| Matriarchy is a form of society, in which female play the leading role and especially, mothers; a society, where women dominate. This is one of the ancient traditions, where mother was head of the family.
Matriarchy is characterized, in particular, by features such as Matrilineality (number of children, cognation and inheritance), Matrilocality - husband joining the family or house of the wife, residing place is selected by the wife, group marriage, irregular relationships of mother with various males, possession of family property and economic dependence of the family on mother. These and other features can appear with various degree of intensity, in various combinations, as in any phenomena, which is stipulated by individuality of each case.
Inability to determine the father of a child during numerous consistent intercourses of women with various males is assumed to be the reason for matrilineality in matriarch families. Matrilineality is linked with the right of women on children; right to take care of the children is at discretion of women-mothers, as against the similar right of male fathers in case of patriarchy.
Matriarchy, as a family structure, has specific form of dominance and obedience in human collective - family. In matriarchy, female dominates and the husband obeys her.
Type of government, formed exclusively by women or in which the females dominate is sometimes mistakenly termed as matriarchy but such a phenomenon should be proper to term as "Gynocentric". |
The are many examples of matriarchy in animal world - in communities of elephants, killer whales, bees, and ants; females are in charge of families and society.
While matriarchy (from "matri" - mother, and "archy" - rule) literally means "power of a mother", it implies woman taking the leading role not just in a family as a mother and wife, but also women ruling a whole society.
Historians are in dispute on whether there were clear examples of matriarchy in the human history - they still wait for the results of 2008 U.S. elections.
