matriarchal in nature.

MATRILINEAL ISSUES IN MODERN SOCIETY


Marriage becomes a purely fugitive alliance- Among Nambutiri Brahmins only the eldest son
was permitted to take a Brahmin wife and all other men had to seek relationship from the high-
caste matrilineal communities. This meant that Brahmin property was protected, as the issue of
these younger men belonged to their mothers’ families with no claims on their patrimony; and
for the women, in turn, alliances with a superior caste amplified prestige

Concept of neo local family- With regard to inheritance of property ownership, there is a
marked change as people now a days prefer to divide the property equally among all children, be
it daughter or son. It has also been found common at the present juncture that parents wish to
have at least one son, as daughters prefer to stay separately after marriage. Matrilineal society is
divided into two different types, for have’s and for have not's. If a family doesn't have any
property for them, the question of inheritance of property through females doesn't arise at all.
'The nature of matrilineal culture is not healthy for any one.

Less effective control- They do not have the capability to impose value system. They fail to
negotiate social, economic, political and cultural system.

PATRILINEAL ISSUES IN MODERN SOCIETY

1. Reinforces patriarchal organization- All the decision making power and ruling the
society falls into the hands of men. Women are considered weak and emotional,
therefore, their role mostly tends to limit to the caretaking of her family. Women’s
property rights diminish the control that men have over women’s inherited property, or
women’s right to dispose of their property by choosing who will inherit, and damper the
effects on women of patrilineal succession assumptions.
2. Disadvantageous position of women- It is customary for the wife to live with her
husband’s blood relatives. Patrilocal residence is thought to be disadvantageous to
women because it makes them outsiders in the home and community; it also keeps them
disconnected from their own blood relatives. In China, where patrilocal and patrilineal
customs are common, the written symbols for maternal grandmother (WÁIPÁ) are
separately translated to mean “outsider” and “women”.
3. Limited rights of women- As inheritance and descent are traced through the father's
lineage, women may acquire land through marriage, but, women may have access to the
land only for as long as the marriage lasts. However, in case of divorce or death of a
husband, where a woman runs the risk to lose her land and all her belongings in favor of
other members of her late husband’s family, even where she has the responsibility to look
after her offspring’s and other relatives.
4. The onus of maintaining the family is on the women- In a report addressing the
issue of honour crimes, it was observed that in patriarchal and patrilineal societies,
maintaining the honor of the family is a woman’s responsibility, and this contributed to
the concept of women as commodities, expected to be obedient and passive, and not as
human beings endowed with dignity and rights equal to those of men.

CONCLUSION
It has been observed that among the social characteristics, i.e., educational level of
spouses, women who are closer to matrilineal set-up have higher opportunities to go for
higher education and as they transit, the rate of illiteracy among them has increased. In
case of husband’s educational status, the level of illiteracy is almost identical among both
the groups.

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