matrilinearity

Matrilineality, or matrilinearity, is a kinship system in which a person’s social identity and many kinship rights are traced through the mother’s line. In matrilineal societies, membership in a lineage or clan, and often the transmission of property, status, or roles, occurs along the female line from mother to daughter and onward through her descendants. The term refers to descent and social ties rather than to gendered power structures; thus, matrilineality does not automatically imply a matriarchy, where women hold all political authority.

Key features commonly associated with matrilineal systems include: descent and lineage membership through the mother; inheritance or succession rules that favor the female line or the maternal relatives; and, in many cases, matrilocal residence, where a couple lives with or near the wife’s kin. However, matrilocality and other practices vary widely among matrilineal societies, and some communities exhibit matrilineal descent without consistent matrilocal residence.

Notable examples often cited in discussions of matrilineality include the Akan of Ghana, who trace inheritance and, in part, political status through the mother’s line; the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, widely described as matrilineal with property passing through women; the Mosuo of China, known for matrilineal, bilocal household patterns; and various Indigenous groups in North America, particularly Iroquoian-speaking nations, that maintain matrilineal clan structures.

In modern states, traditional matrilineal practices have often been affected by legal reforms, economic changes, and colonial or state-imposed systems, though some communities continue to preserve matrilineal customs within contemporary frameworks.