RP222 Mother, May I

 RP222 Mother, May I?

In most of the developed world, power has been held almost exclusively by men for centuries. Male-dominated (patriarchal) societies aren't the only ones that exist, however.

The Negovisi of Papua New Guinea organize their society around women. Valuable heirlooms and land are passed from mothers to daughters, not fathers to sons. When a man and woman marry, the man usually goes to live in his wife's community. The most significant sign of female power in Negovisi society, however, is their control of the gardens. Producing food is the basis of wealth for the Negovisi, so gardens symbolize all the wealth of the society. Gardening is symbolic in other ways—Negovisi couples garden together to demonstrate their union. Refusing to eat from a wife's garden would be a sign of a divorce.

The Mosuo people of Yunnan and Sichuan, China, also live in a society in which females are central. Mosuo women are the heads of their households. Women live in houses with their children, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, and brothers. Husbands, however, do not join the household. Marriages are bonds of affection, in which sexual partners visit each other but do not share a home. Women control money, household affairs, and jobs. Men, on the other hand, handle livestock trade and slavery. They also wield more political power than women do.

In West Sumatra, Indonesia, Minangkabau women own and distribute all land and property. Houses are for women; boys leave their mother's house by the age of seven to begin school. Education is extremely important to the Minangkabau. Men enter their wives' households and leave in the event of a divorce.

The Minangkabau would tell you that women do not rule their culture. Instead, their society is governed by consensus. The other matriarchies mentioned here would probably also agree that women don't rule. They just aren't treated like property or slaves. Getting past the obsession with who the boss is may help other cultures rule more equally, too.