List of matrilineal or matrilocal societies

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The following list includes societies that have been identified as matrilineal or matrilocal in ethnographic literature.

"Matrilineal" means kinship is passed down through the maternal line. [1]

The Akans of Ghana, West Africa, are Matrilineal. Akans are the largest ethnic group in Ghana. They are made of the Akyems or Akims, Asantes, Fantis, Akuapims, Kwahus, Denkyiras, Bonos, Akwamus, Krachis, etc.

The Serer people of Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania are bilineal, but matrilineality (tiim, in Serer) is very important in their culture, and is well preserved. [2] [3] There are a multitude of Serer maternal clans with their various history and origins.

"Matrilocal" means new families are established in proximity to the brides' extended family of origin, not that of the groom.

Note: separate in the marriage column refers to the practice of husbands and wives living in separate locations, often informally called walking marriages . See the articles for the specific cultures that practice this for further description.

Group nameContinentCountry / RegionMarriageLineageReference(c. year)
Akan Africa Ghana BothMatrilineal Meyer Fortes [4] 1950
Alor Asia Indonesia Cora du Bois 1944
Nso Africa Cameroon PatrilocalOnly Kom Matrilineal Phyllis Kaberry 1952
Batek Asia Malaysia Patrilocal Kirk Michael Endicott 1974
Bijagós Africa Guinea-Bissau MatrilinealLuigi Scantarburlo1978
Billava Asia India PatrilocalMatrilineal
Bontoc Asia Philippines Albert Jenks
Albert Bacdayan
1905
1974
Boyowan Australasia Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea PatrilocalMatrilineal Bronisław Malinowski 1916
Bribri North America Costa Rica MatrilocalMatrilineal William More Gabb 1875
Bunt Asia India PatrilocalMatrilineal E Kathleen Gough 1954
Cherokee North America United States MatrilocalMatrilineal
Chickasaw North America United States Matrilineal
Choctaw North America United States Matrilineal
Danes Europe Læsø MatrilocalMatrilineal [5] Bjarne Stoklund [6] 1700-1900
Chambri Australasia Papua New Guinea Margaret Mead 1935
Nairs Asia India BothMatrilineal
Fore Australasia Papua New Guinea Shirley Glasse (Lindenbaum) 1963
Garo Asia India, Bangladesh MatrilocalMatrilineal
Gitxsan North America Canada Matrilineal
Greek Europe various islandsMatrilocal John Hawkins to the end of the 18th century AD [7]
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) North America United States, Canada MatrilocalMatrilineal Lewis Henry Morgan 1901
Hopi North America United States MatrilocalMatrilineal Barbara Freire-Marreco 1914
Huaorani [ citation needed ] South America Ecuador John Man[ citation needed ]1982[ citation needed ]
Iban Asia Borneo BothNeither Edwin H Gomes 1911
Imazighen Africa North Sahara George Peter Murdock 1959
Jaintia Asia India MatrilocalMatrilineal
Jívaro South America West Amazon Rafael Karsten 1926
Jews in the Kibbutzim Israel [8] Matrilineal Judith Buber Agassi [9] 1989
Karen Asia Burma MatrilocalMatrilinealHarry Ignatius Marshall [10] 1922
Kerinci Asia Indonesia MatrilocalMatrilinealC.W. Watson [11] 1992
Khasi Asia India MatrilocalMatrilinealP. R. T. Gurdon [12] 1914
Kuna people South America Panama, Colombia Matrilocal
!Kung San Africa Southern Africa Marjorie Shostak 1976
Lenape (Delaware) North America United States of America MatrilocalMatrilineal
Marshallese Oceania Marshall Islands MatrilocalMatrilineal
Maliku Asia India SeparateMatrilinealEllen Kattner1996
Minangkabau Asia Indonesia SeparateMatrilineal Pieter Johannes Veth 1882
Mohican North America United States Matrilineal
Mosuo/Nakhi Asia China SeparateMatrilineal Joseph Francis Charles Rock 1924
Nair Asia India Matrilocal Matrilineal E Kathleen Gough 1954
Navajo North America United States MatrilocalMatrilineal
Ngazidja/Grande Comore Africa Comoros MatrilocalMatrilinealPaul Guy [13]
Martine Gestin, Nicole-Claude Mathieu [14]
1942
Nubians Africa Sudan Ernest Godard1867
Ovambo Africa Namibia MatrilinealMaija Hiltunen (Tuupainen) [15] 1970
Seminole North America United States Matrilineal
Serer
subgroups: Saafi, Ndut, Palor, Laalaa, Noon and Niominka.
Africa Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania PatrilocalBoth Henry Gravrand [16]

