Societies Where Women Rule

A collection of books created by teachers and students all about women's history.

Women's History

The name of this matriarchy is Zapotec. They live near the valleys of Oaxaca, in Mexico. The city of Monte Alban was its most important settlement. It&#8217;s civilation developed in 800 D.c. In the civilization there is 400.000 people. Zapotec women control the economy of their homes, marriage, maternity and work.

The men go to fish and collet fruits. For the Zapotecs, the Day of the Dead is not a day of horrendous masks, for them it is a day to remember those who died. It is a day of solidarity in which they help prepare an altar for the dead and await them on October 30th and 31st.

By Helena L&#243;pez, Laura G&#225;lvez, Adri&#225;n C&#225;rdenas and Jos&#233; Mar&#237;a Lobato.

An important tradition in Iceland is &#8220;B&#243;nda og Konudagur&#8221; day. Women give gifts to any important men in their life. This is the husband&#8217;s day. In this day the wife cooks traditional food for him. They have traditional food too. H&#225;karl is a traditional dish in Iceland. Shark meat has been cured with a particular fermenting process, then hung outside to dry for four to five months. It has a very strong ammonia smell and a distinctive fishy taste. This society began to be feminism 43 years ago, in 1975. The women decided to leave their formal and informal works, striked and the country stopped to work this day. This happened because women made 60% less than men in the same workplace. Women left their work when they had earned the same amount of money as men. Because they didn&#8217;t have the same average rate as men. It was by 14:05. Now women&#8217;s equality is literally protected by law. They have the best parental leave policy in the world, equal pay for equal work and paying for sex and the stripclubs are illegal.

Iceland is the most feminist country in the world. In Iceland women&#8217;s rights are protected both socially and legally. It is one of the many countries where feminism is very important. The policy is that women and men have the same role. Here men do the same as women, but sometimes they are less in the politics while women have greater positions. Definitely Iceland is one of the best places to be a woman.

By Alejandro Castillo Delgado, Maria Al&#233;s Gonz&#225;lez , Nia Santamarina Rego, Greta Ozdzinska Kozubek

FThe Nagovisi are one of 3 tribes of South Bougainville, a large tropical island of New Guinea and north of Australia. The matriarchy is centuries years old and the population is about 70000. Food production is the basis of all wealth, and women dominate in it. They cultivate sweet potatoes and other food stuff, and they work in their gardens 3 times a week. Every adult woman has the right to use some of her descent&#8217;s land for food gardens and to transfer to her daughters.&#160; Nagovisi women share leadership with men in a strong matrilineage system having political functions, with women playing significant roles in decision making and ceremonialism.&#160; Men are dependent on women&#8217;s cultivation for food. They only help women in heavy tasks like clearing the land for a new garden. And their help is not always necessary.

In Nagovisi marriage is not institutionalized. If a couple is seen together, sleeps together, and the man helps the woman in her garden they are considered married. There is a tradition that shared garden labour is almost as important in a marriage as shared sexuality. If there is any discussion in the couple, the man will stop eating from his wife&#8217;s garden. Then, usually is required a conciliatory act. A refusal to eat anything from the garden would mean divorce. Nagovisi is a society where the women aren&#8217;t under the oppressive control of men, they can own property and exercise their rights over it freely, and they can enjoy their work, even when it is not an exciting career.

By Violeta Serena, Pablo Cabrera y Ana Camila.

Libro realizado en la asignatura de ingl&#233;s dentro del proyecto ABP interdisciplinar #trendelaigualdad . Thank you!

The name of our matriarchy is Nashira and it is located in Northern Colombia. This town was funded in 2011, so it is 7 years old. The role of the women in the town is directing this. They have all responsibilities of Nashira. In this town there aren&#8217;t men because this town was built to escape of wars and domestic violence. The project of the society was established with a grant from the Douglas Dolmetsch foundation. Other set up costs were provided by the Colombian Government Social Housing Programme.

By M&#170; Inmaculada Ruiz Mart&#237;n, Mar&#237;a Jaime Mu&#241;oz, Elena Aranda Garc&#237;a y Juan Camilo Tenorio Palacios.

In Nashira there are 88 houses built by the women that live there. Houses are constructed from recycled materials and it took the women 1,200 hours to build. Their houses have a free rent and they have fresh clean water from a large aqueduct.

They have"The rooster" as a symbol which is the symbol of the morning that marks a new beginning and a new dawn. The traditional suit of man is the Jymphong, and the traditional feminine costume is the Jainsem or Dhara.

