Matrilineality
Matrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's mother's lineage.
It may also involve the
inheritance of property or titles through the female line. However, the latter does not always hold; in some societies, titles or property went to the male
heir(s) of the nearest female
relative. (Basically, two such forms are: 1. from uncle to nephew, and 2. from grandfather to grandson.)
A
matriline is a
line of descent from a
female ancestor to a
descendant (of either
sex) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are
female. In a matrilineal
descent system (= uterine descent), an individual is considered to belong to the same
descent group as his or her mother. This is in contrast to the more common pattern of
patrilineal descent.
The
uterine ancestry of an individual is a person's pure female ancestry, i.e. a matriline leading from a female ancestor to that individual.
On inheritance by matrilineal kinship (= uterine kinship), see
matrilineal succession.
In some cultures, membership of a group is inherited matrilineally. For example,
Jewish law holds that one is a
Jew if one's mother (rather than one's father) is a Jew.
Other examples of matrilineal cultures are the
Minangkabau culture of
West Sumatra, the
Nairs and
Kurichiyas of
Kerala,
India, the
Khasi and
Garo of
Meghalaya,
India, the
Naxi of
China, and the
Gitksan of
British Columbia.
In the ancient kingdom of
Elam, the succession to the throne was matrilineal, and a nephew would succeed his maternal uncle to the throne.
The fact that
mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited enables matrilineal lines of individuals to be traced through genetic analysis.
Orthodox Judaism states that, to be a Jew, one must be either a
proselyte or the child of a Jewish mother. This ruling is not mentioned directly in the Bible, but derives from the
Oral law (
Mishnah tractate Kiddushin 3:12). The Talmudic commentary finds scriptural proof from various verses in the
Torah and the rest of
Tanakh (the Jewish Bible).
Historians have cast doubt on the claim that Judaism has always been matrilineal. Indeed, there are several instances in the Bible where Jewish men marry gentile women without direct mention of the women converting. (The standard view among historians seems to be that the very notion of conversion with a
mikvah is postbiblical.) Apparently the offspring of such unions was considered to be Jewish; the
Book of Ruth seems to claim such ancestry for King David himself; however, the
Talmud (Yevamoth 47b) asserts that Ruth was a convert to Judaism, and derives the laws of proselytes from the exchange between Naomi and Ruth. Even if Ruth was not a Jewess, it would not affect the Jewishness of King David, as that would only depend upon whether his mother was Jewish, whereas Ruth was King David's paternal great-grandmother.
Flavius Josephus refers to marriages betweenJewish men and Gentile women without much commentary, and seemsto assume that the offspring is Jewish (or, according to oneof his statements, "
half-Jewish") (
Antiquities of the Jews 16.225, 18.109, 18.139, 18.141, 14.8-10, 14.121, 14.403); as is usual in prerabbinic texts, there is no mentionof conversion on the part of the Gentile spouse. On the other hand, [[Philo | Philo ofAlexandria]] calls the child of a Jew and a non-Jew a nothos (bastard),regardless of whether the non-Jewish parent is the father orthe mother (
On the Life of Moses 2.36.193,
On the Virtues 40.224,
On the Life of Moses 1.27.147).
The view of matrilineal descent as originating at the time of Yavneh is openly held by scholars affiliated withthe
Conservative movement. At the same time,matrilineal descent is the norm in Conservative halakha; if a Conservative synagogueaccepts patrilineal descent ritually, it is generally expelled from the movement.On the other hand, polls conducted by the Conservative movement show that 68% of all regularattendants to Conservative synagogues support patrilineal descent.
Reform Judaism in the U.S. officially adopted a bilineal policy in 1983: one is a Jew if either of one's parents is Jewish, provided that either (a) one is raised as a Jew, by Reform standards, or (b) one engages in an appropriate act of public identification. This declaration formalized what had been Reform policy in practice for at least a generation. Clause (b) has been generallyinterpreted as making any form of public self-identification sufficient, though some congregations may make more formal requirements - especially if the individual in question has been raised as a Christian.
Other movements within the World Union for Progressive Judaism have adopted essentially the same position as U.S. Reform Judaism. These include: Liberal Judaism in England; Reconstructionist Judaism in the US, Canada and elsewhere; Progressive Judaism in Australia; one congregation in Austria; some congregations in Eastern Europe. Note that Reform Judaism in Canada and England adopts a different position, closer to the Orthodox one, at least in some congregations.
Many secular and non-religious Jews in America, Israel and elsewhere adopt a bilineal view similar to that detailed above. In
Israel, the status quo is that the Orthodox definition is followed: the child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother may immigrate to Israel (and may claim rights under the
Law of Return), but will be registered in official documents as a non-Jew. The consequences are various: he/she may not be wedded inside the state to anybody considered to be officially a Jew, and he/she may not be buried in a military cemetery if he/she dies in battle.
Priesthood in Judaism (
Kohen status) is inherited patrilineally; the same applies to membership of the tribes (e.g.
Levi) and royalty (
Davidic line).
South Indian society was matrilineal for greater part of the history. In fact, the regions of
Kerala and coastal
Karnataka(also known as,
Tulu Nadu) were matrilineal until 20th century. However, almost all of
Andhra Pradesh and with few exceptions,
Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu were patriarchal since known history. Except for few religious observances, the system is dead even in its traditional regions.
While
Indo-European peoples are mainly patriarchal and patrilinear, certain ancient myths have been shown to expose ancient traces of matrilineal customs. Namely, the fact that while the royal function was a male privilege, power devolution came through women, and the future king inherited power through marrying the Queen heiress.
This is illustrated in the
Homeric myths where all the noblest men in Greece vie for the hand of
Helen (and the throne of
Sparta ). This trend is also evident in many
Celtic myths, such as the (Welsh) mabinogi of
Culhwch and Olwen, or the (Irish)
Ulster Cycle, most notably the key facts to the
Cúchulainn cycle that Cúchulainn gets his final secret training with a warrior woman,
Scáthach, and becomes lover to both her and her daughter; and the root of the
Táin Bó Cuailnge, that while
Ailill may wear the crown of
Connacht, it is his wife
Medb who is the real power, and she needs to affirm her equality to her husband by owning chattels as great as he does. A number of other
Breton stories also illustrate the motif, and even the
Arthurian legends have been interpreted in this light by some.
*
Patrilineality*
Paternal mtDNA transmission*
The origin of Matrilineal Descent in Judaism*
Why is Judaism passed on through the mother? (torah.org)