Charles Becker [17]

1990

1993

Siraya Austronesia Taiwan Duolocal, uxorilocalMatrilineal Shepherd & Candidius 1995
Tai people Asia Matrilocal
Tlingit North America United States, and Canada MatrilocalMatrilineal Aurel Krause 1885
Tiwi Australasia Australia Matrilineal
Tsimshian North America United States, and Canada MatrilocalMatrilineal
Vanatinai Australasia Papua New Guinea MatrilocalMatrilinealMaria Lepowsky1981
Wemale Asia Indonesia Adolf E Jensen 1939
Basques Europe Spain and France MatrilocalMatrilineal
Chams Asia Vietnam, Cambodia MatrilocalMatrilineal [18]
Rhade (Ê Đê)Asia Vietnam, Cambodia MatrilocalMatrilineal [19]
Amis Asia Taiwan MatrilocalMatrilineal
Han Taiwanese (antiquated, mostly rural)Asia Taiwan MatrilocalMatrilineal [20]
Western Apache North America United States MatrilocalMatrilineal
Akimel Oʼodham (Pima) North America United States Matrilocal
Muscogee North America United States Matrilineal
Tsenacommacah (Powhatan confederacy) North America United States Matrilineal
Wampanoag North America United States MatrilocalMatrilineal
Nipmuc North America United States Matrilineal
Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico North America United States Matrilineal Paul Kirchhoff [21] 1954
Keres people North America United States Matrilineal Paul Kirchhoff [21] 1954
Wayuu South America Colombia, Venezuela MatrilocalMatrilinealNina S. de Friedemann [22] 1982
Zuni North America United States Matrilineal Paul Kirchhoff [21] 1954

Related Research Articles

Matrilineality 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 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.

The Lebu are a subgroup of Wolof in Senegal, West Africa, living on the peninsula of Cap-Vert, site of Dakar. The Lebu are primarily a fishing community, but they have a substantial business in construction supplies and real estate. They speak Lebu Wolof, which is closely related to Wolof proper but is not intelligible with it.

The avunculate, sometimes called avunculism or avuncularism, is any social institution where a special relationship exists between an uncle and his sisters' children. This relationship can be formal or informal, depending on the society. Early anthropological research focused on the association between the avunculate and matrilineal descent, while later research has expanded to consider the avunculate in general society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fama Diagne Sène</span> Senegalese writer (born 1969)

Fama Diagne Sène is a Senegalese writer. Educated in Thiès, she became a teacher there. Ken Bugul listed her among "illustrious women" in Senegalese literature. In 1997, she won the presidential award for art and literature with Chant des ténèbres. Born to a Serer family, Fama's controversial play Mbilem ou le baobab du lion denounces Serer tradition and received great criticism from the Serer traditionalists of Senegal. The Mbilim is a religious festival in the Serer calendar, celebrated once a year and is equivalent to the new year. In pre-colonial times, right until recently, some Serer griots were buried in the trunks of a baobab tree rather than buried in a pyramid tomb with all the regalia dictated by Serer religion. Tomb burial and mummification were always given to the Serer nobility, but some Serer griots were not buried this way. In this play, she criticises this tradition and came head on with the Serer priestly class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serer people</span> West African ethnic group

The Serer people are a West African ethnoreligious group. They are the third-largest ethnic group in Senegal, making up 15% of the Senegalese population. They are also found in northern Gambia and southern Mauritania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Sine</span> Post-classical Serer kingdom in Senegal

The Kingdom of Sine was a post-classical Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. The inhabitants are called Siin-Siin or Sine-Sine.

