INTEGRATED BBA-MBA PROGRAM (2019-24)

TERM-V

INDIAN SOCIETY

Individual Assignment-I

“Matriarchal and Matrilineal Elements in Tribal Societies”

Submitted to:

Prof. Rashmi Panda

On

31st DECEMBER 2020

Submitted by:

Roll No. Name

197356
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNDERTAKING i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii
MATRILINEAL & MATRIARCHIAL SOCIETIES 1
MOSUO TRIBE 5
KHASI TRIBE 10
CONCLUSION 14
REFERENCES 15
 UNDERTAKING
I, hereby confirm that in my knowledge, this assignment is the outcome of my independent
research and is my original work. Any overlapping of phrases or sentences is purely
coincidental, and I do not intend to misuse it. The information is purely used for educational
purposes.

Swasti Salecha

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This fills me with immense pleasure in bringing out this report of the project related to
exploring matriarchal and matrilineal elements in tribal societies such as the Khasis and the
mountainous communities of China.

I would like to thank Prof. Rashmi Panda, who gave me this golden opportunity to work,
research, and write on this interesting topic, and gave me her valuable suggestions and ideas
during this project. I am thankful to my family and friends who encouraged me during this
project and helped me with the needful.

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 (Source: Author’s Compilation)

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 MATRILINEAL & MATRIARCHIAL
SOCIETIES
“A little more matriarchy is what the world needs, and I know it. Period.
Paragraph.”
~Dorothy Thompson

Before we directly jump into the real-life examples of matriarchy and matrilineality, it is of
utmost importance to understand what both of these terms mean and the subtle difference
between them.

Matrilineal societies are those in which through the mother the lineage of a family is passed
on. Unlike in the patrilineal system, where property and ancestry are passed by men from one
generation to the other, the mother is the head of the family in the matrilineal system and is
usually the heir to the family property.

(Fig. 1: Matrilineal Descent Group)

(Source:
Britannica)

(Fig. 2: Fun Fact)

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 (Source: Author’s Compilation)

The matriarchal family is also known as the mother-centred/dominated family and presence of
the same dates back to the beginning to the society as Tylor, Morgan and etc. say. In such
families there is matrilocal residence and the mother has the power and authority of decision-
making, property, etc.

(Fig. 3: Fun Fact)

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 (Source: Author’s Compilation)

Have you ever wondered what would the world look like if the roles of men and women are
swapped? Though it sounds utopian the following societies prove this right! Matriarchy is a
social system in which women occupy the main positions of power in the roles of political
leadership, moral power, social privilege, and ownership of property.

(Fig. 4: The Economist highlights the rise of Matriarchy)

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 (Source: Deviant Art)

Let us dive deep into the Tribal societies of India and China and discover the matrilineal and
matriarchal elements in them.

(Fig. 5: Ted Rall’s Comic)

(Source: Breaking News (Pinterest))

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 MOSUO TRIBE
(Fig. 6: Location of Mosuo Tribe)

(Source: Author’s Compilation)

There exists an anachronistic matriarchy in the Lugu Lake of Yunnan lush valley of South
China; Mosuo (Population: 56,000), a Tibetan Buddhist Tribe. The children of Mosuo women
“BELONG” to their mothers only and are raised by their mother, grandmother, aunts, etc; and
their fathers live in their own matriarchal house. Mosuo children are born out of wedlock as
they fell that marriage is an inconceivable concept rather, they have “WALKING MARRIAGE
(AXIA)” and the state of “FATHERLESS” is because the Mosuo’s don’t promote fatherhood.
These women always stay single.

Also known as the Yongning Naxis, the Mosuo are known as the "FEMALE KINGDOM" or
"DAUGHTERS' KINGDOM"; they have managed to keep their powerful matriarchal
customs alive in terms of marriage and family. A traditional Mosuo family includes members
of the blood descent of the mother—the maternal grandmother and her brothers and sisters, the
mother and her brothers and sisters, and the children of the mother and the children of the
mother's sister. The father is considered an outsider. Women are placed very high in status.

