MA'TRIARICHATE (from Lat. mater, Gk. Frijrap, miler, mother ± apx6s, archos, ruler, from apxetv, arehein, to rule). Any social group, as a fancily, a clan, or a tribe, ruled by a woman or by women. The term has been used in eth nology sime the publication in 1865 of Bach ofen's Das Mutterrecht, in which it was shown that in all races there exist survivals of a met ronymic period when children took the mother's mince, instead of the father's 7111111(., and when property also descended in the female line. Such a system is still in full force among the North American Indians, and has been caretully described by Morgan in his League of the Iro quois in 1549. As an existing system it may even now be observed among the Damaras of South Africa, the Congo tribes of West Africa, the in land negrees, the Kasias of Bengal. the Tahiti ans and Tommns. of Polynesia, and the llovas of Madagascar. This system, however, is in fact only metronymic, and everywhere falls short of being matriarehal. There is no proof that mankind has passed through a stage of elan or tribal rule by women. although in his account of the Iroquois Long House Slorgan presents It picture of a rigorous control of domestic affairs by a matron. ;Nioreover, in the Iroquois elan a
position of importance and respect was aecowded to women. lin voted in the council of the elan, on equal terms with men. In various Afri can and tribes women have held the most exalted position. that of queen of a tribal confederacy. This. however. was no sueh 'matri archy' as was at one time imagined Icy gists disposed to believe that a patriarehal sys tem had been preemie(' Icy one in which relative importance was as great as that of man at a later time beeame. More complete investi gations have shown that under meIroccyaie organization it is not the wife and mother who exercises an authority over children which the husband does not possess. The authority really lies in the hands of the woman's nearest male kinsmen, that is, her brothers. or her maternal nudes. These mule kinsmen even exercise an thority over husbands who have come to live among them. Consult: Westermarck, The His tory of 11u-man Marriage (New York, 1894) ; Letourneau, The Evolution of Marriage (ib., 1891) ; Bachofen, Dos Mutterrecht (Stuttgart, 1861 ) ; Da rgun, Muttcrrceht and Rambehe ( Bres lau, 1883).