Guelowar, also spelled Gelwar, Guelwar, Guelware, Gueleware or Gueloware, was a maternal dynasty in the pre-colonial Serer kingdoms of Sine and Saloum. They were from the Mandinka ethnic group. The offspring of Mandinka women and Serer men became the kings of Sine and Saloum. The dynasty lasted from the mid-14th century to 1969, the year both kings died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serer prehistory</span> Ancient history of the Serer ethnic group

The prehistoric and ancient history of the Serer people of modern-day Senegambia has been extensively studied and documented over the years. Much of it comes from archaeological discoveries and Serer tradition rooted in the Serer religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serer history</span> Medieval history of the Serer people of Senegambia

The medieval history of the Serer people of Senegambia is partly characterised by resisting Islamization from perhaps the 11th century during the Almoravid movement, to the 19th century Marabout movement of Senegambia and continuation of the old Serer paternal dynasties.

Father Henry Gravrand was a French Catholic missionary to Africa and an anthropologist who has written extensively on Serer religion and culture. He was one of the leading pioneers of interfaith dialog and believed that African religion was the "'first covenant between God and man". His works about the Serer people are cited by other historians and scholars writing on Serer history, religion and culture, for instance Martin A. Klein, Charles Becker, Alioune Sarr, Marguerite Dupire, Issa Laye Thiaw, etc. Papa Massène Sene argues that his approach lacks scientific rigor and include fundamental linguistic and historical errors. Alioune Sarr noted that Gravrand reported an oral tradition describing what he called the "Battle of Troubang", a dynastic war between the two maternal royal houses of Ñaanco and the Guelowar, an off-shot and relatives of the Ñaanco maternal dynasty of Kaabu, in modern-day Guinea Bissau. According to Charles Becker, Gravrand is confusing a description of the 1867 Battle of Kansala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joof family</span> Serer clan of Senegambia, West Africa

Joof or Diouf is a surname that is typically Serer. This surname is also spelt Juuf or Juf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teigne</span>

Teigne was a Serer title for the monarchs of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Baol, now part of present-day Senegal. The Kingdoms of Baol and Cayor became intricately linked especially post 1549 when the Faal family came to into prominence, and it was the same family that eventually ruled both Kingdoms with the exception of few interruptions, notably Lat Joor Ngoneh Latir Jobe who was of a different patrilineage.

Lamane Jegan Joof, was a Serer lamane who according to Serer tradition founded the Serer village of Tukar now part of present-day Senegal. The Raan Festival takes place each year at Tukar, two weeks after the appearance of the new moon in April.

This is a timeline of the history and development of Serer religion and the Serer people of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. This timeline merely gives an overview of their history, consisting of calibrated archaeological discoveries in Serer countries, Serer religion, politics, royalty, etc. Dates are given according to the Common Era. For a background to these events, see Roog, Serer religion, Serer creation myth, Serer prehistory, Lamane, States headed by Serer Lamanes, Serer history and Serer people.

Roog or Rog is the Supreme God and creator of the Serer religion of the Senegambia region.

Maad a Sinig Maysa Wali Jaxateh Manneh was a king described in the oral tradition of the Serer pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine and the first of the Guelowar maternal dynasty to rule in Serer country. He reigned as Maad a Sinig from c. 1350 to 1370.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lingeer Fatim Beye</span> Lingeer of Sine

Lingeer Fatim Beye Joos Fadiou was a 14th-century Serer princess and queen (Lingeer) from the Kingdom of Sine. She is the matriarch and early ancestor of the Joos Maternal Dynasty of Waalo. She is usually regarded by some sources as the founder of the Joos Maternal Dynasty. The pre-colonial Kingdoms of Sine and Waalo now lies within present-day Senegal. Her surname is Beye (English-Gambia) or Bèye (French-Senegal). Joos Fadiou is her maternal clan. In Serer, "Fa-tim" means "the maternal clan of..."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joos Maternal Dynasty</span> Serer maternal dynasty from the Serer pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine in the 14th century

The Joos Maternal Dynasty was a Serer maternal dynasty which originated from the Serer pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine in the 14th century and spread to the Wolof Kingdom of Waalo. The matriarch or founder of this maternal dynasty was Lingeer Fatim Beye, a princess and queen originally from the Kingdom of Sine. In Waalo, it was founded by the princess Lingeer Ndoye Demba of Sine. Lingeer Ndoye Demba was the maternal granddaughter of Lingeer Fatim Beye. They both came from the Serer ethnic group. Although the pre-colonial Kingdoms of Sine and Waalo now form part of modern-day Senegal, in pre-colonial Senegambia, present-day Gambia had open-borders with Senegal and share the same historical and cultural heritage. The demarcation of the two countries is purely geographical due to their colonial past, with Britain colonizing the Gambia and France colonizing Senegal. For a background to these events see the History of Senegal, History of the Gambia, Senegambia and Timeline of Serer history.