Their names are Kashi, Garo and Jaintia. They are 3 tribes. The matriarchy so it&#8217;s located in Meghalaya hills, northest of India, in Asia.

It is 24 years old. It began in 1994, because the girl is who continues with the heritage and the descendent.

Khasi custom dictates that the youngest daughter inherits, that the children bear the surname of the mother, and once married, it is the man who lives in the house of their mother-in-law. 

Women have the heritage rights within the family, those who take care of the clan and those who maintain the good name of the lineage.

The sons receive nothing from their parents, although if they have problems throughout their lives, it is their sisters who will have to help them.

The men govern the society and manage the society. Once married, the husband lives in his wife&#8217;s house.

Not only they are well respected in their culture, but they can also marry for love. That contempt for them is considered a damage to society itself. 

Their religion is called Ka Niam Khasi. The main crops produced are: betel leaf, areca nut, oranges, local rice, vegetables, etc.

By: Julia, Alejandro &#193;lvarez, Cinthya and Paula 

No matter how many times the woman marries, her children will always remain with her.

It is a nomadic tribe that lives in the deserts of Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Central African Republic. It is in central Africa. They have a competition which is not for the women, but for the nomadic group herders. They say that they are the vainest and most beautiful people on earth. Wodaabe people speak the Fula language, but they don&#8217;t read or write, and the religion is predominantly Islamic and they try to learn Muhammad. The Wodaabe lived in grass huts, more and more the members are adapting to modern lifestyles and living inside camping tents because they are nomadic.

Women have more sexual freedom, the may sleep with two men before the marriage. When a Wodaabe boy turns 15 he officially becomes a man. He&#8217;ll start working to make more attractive himself to please women. Wodaabe tribe men put on a spectacular show to impress the tribe's women who can take them as their husband.

By: Claudia Carvajal, Mari Carmen L&#243;pez, Alba Galvez, Paula S. y David del Pino.

Minangkabau community is on West Sumatra (Indonesia). There are some evidences that prove that this culture exits from 500 a.C. to the present. In this culture, women are in charge of transmit &#8220;Adat&#8221;. Adat is a culture of union of Islam, Hinduism and its local traditions. Adat has Hindu&#8217;s influence, and it is previous to Islam. The men of the island are the representative of their culture. They are elected by women only.

Minangkabau society has a lot of customs, but, their principal is the counsel. If a woman has a problem, she tells the leader of the county to find a solution. The leader gathers women of all the county to debate about the possible solutions. Another important tradition is the wedding ceremony. In this day, the partner sits together on the same chair. That act is very symbolic: it means that they are body and soul for this culture. Minangkabau has laws too. Their principal laws are: - The husband must move to her wife&#8217;s house after the wedding. - Women transmit Adat. - They are matrilineal society. - Women have the responsibility of their children&#8217;s education and their care. - The political representative are men, but they are always elected by women.

By: M&#170;&#193;ngeles Porras Villalba and Daniel Blanca Mart&#237;n. 

The brisbris are a matriarchy in Costa Rica which was discovered in 1857 and the actual population is about 10000 people. The woman leads the family and she is the authorized for the rituals and the special things and defends the country and the men only fish and medicate.&#160;

By Iliam, Cristian, Marta Garc&#237;a y Juan Antonio Contreras.

The traditional things are ceremonies songs where they disguise themselves , and they make jokes and this is all.

Click on the map. By Alba G&#225;lvez 4&#186;C

The Khasi are located in the northeast of India in Meghalaya. It has a lot of antiquity. It has about a thousand inhabitants.&#160; Women are responsible for creating the laws and participate in major household decisions.&#160; Men have a role to collaborate in the decisions or in the goods received by the family. Their male ancestors stayed away from their homes for long periods of time fighting. They must protect women, and those who, in turn, must support them.&#160;

Women are the ones who inherit the surname from their children. Khasi custom dictates that the youngest daughter inherit, that the children bear the surname of the mother, and once married, it is the men who live in the mother-in-law's house. The youngest daughter will be the one who inherits patriarchy. Women can not make a final decision without the consent of men.

By Andrea Campos, Celia Moreno y Rafael Castro.

The name of this matriarchy is Minangkabau of Sumatra. The island is in Indian Ocean. Minangkabau of Sumatra have 4 million people. In Sumatra, women are respected for their wisdom and their contribution to society, they have jobs like politicians, economist etc.

The Minangkabau of Sumatra have a dance and songs typical of Sumatra and they use it for celebrations. The typical dress for women is a dress with pearls and a crown that weighs various kilograms.

