Europe Ancient Greece While men held positions of religious and political power, the Spartan constitution mandated that inheritance and proprietorship pass from mother to daughter.
Ancient Scotland In
Pictish society, succession in leadership (later kingship) was matrilineal (through the mother's side), with the reigning chief succeeded by either his brother or perhaps a nephew but not through patrilineal succession of father to son.
Asia The matrilineal succession is prevalent among many sects in
Asia. In
India, these include the
Marumakkathayam among the
Nair and
Malabar Muslims in
Kerala, the
Aliyasantana system among the
Tulu Bunts as well as the matrilineal traditions which exist among the
Khasi and
Garo of
Meghalaya. In Kerala, Marumakkathayam was practiced by the Nair nobility, certain
Nambudiri,
Ambalavasi and the
Malabar Muslims. Through this system, descent and the inheritance of property were passed from the maternal uncle to nephews or nieces. The right of the child was with the maternal uncle or the mother's family rather than the father or the father's family. Through this bloodline, surnames, titles, properties, and everything of the child are inherited from his maternal uncle or mother. Almost all the kingdoms in Kerala practised this system. The
Arakkal kingdom followed a similar matrilineal system of descent: the eldest member of the family, whether male or female, became its head and ruler; the male rulers were called
Ali Rajas and the female rulers were called as
Arakkal Beevis. Usually after one king, his nephew through his sister succeeded to the throne, and his own son receives a
courtesy title but has no place in the line of succession. In the absence of nephews, nieces could also succeed to the kingdom, as in the case of Queen
Gowri Lakshmi Bayi who was the queen regnant from 1810 to 1813. Since Indian Independence and the passing of several acts such as the
Hindu Succession Act (1956), this form of inheritance is no longer recognised by law. Regardless, the pretender to the
Travancore throne is still determined by matrilineal succession. One of the early dynasties of
China had similar practices. Historians postulate that there, a
father-in-law was typically succeeded by his son-in-law. However, this again is obviously not a female succeeding a female, but a form of succession by appointment: the monarch chose his successor, and formalized that appointment by marrying the chosen man with a royal daughter, which also worked as a way to legitimize the succession. Similar traditions exist among the
Minangkabau culture of
West Sumatra, the
Nakhi of China, the
Gitksan of
British Columbia, the
Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee), the
Hopi and the
Berbers.
Africa Some traditional kingdoms in Africa, such as
Kumbwada, Arnado Debbo, and
Luvale, has been only ruled by hereditary queens. The order of succession to the position of the
Rain Queen is an example in an
African culture of
matrilineal primogeniture: not only is
dynastic descent reckoned through the female line, but only females are eligible to inherit. The
Akans of
Ghana and the
Ivory Coast, in West Africa have similar matrilineal succession and as such
Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II,
Asantehene inherited the
Golden Stool (the throne) through his mother (the
Asantehemaa)
Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II. ==Consequences==