Matriarchs

Matriarch refers to a woman who leads a family or community. The word combines matri- from Latin mater meaning mother and arch- from Greek archein meaning to rule. In everyday use, a matriarch may be an elder who exercises authority over domestic affairs, family property, or kinship through lineage.

In anthropology and sociology, matriarch is used to describe leadership in certain kinship or household structures, rather than a universal political system. Matriarchs may influence marriage arrangements, inheritance, and child-rearing within matrilineal or matrifocal communities, where descent or residence follows the female line. The term does not necessarily imply that women hold all political power; many societies are not matriarchies, and most historical polities have been male-led. The concept is often discussed alongside matriarchy, matrilineality, and matrilocality to distinguish different patterns of female authority and kinship.

Examples in human societies include matrilineal communities such as the Mosuo in China and the Minangkabau in Indonesia, where women control property and family lines in various ways. In the Iroquois Confederacy, senior women known as Clan Mothers exercised considerable influence by selecting or removing leaders within a largely male political framework. In animal groups, matriarchs are typically older, experienced females that guide groups, transmit ecological knowledge, and coordinate movement in herds, pods, or packs.

Overall, matriarch describes a role or system in which a woman assumes leadership within a family or social group, distinct from but related to the broader idea of matriarchy.