What Is a Matrilineal Society?

In a matrilineal society, lineage, inheritance, and family names are traced through the mother rather than the father. Children typically take their mother’s surname, and property or leadership may pass through the female line. These societies often place a strong emphasis on female roles in the household, culture, and governance—though this does not always equate to full gender equality.

2025 Discovery in China

In 2025, archaeologists in Yunnan Province, China, unearthed evidence of a previously undocumented matrilineal society dating back over 3,000 years. Burial patterns, inheritance artifacts, and genetic testing from tombs revealed maternal lineage continuity. Women were buried with family heirlooms that later generations also possessed, and DNA showed daughters passed on land and status. This discovery adds new depth to the study of ancient societal structures in East Asia.

Examples of Matrilineal Cultures

1. The Mosuo of China – Perhaps the most famous modern example, the Mosuo in southwestern China follow a matrilineal system where women head households, and property passes from mother to daughter.
2. The Minangkabau of Indonesia – The world’s largest matrilineal society, the Minangkabau maintain female-led inheritance and household authority, even while political leadership often rests with men.
3. The Akan of Ghana – Inheritance and royal succession are passed through the mother’s line. Children belong to the mother’s clan, and maternal uncles often play a larger paternal role than biological fathers.
4. The Khasi of India – In this northeastern tribe, children take their mother’s surname, and the youngest daughter traditionally inherits the ancestral property.
5. The Bribri of Costa Rica – Women inherit land and have key roles in religious rituals, preserving an ancestral system of female lineage and respect for matrilineal wisdom.

What Happened to These Cultures?

Many matrilineal societies declined or adapted under colonial rule, religious conversion, and the spread of patriarchal governance systems. In many cases, external pressure or modernization redefined property rights and gender roles. However, remnants survive, and some are reemerging in modern cultural movements, with renewed interest in gender balance and ancestral traditions.

These societies offer rich insight into alternative ways human civilization has organized itself and may yet again.