Serer maternal clans or Serer matriclans are the maternal clans of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Serer are both patrilineal and matrilineal. Inheritance depends on the nature of the asset being inherited – i.e. whether it is a maternal asset which requires maternal inheritance or paternal asset requiring paternal inheritance (kucarla). The Serer woman play a vital role in royal and religious affairs. In pre-colonial times until the abolition of their monarchies, a Serer king would be required to crown his mother, maternal aunt or sister as Lingeer (queen) after his own coronation. This re-affirms the maternal lineage to which they both belong (Tim). The Lingeer was very powerful and had her own army and palace. She was the queen of all women and presided over female cases. From a religious perspective, the Serer woman plays a vital role in Serer religion. As members of the Serer priestly class, they are among the guardians of Serer religion, sciences, ethics and culture. There are several Serer matriclans; not all of them are listed here. Alliance between matriclans in order to achieve a common goal was, and still is very common. The same clan can be called a different name depending on which part of Serer country one finds oneself in. Some of these matriclans form part of Serer mythology and dynastic history. The mythology afforded to some of these clans draws parallels with the Serer creation narrative, which posits that: the first human to be created was a female. Many Serers who adhere to the tenets of Serer religion believe these narratives to contain profound truths which are historic or pre-historic in nature.

Babacar Sedikh Diouf or Babacar Sédikh Diouf is a Senegalese historian, author, researcher, campaigner against "Wolofization", a Pan-Africanist, and former teacher. He has written extensively about the history and culture of Senegal, Africa, and that of the Serer ethnic group to which he belongs. He usually writes by the pen name Babacar Sedikh Diouf.