(Fig. 7: A sneak-peek into the Land where Women Rules- Inside China’s Last Matriarchy)

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 Click here to see the above video

(Source: VICE Life)

(Fig. 8: Quote by Choo Waihong)

(Source: Author’s Compilation)

In this agrarian society, women own and inherit land, sow crops and run households: cooking,
cleaning and child-rearing. Men provide ploughing, slaughtering livestock, strength,

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constructing, repairing homes, and helping with big family decisions, even though the
grandmother still has the final verdict. While men have no parental duties, it is normal for
women not to know who their children's father is, and there is no stigma attached to this, they
have significant duty to the children of their sisters as uncles. In fact, along with older maternal
great-uncles, who are often the second-in-charge of households, the pivotal male influence on
children is their young uncles. Also, these men are feminist.

In Mosuo, marriage ain’t a goal! They can have as many social partners as they want. Though
motherhood is revered to the extent that for a woman it becomes her life’s sole goal. And what
if they can't have kids, or they can only produce boys? A child, either from an unrelated Mosuo
family or, more commonly, from one of their maternal cousins, will be formally adopted.
Families were big a few decades ago, prior to China's one-child policy, which extends in these
rural areas.

(Fig. 9: Sergei Dorma, 70, from the village Shankua: “When the Red Army came after
1959, they stole so many things from us. We were not allowed to practice our Daba religion
any more. They burned our monasteries and our prayer books. From 1975 on, the Chinese
even forced us to give up our marriage customs; they called it ‘One Husband, One Wife’
campaign. We had to marry in the Chinese way and start to live together. That was against
our custom of the walking marriage.”)

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 (Source: Karolin Klüppel, National Geographic)

Via female networks, women are much more likely to settle disagreements-the implicit abuse
of power through words. Based on their ability to exploit other women, women get together
and build or implement hierarchies-usually their own self-assessment of their sexual worth
comes into play.

This is the less egalitarian side of the Mosuo way of life, for western eyes. Is it a culture that
emancipates women from marriage in many respects, and gives them sexual equality, actually
creating glorified housewives of the 1950s who have no other choice but motherhood? Since
the 1990s things are changing, the tribe’s traditions are becoming outdated in the eyes of their
present generations. Mosuo women are now marrying men and also living with them rather
than following matrilineality. Majority of the Mosuo children only have a junior school
certificate. The tribe is now earning money from tourism and subsistence farmers are shifting
to commercial crops.

(Fig. 10: A Mosuo Song)

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 (Source: Author’s Compilation)
Young Mosuo are carving out a separate course from their parents, adopting with gusto western
marriage and family life. Zhaxi, who designed Waihong's home, says that in 30 years, there
will be no Mosuo culture left. She has less certainty. "I believe that once they see what the
alternative is, their traditional family structure may come to be seen as halcyon," she says. They
were the original trendsetters, 2,000 years ago; they have no idea how good it is.

(Fig. 11: Matrilineality in Mosuo Tribe)

(Source: Facts And Details)

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 KHASI TRIBE
Before we begin let’s see this short video to understand the context.

(Fig. 12: A sneak-peek into Khasi’s Life of Matrilineal Community)

Click here to see the above video.

(Source: DW News)

Meghalaya has three matrilineal tribes. i.e., Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia/Pnar; and we are going to
talk about the Khasi tribe. People often use matrilineal and matriarchal synonymously but
Khasi tribe is a matrilineal tribe. The origin of this system began when in the past men were
so busy in wars and hunting that it was the females who reared their children which in due
course of time led men abandoning their right to inheritance and parallelly women began to
give the clan her name and took over all the responsibilities. Hence, lineage amongst Khasi is
found by tracking the mother’s lineage.

