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Text File  |  1992-09-03  |  429b  |  11 lines
  1. A form of social organization in which women
  2. head the family, and descent and relationship
  3. are reckoned through the female line.
  4. Matriarchy, often associated with polyandry
  5. (one wife with several husbands), occurs in
  6. certain parts of India, in the South Pacific,
  7. Central Africa, and among some North American
  8. Indian peoples. In matrilineal societies,
  9. powerful positions are usually held by men
  10. but acceded to through female kin.
  11.