Matriarchy

Introduction

In early times, Matriarchy has simply come to denote female head of the family or tribe.

But, in the 19th century the term matriarchy was interpreted as governance by women over family
and the state.

The cultural evolutionists like Johan Jacob Bachofen, McLennan and Morgan propose that the
societies generally evolved from the stage of matriarchy to the stage of patriarchy due to certain
factors. The stage of matriarchy was considered to be primitive stage and the stage of patriarchy was
the advanced stage in social development.

What is 'Matriarchy?
One of the most comprehensive studies on 'matriarchy' was done by Johann Jakob Bachofen.

Though Bachofen did not use the term 'matriarchy' per se, he argued for a form of society which
can be interpreted as matriarchal.

Bachofen undertook a study of various societies of ancient world such as Crete, Kycia, Greace,
Egypt, India and various other places.

According to his study; mother right was a cultural stage in the development of a society from a
lower stage to a higher one. The stage beneath 'matriarchy' is referred to by Bachofen as 'hetaerism'
which was an unruly state of affairs. Marriage was unknown in that stage and sexuality was
unregulated.

'Matriarchy' was a revolt by women to end the chaotic life of hetaerism where their rights were
subdued and they were relegated to the background in every sphere. Women started yearning for a
better, safer and secure life.

'Matriarchy' arrived as a superior stage of cultural evolution where women were accorded a very
high status. In this stage of human life, children took on the names of their mother and property was
also transmitted along female lines. Women were powerful in all walks of life. In this state of affairs,
women participated whole heartedly in all spheres of life, be it inside or outside the homes. They
managed the household as well as fought wars. They considered arms as indispensible to safeguard
their position as heads of states or tribes. They also actively took part in political affairs.

However this stage of 'matriarchy' did not continue and was put to an end by patriarchy according to
Bachofen. Various changes were brought about in the family and society which slowly restricted and
finally curtailed the position of women. Her political power and her control over family were taken
away.' Gradually all traces of matriarchy were wiped away and the stage of patriarchy emerged which
again relegated women to the background.

As Bachofen says.

'The progress from the maternal to the paternal conception of man forms the most important
turning point in the history of the relations between the sexes'.

John. F. McLennan too put forward his views on 'matriarchy' very strongly.

McLennan, like Bachofen, argues that human society progressed from the state of savagery to a
more advanced stage. One of the stages in this development of human society was 'matriarchy'.

McLennan observes

'We shall endeavor to show that the most ancient system, in which the idea of blood relationship
was embodied, was a system of kinship through females only''.

Since the blood ties between the mother and the child was the most natural and undisputable, it
was given great importance by McLennan.

The discussion on 'matriarchy' was further elaborated and analysed by Lewis Morgan.

Morgan had undertaken an extensive study of many tribes and he observed that in almost all the
tribes, descent was through female lines. In the very first chapter of his book, Morgan states that the
human society progressed from savagery to civilization through various stages.

Morgan points out that at one particular time in history the society was organised on the basis of sex
and descent was along the female lines.

This stage of female rule was slowly overthrown and replaced by rule by Males. This change was
brought about by men who wanted an urgent replacement of this stage of matriarchy by patriarchy.
The stage of matriarchy involved the exclusion of men from the system of kinship as well as
inheritance of property. Therefore the need to change it was felt urgently by men for whom this
exclusion was becoming intolerable. Patriarchy would ensure that men had ownership of the
property which was getting accumulated and also the names of the male ancestors would be
preserved in the pages of history.

All these reasons were very strong and adequate to change the system of matriarchy into patriarchy.

Another reason according to Morgan why the system of rule of females was replaced by the system
of rule by males was the attitude of the American and missionary influences. They have greatly
opposed the system of matriarchy where both lineage and the inheritance of property were through
females. A scheme of descent where sons did not have a place seemed very illogical and
unreasonable to them. In a number of cases the transformation from matriarchy to patriarchy was
under their teachings.
The theory of Bachofen, McLennan or Morgan was further carried forward by Friedrich Engels.

Engels too advocated the thesis that the ancient society was based on the system of kinship and
inheritance through females. Children could neither take on the name nor the property of their
fathers, since 'maternal law' prevailed whereby descent was traced only along the female line.

Children did not belong to the family of the father but to the mother. However, with the increased
accumulation of private property, this matriarchal system was sought to be overthrown by men. As
men accumulated more and more wealth, their position in the family became superior to that of
women. As a result they wanted to abolish the traditional way of kinship and inheritance through
females.

Engels observes

'The downfall of maternal law was the historic defeat of the female sex. The men seized the reins
also in the house, the women were stripped of their dignity, enslaved, tools of men's lust and mere
machines for the generation of children'.

Bachofen, McLennan, Morgan or Engels none of these writers used the term 'matriarchy' as such.
However, the kind of society they talked about was matriarchy. Their definition of matriarchy gave
emphasis on kinship and inheritance of property through females as the primary features of a female
rule. Women controlled all the state of affairs primarily by virtue of these two features and men were
excluded in these. In fact the main reason for the revolt of patriarchy against matriarchy was this fact
of exclusion of men from kinship and property. It proves to show that these were considered to be
of supreme importance to the society and a primary source of power. The society about which all
these writers were talking was ancient and was overthrown or overshadowed by future patriarchal
rule.

Matriarchy was also discussed in details later on by feminists such as Peggy Reeves Sanday and
Heide Goettner-Abendroth.

Peggy Reeves Sanday was of the opinion that the term 'matriarchy' was never theorized in and of
itself. It was always studied in relation to patriarchy. It was often considered as just an opposite of
patriarchy. Since patriarchy emphasized male rule, 'matriarchy' as its opposite was theorized as
female rule. 'Matriarchy' however is a much broader concept than just being defined as female rule.

Sanday carried on her research in Minangkabau village in West Sumatra, Indonesia.

The intellectuals of Minangkabau says Sanday, use the term "matriarchaat" which is the Dutch term
for 'matriarchy' to describe their social system.

By using this term, they refer to the economic advantage enjoyed by women due to matrilineal
descent and matrilocal residence, and not female political domination.

Sanday too considers Minangkabau as a matriarchy and not simply matriliny.

However as in patriarchy, these differences do not lead to hierarchies in a 'matriarchy'. The relation
between men and women are of a complementary and not competitive nature. There is a balance
among the genders and an attitude of peacemaking.

The concept of matriarchy therefore as evident from all the above discussions does not have any
fixed boundaries or barriers. It can be interpreted in various ways and its meaning may differ from
society to society. The concept hence has to be understood in relation to the context or the society
in which it is being discussed.