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THREAD: AN ISLAMIC MATRIARCHY
Indonesia's Minangkabau people, number eight million, and are famous for their unique architecture and a culture which emphasizes a matriarchal social order which not only coexists with their Muslim beliefs but is strengthened by them.
Indonesia's Minangkabau people, number eight million, and are famous for their unique architecture and a culture which emphasizes a matriarchal social order which not only coexists with their Muslim beliefs but is strengthened by them.
At the core of the Minangkabau matriarchy is the belief that...
1. Property is always passed down from mothers to their daughters
2. Men relocate to their wife's home upon marriage
This creates villages whose social order rests on the tight knit links between female relatives.
1. Property is always passed down from mothers to their daughters
2. Men relocate to their wife's home upon marriage
This creates villages whose social order rests on the tight knit links between female relatives.
Property is tightly associated with women and femininity. Men take pride in not expecting anything from their mother's home. Men who do demand their mother or wife's property are viewed as losers or thieves.
In more patriarchal Islamic cultures there is a smaller analogous view to the Minangkabau taboo on men and property.
In Iraq, forcing a woman to sell her gold was scandalous enough to warrant community intervention in a society that otherwise expected female submission.
In Iraq, forcing a woman to sell her gold was scandalous enough to warrant community intervention in a society that otherwise expected female submission.
Minangkabau matriarchy and the role of women are often seen as analogous to the cyclical nature of the rice crop, their staple crop.
In contrast to many patriarchal societies women are viewed as inherently stable and economical and young men are viewed as emotional and chaotic.
In contrast to many patriarchal societies women are viewed as inherently stable and economical and young men are viewed as emotional and chaotic.
The male role on the other hand was compared to the fern fron. Men were expected to be protective, provide supplementary income and mentor the young boys.
The Minangkabau have been Muslim for centuries and do not regard Islam, traditionally manifesting as a very patriarchal religion, as being contradictory to their matriarchy.
They have resisted external pressure to adopt a patrilineal system in the pre and post colonial era.
They have resisted external pressure to adopt a patrilineal system in the pre and post colonial era.
The main Islamic justification for matriarchy seems to revolve around Islamic teachings on the status and role of mothers and motherhood. Including the elevation of motherhood over fatherhood. Hence the emphasis on preserving mother-child relationships.
Source:
Women at the Center: Life in a Modern Matriarchy
by Peggy Reeves Sanday
Women at the Center: Life in a Modern Matriarchy
by Peggy Reeves Sanday
