Imagine a society where women predominantly hold leadership and influential positions. Communities in which women are at the helm of government jobs, make the big decisions and voice their opinions with high regard, reflecting the community’s deep respect for them.
And, this is the norm.
Sounds a bit like part of the plot of last summer’s blockbuster movie “Barbie,” doesn’t it? In Barbieland, the matriarchs ruled! Well, at least before Ken discovers the patriarchy in the real world. But we digress…
If you think that a place where women hold leading roles only exists in Greek mythology, like the Amazon warriors, or could only be fictional, think again. There are many groups throughout the world in which women are honored, mothers head the families and the matriarchy dominates.
Get ready to explore societies that challenge the traditional notion of “a man’s world.”
The Great Mosque of West Sumatra
Minangkabau People, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
Throughout history, inheritance and wealth were often passed through male heirs. Iconic novels such as Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” revolved around this narrative as well. This theme vividly portrays scenarios where, upon the father’s death, daughters find themselves at the mercy of the next male in line to inherit everything, compelling them to navigate their futures with the hopes of securing a favorable marriage or relying on the benevolence of male relatives to avoid destitution.
In the Minangkabau society, this isn’t the case. Inheritance is uniquely matrilineal, with property and wealth transferred down the female line.
Also known as the Minang, this community is also the largest, boasting four million residents as of 2017.
In this society, women enjoy high status, taking the lead in both family and community decisions.
Most notably, the mother is always the most important person in the family, emphasizing the value placed on maternal roles within this society.
Couples can get married if they choose to, but maintain separate sleeping quarters, placing a high value on personal space. Imagine having an entire room all to yourself!
While men do hold significant roles in government and religious institutions, maternal figures retain the ultimate respect and authority.
Terraced fields in Yunnan China
Mosuo Community, China
Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
Located in Yunnan, southwest China, is the country’s last remaining matriarchal society — a group of Tibetan Buddhists known as the Mosuo.
Comprised of about 40,000 people, the Mosuo is like the Minang in that they pass down wealth and property through the female lineage. Women are the ones who carry on the family name and make the major decisions in their families as well.
Men are primarily kept around for their strength. They are expected to perform tasks such as building houses, making repairs, plowing fields and slaughtering animals.
And while they can help with raising children, they don’t raise their own.
This is where things get quite interesting.
Women in this society can have as many or as few romantic partners as they wish. They even have something called a babahuago — or flower room — where they rendezvous. If children result from the coupling, the mothers raise them — along with their brothers. So, men raising children do so as maternal uncles; they raise their sisters’ kids.
The Mosuo women enjoy the freedom to engage in relationships on their terms, introducing the concept of “walking marriage,” where living arrangements and partnerships can be fluid and governed by the woman’s choice.
In addition, women run the home, which is usually made up of many families who live together, with one woman chosen as the head of the house.
Beach and forest of Drake Bay, Costa Rica
Bribri, Costa Rica
The Bribri is an indigenous tribe located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and is estimated to be comprised of anywhere from 11,000 to 35,000 people.
As with other matriarchal societies, any land or property is passed on from the mother’s lineage to her daughters and women are the heads of the households. Marriage is optional, informal and by mutual agreement of the couple and grandmothers are entrusted to pass down all the knowledge, traditions and culture of the clan to the children.
Perhaps the greatest display of reverence for women in this society is that they are the only ones allowed to prepare the sacred cacao drink, which is used in their religious rituals. The Bribri women believe that they have been entrusted with the mission of Sibu, their God.
The Bribri society is also an example of ecofeminism, defined by Merriam-Webster as a movement or theory that applies feminist principles and ideas to ecological issues. For example, they don’t use any types of fossil fuels because these are considered a living part of Mother Earth, whom the Bribri refer to as Iriria. Oil is considered Iriria’s blood, coal is her skeleton and fossil fuel gases are her respiration. For the Bribri, a healthy life is best aligned with Mother Earth because it is her energy that brings inspiration to women in a myriad of leadership positions.
Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, Accra, Ghana
Akan People, Ghana
Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons/ Brendan Lally
The Akan people live in West Africa in Ghana and The Ivory Coast.
Their society is matrilineal — in that property is inherited through the mother’s lineage — but there are differences. Here, the lineage and succession to leadership positions, including kingship, are determined through the female line. That’s why, while an Akan king rules, the Queen Mother is most often his eldest sister. When she has a son, he will be the next king, and so on.
This happens because the Akan people believe that they are related to their mothers by blood and their fathers by spirit (fathers are believed to pass spirits, such as a group of spirits called Ntoro, onto their children). In fact, in the family unit, the biological father is considered a stranger. Siblings of the mother, on the other hand, play a critical role in the upbringing of children, with the brothers considered uncles and sisters assisting as mothers.
While men in this community can hold leadership positions in government and religious institutions, women make the major decisions about the group’s identity, politics, family and community affairs.
Fittingly, the community traces its descent back to one common female ancestor.
Mawasawa Waterfalls Cherrapunji Meghalaya India
Khasi Tribe, India
Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
In the state of Meghalaya in northeastern India live the Khasi tribe. Again, in this community, women dominate.
As in the other societies mentioned, the Khasis pass down property to the women, but in this case, it all goes to the youngest daughter. Likewise, tribal rulers come only from the mother’s family, not the father’s.
If a woman chooses to marry, the husband moves into the wife’s home, and any children produced live with the mother’s family. The children take on the mother’s surname and when it comes to raising the kids, mothers and mothers-in-law are the only people allowed (men cannot). Men aren’t even allowed to come to family gatherings — at all!
If a woman chooses to get divorced, there is no social stigma, and any children born out of wedlock are not considered illegitimate.
While men can manage property, such roles must be sanctioned by women, showcasing a society where female authority is prominent and maternal figures are central to social and familial organization.
Fun fact: According to the BBC, there is currently a men’s liberation group that is fighting to end Khasi’s matrilineal system.
Perhaps they should talk with Ken. He just might change their minds.