WHAT DOES MATRIARCHY LOOK LIKE?

Is Matriarchy simply the gender opposite of Patriarchy?

As I once again found myself spelling out my last name on a phone, pausing every now and then to provide a phonetic clue to a letter (T for Tom!), I started yearning for the much simpler last name of my mother. Wisely, she had not changed her last name after marriage, leaving me the possibility of this matronymic inheritance.

If the culture I was born into was matriarchal, would anything other than my last name be different? As it turns out, there are societies that are matriarchal which we can learn from. From the Kashi in northeast India with 1 million people to the Minangkabau in Indonesia with 4 million people, there are contemporary examples. And it seems that matriarchy in these societies has found a different path, vs. just a role reversal of patriarchy.

All these societies were matrilineal, meaning the family name and property pass on through the women in the family, and matrilocal, meaning families live with the mother’s family. They are characterized as mother-centered, based on maternal values such as care-taking and nurturing. For example with the Khasi, the youngest daughter inherits the largest share of property and the family home (as a “younger” twin, I am all for this!). If a family member needs help, they will turn to this daughter and will be welcomed into the family home. What’s more, the Khasi women shared power. Men in society can hold leadership political positions, be judges in courts, etc.

These women and these societies are showing us there is a different way we can live together. Ultimately it is not about who has more power, but sharing in our human responsibilities to each other within our families and beyond.

[https://daily.jstor.org/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-matriarchy/]

[https://steemit.com/ecotrain/@solarsupermama/matriarchy-what-is-it-and-what-does-a-matriarchal-society-look-like]

[https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/g28565280/matriarchal-societies-list/]