References

  1. Madaus, Sarah. "6 Matriarchal Societies That Have Been Thriving With Women at the Helm for Centuries". Town and Country. Hearst Digital Media. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  2. Becker, Charles: "Vestiges historiques, trémoins matériels du passé clans les pays sereer", Dakar (1993), CNRS - ORS TO M.
  3. Gastellu, Jean-Marc, "Petit traité de matrilinarité. L'accumulation dans deux sociétés rurales d'Afrique de l'Ouest", Cahiers ORSTOM, série Sciences Humaines 4 (1985) [in] Gastellu, Jean-Marc, "Matrilineages, Economic Groups and Differentiation in West Africa: A Note", O.R.S.T.O.M. Fonds Documentaire (1988), pp 1, 2-4 (pp 272-4), 7 (p 277)
  4. Val'Dman, A. V.; Kozlovskaia, M. M. (1975). "1950 Ashanti Kinship. In A.R. Radcliffe Brown. African systems of Kinship and Marriage. London: Oxford University Press". Zhurnal Nevropatologii i Psikhiatrii Imeni S.S. Korsakova. 75 (11): 1710–7. PMID   1950.
  5. only in informal everyday language.
  6. Gårdene gik i arv på spindesiden. Kvinderne drev landbruget, medens mændene mest tog sig af strandinger og fiskeri og hjalp med pløjning og tærskning.
    The farms were inherited in the distaff side. The women drive agriculture, while men most took care of shipwrecks and fishing and helped with plowing and threshing.
    • Stoklund, Bjarne: "Arbejde og kønsroller på Læsø o. 1200-1900" ISBN   87-88683-08-7
    • "Kvindefællesskaber" (Anna Birte Ravn og Marianne Rostgård). ISBN   87-982062-1-4
  7. Myers, Peter (November 23, 2001). "Aryan Invasions – Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Colin Renfew, Marija Gimbutas and Martin Bernal on the Indo-European invasions and the earlier Goddess cultures". Neither Aryan Nor Jew. Retrieved 10 March 2014. Traces of matrilineal practices have been found in recent centuries in peripheral areas of the west and north of Europe, and in the Aegean islands. In a number of islands, including Lesbos, Lemnos, Naxos, and Kos, matrilineal succession to real property was the rule at the end of the 18th century A.D. The facts were reported by an English traveller, John Hawkins, who wrote: "In the large number of the islands, the eldest daughter takes as her inheritance a portion of the family house, together with its furniture, and one third of the share of the maternal property, which in reality in most of these cases constitutes the chief means of subsistence; the other daughters, when they marry off in succession, are likewise entitled to (a portion of) the family house and the same share of whatever property remains. These observations were applicable to the islands of Mytilin (Lesbos), Lemnos, Scopelo, Skyros, Syra, Zea Ipsera, Myconi, Paros, Naxia, Siphno, Santorini and Cos, where I have either collected my information in person or had obtained it through others."
  8. see Jewish views of marriage
  9. Agassi, Judith Buber, (1989) "Theories of Gender Equality: Lessons from the Israeli Kibbutz", Gender and Society, 3/2, 160-186.
  10. Marshall, Harry Ignatius (1922). "The Karen People of Burma: A Study in Anthropology and Ethnology." Ohio State University Bulletin 26(13). ISBN   974-8496-86-4
  11. C. W. Watson Kinship, Property and Inheritance in Kerinci, Central Sumatra 1992 ISBN   0 904938 19 0
  12. The Khasis by P. R. T. Gurdon
  13. Guy, Paul (October–December 1942). "Sur une coutume locale de droit musulman de l'Archipel des Comores". Revue algérienne, tunisienne et marocaine de législation et de jurisprudence (in French). pp. 78–79.
  14. Gestin, Martine; Mathieu, Nicole-Claude [in French] (2007). Une maison sans fille est une maison morte (in French). Maison des sciences de l'homme.
  15. Marriage in a matrilineal African tribe: A social anthropological study of marriage in the Ondonga tribe in Ovamboland.
  16. (in French) Gravrand, Henry, "La civilisation sereer, vol. II: Pangool ", Nouvelles éditions africaines, Dakar (1990), pp 193-4, ISBN   2-7236-1055-1
  17. (in French) Becker, Charles, "Vestiges historiques, témoins matériels du passé dans les pays sereer", Dakar (1993), CNRS - ORS TO M Excerpt (Retrieved: 23 July 2012)
  18. Phuong, Tran Ky; Lockhart, Bruce (2011-01-01). The Cham of Vietnam: History, Society and Art. NUS Press. ISBN   978-9971-69-459-3.
  19. Lebar, Frank M.; Gerald C. Hickey; John K. Musgrave (1964). Ethnic Groups of Mainland Southeast Asia. New Haven, Connecticut: Human Relations Area Files Press. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-25414.
  20. Kleinman, A.; Lin, T. Y. (29 June 2013). Normal and Abnormal Behavior in Chinese Culture. ISBN   9789401749862.
  21. 1 2 3 Paul Kirchhoff, "Gatherers and Farmers in the Greater Southwest: A Problem in Classification", American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 56, No. 4, Southwest Issue (August 1954), pp. 529–550
  22. Friedemann, Nina S. de, Jaime Arocha Rodríguez (1982) “Herederos del jaguar y la anaconda”; pp 289-338 “8. Guajiros: amos de la arrogancia y del cacto”; Carlos Valencia Editores Bogotá ISBN 84-8277-088-8|quote= (…) "los hombres en el acto de procreación contribuyen con su sangre –asháa–, a tiempo que las mujeres participan con la carne –eiruku–. Los hijos, tanto los varones como las mujeres, heredan la sangre del padre, pero solamente las madres pueden transmitirles la carne y el “apellido”. Así, un guajiro, sea sea hombre o mujer, tiene más relaciones económicas y sociales con la familia materna, sus parientes de carne, que con la paterna, sus parientes de sangre"
    "The men in the act of procreation contribute with their blood -asháa-, while the women participate with their flesh -eiruku-. The children, both males and females, inherit the blood of the father, but only the mothers can transmit the flesh and the "surname". Thus, a guajiro, whether male or female, has more economic and social relations with the maternal family, his or her relatives of flesh, than with the paternal family, his or her relatives of blood."