The name of the matriarchy is Kihnu and it is on an island in Estonia. It is 2000 , years old and the women&#8217;s responsabilities are with the kids, house, economy and cooking and the men&#8217;s responsabilities are fishing and hunt seals, this is the only responsabiliy of the men. They have songs and dances that are traditions. There also they make all manual because they don&#8217;t have any technology and if you are young you wear redder clothes than if you are old which is another custom of Kihnu.

The women of Kihnu have a very important role because they manage the island. They entrust to keep the customs and traditions like games, dances, songs. They are the guardians of the island and the houses. This is for a long time ago exactly 2000 years ago. Unlike women, men don't wear their national costumes in everyday life. The men in this tribe are not really very important the women take care of everything. It is good to demonstrate everything that women can do but there should be more equality between the two.

&#160;By Cristian L&#243;pez, Iv&#225;n Carrillo y Gisela Ru&#237;z

It is about Kihnu, with only 700 inhabitants distributed in 4 villages. This clan is in Estonia, on an island in the Baltic Sea.&#160; The cultural space of Kihnu was proclaimed in 2003 and inscribed in 2008 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Over the years, Kihnu's men have spent much of their time at sea and have left women in charge of island affairs.

By Paola Aranda, Claudia Lebr&#243;n y Chema Domenech.

As a result, the women of Kihnu have become the guardians and cultivators of the island's cultural traditions, such as crafts, dances, games and music. Unlike men, women wear their national costumes in everyday life. So it is very normal to see an old woman dressed in traditional clothes driving a motorcycle or a tractor.

Mosuo is located in China, near the Tibet. Mosuo is more than 2000 years old. Mosuo clothes are traditional Chinese clothes. Mosuo culture is principally agrarian.&#160; Their houses have 2 or 3 floors, the first floor contains the kitchen, living room, etc..., and the second floor is for bedrooms.&#160;

Their food is refrigerated, Mosuo couples make &#8221;love visits&#8221;. Women are in charge of finances and housework. Men make political decisions, they go fishing and raise their nephews.

By Jes&#250;s Vera, Erika Ballesteros, Blanca Bueno y Liliya Ivova

Welcome to our book. Inside of it you are going to discover a different world: societies where women rule. We are a group of students of Secondary School Cartima (Cártama, Málaga, Spain) who are doing a project called “Train to gender equality”. It involves the whole school. In grade 4ºESO we are working on different societies where women rule to show everyone that this lifestyle really exists even nowadays. We hope you can learn and enjoy reading our book. We made it with much love and dedication to give visibility to these less known cultures and really precious for their inhabitants. It’s been a great experience!

The Mosuo live in the region that was separated from the rest of the world until the 1970s of Yongning and Lake Lugu (south-west China). With 2,000 years of matriarchy. The isolation of the Lake Lugu region (located in the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan in eastern Tibet). The family group is made up of a woman, her children, her mother, her brothers, her sisters and the children of those same sisters.There is no such thing as marriage. The Mosuo man has two roles to play: that of uncle in his own clan, and that of father in the family of the woman he loves, where he is not free to do what he wants.

Ceremony ritual of coming of age to 13-year-old girls.1st day of the Chinese lunar New Year.Girls get a private bedroom.They can choose their sexual partners and start itinerant marriage.

By Ismael Bravo S&#225;nchez, Estefania Villarraga P&#233;rez , Sara Martos.

The name is The Bribris, the matriarchy is located in Costa Rica. It started approximately 561 years ago because they wanted the culture to change due to increased contact with outside influences and technologies. The women&#8217;s responsibilities are sacred rituals and they are guardians of the heritage. The men&#8217;s responsibilities are work in the field and help the woman to cook.

Today there are about 10,000 bribris people living in the southern region of Costa Rica, where part of the Bribri language they speak Spanish. They have cocoa and banana as their main foods to make rituals for the Gods.

By: Luc&#237;a Garrido, Paula Erazo, Ra&#250;l S&#225;nchez and Yeray Moreno

The Bribris are indigenous people of Costa Rica, where woman are in command, so it&#8217;s a matriarchy. This tribe has 2 colonies, one in Costa Rica and another in Panama. The Bribris developed toward the end of the nineteenth century. They speak: Bribri language and Spanish. They are independent and self-sufficient.

Nowadays, the place has more of 10.000 residents approximately, the economic state is quite low, but they have good agriculture and they are dedicated to cacao, bananas and corn. 

By: Alba Roca, Daniel G&#243;mez, Gisela Torres and Francisco Mart&#237;n 

Women&#8217;s responsibilities are basically everything, there are very men and so, they need to do gathering, caring for their children, educating, work hard for the town, etc. You likely never see a man around.

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