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 (Fig. 13: Khasi Women)

(Source: The Wire)

The husband is still the head of the family and there is an important role for older men to play
in society. Therefore, men have greater social influence as a whole than women. Women
continue to be the family's primary caregivers and are supposed to raise kids, cook, clean, etc.
Men are seen as the main suppliers and as more authoritative figures as well. Khasi women do
not have illegitimate children and hence the kids can claim their right over the family name.
They are not allowed to marry within their Kur (same clan) otherwise they are ostracized.
Inheritance of property is given to the Ka Khadduh (youngest daughter).

(Fig. 14: Fun Fact)

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 (Source: Author’s Compilation)

In selecting their future marriage partners, young girls are granted appreciable freedom. Before
a betrothal, they are likely to be made aware of each other. And the form of marriage here
decides the post-marital residence of a man. If the man married Ka Khadduh, then moved to
the post-marriage residence of his mother-in-law, it is expected to be matrilocal. Otherwise,
the residence is neolocal.

(Fig. 15: Quote Unquote)

(Source: Author’s Compilation)

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There has been a rise in conversion of Khasi people into Christianity lately, and men now want
to do away with this matrilineality as they find it ‘Biased’. Till date, women aren’t allowed in
the Dorbar Shnong (local governing institution) whose head is a man Rangbah Shnong. Most
of the serious family decisions to date are made by the male parent, who exercises a lot of
influence over the family. The women of Khasi are somewhat removed from politics. The
existing male-dominated political structure definitely does not owe the women's portion of the
population such favours.

(Fig. 16: Fun Facts)

(Source: Author’s Compilation)

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 CONCLUSION

With the passage of time the matrilineal as well as the matriarchal societies are dying. Although
men argue that a matrilineal society is free of the harsh clutches of patriarchy, the fact is that
the luxury of fully abstaining from such a structure is something women still have to be able to
achieve full freedom from. Einstein, paraphrased: “Men cannot solve problems created by
men — no matter how much they believe they can.” It is interesting to know that there exist
49 tribes that promote such feminism amidst the harsh patriarchal world and also the women
of these communities have played their roles far from imagination. The concepts of property
inheritance in Mosuo and Khasi tribes lean towards the maternal lineage and here women have
the freedom to select their partners and rear their children all sitting in their home only! This
clearly signifies the need of such communities in our society.

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 REFERENCES
● Booth, H. (2017, April 01). The kingdom of women: The society where a man is never
the boss. Retrieved December 28, 2020, from
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/01/the-kingdom-of-women-the-
tibetan-tribe-where-a-man-is-never-the-boss
● Diplomat, A. S. (2020, August 17). The Decline of China's Kingdom of Women.
Retrieved December 28, 2020, from https://thediplomat.com/2020/08/the-decline-of-
chinas-kingdom-of-women/
● Genova, A., & Klüppel, P. B. (2017, August 14). Where Women Reign: An Intimate
Look Inside a Rare Kingdom. Retrieved December 28, 2020, from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/08/portraits-of-chinese-
Mosuo-matriarchs/
● Bouissou, J. (2011, January 18). Where women of India rule the roost and men demand
gender equality. Retrieved December 29, 2020, from
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/18/india-khasi-women-politics-
bouissou
● Chhakchhuak, L. (2018, August 2). Why Are Khasi Women Being Held Responsible
for the 'Dilution' of the Tribe? Retrieved December 29, 2020, from
https://thewire.in/women/why-are-khasi-women-being-held-responsible-for-the-
dilution-of-the-tribe
● East India Government. (n.d.). Culture & Heritage. Retrieved December 29, 2020, from
https://eastkhasihills.gov.in/culture/
● Feroz, S. (2019, December 08). The Khasi Tribe, History of Khasi Tribe, People of
Khasi tribe - Yehaindia. Retrieved December 29, 2020, from https://yehaindia.com/the-
khasi-tribe-where-the-women-rule/
● Workplaces, I. (n.d.). Mosuo. Retrieved December 29, 2020, from
https://www.tribes.world/mosuo

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