4.0 Indigenous System of Inheritance Indigenous System of Inheritance

4.
0 INDIGENOUS SYSTEM OF INHERITANCE

INDIGENOUS SYSTEM OF INHERITANCE
4.1 Malawi Family Forms and Structures:
4.1.1 Patriarchal,
 It is a social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles
of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
 It affects many aspects of life, from political leadership, business management,
religious institutions, economic systems and property ownership, right down to
the family home where men are considered to be the head of the household.
 Patriarchy arose partly from the practice of intertribal exchanges of women for
marriage ''in which women acquiesced because it was functional for the tribe.
 Patriarchy produces gender inequality, but its consequences run deeper than
gender inequality. Violence against women is considered as a private matter that
should be dealt with privately within the family or relationship
 In Malawi, the Sena, Tumbuka, Ngoni from Mzimba, Nkhonde, Tonga and tribes
in Chitipa are all regarded as patriarchal societies.
4.1.2 Matriarchal
 A form of social organization in which the mother or oldest female is the head
of the family, and descent and relationship are reckoned through the female
line.
 In this social system females hold the primary power positions in roles of
political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
 Looking back at the history, one finds that women were revered and honoured
for their ability to bear children. Even in the Greek epic, the pages are teeming
with goddesses and female warriors, elevated to a position of worship and
respect.
 But over the course of history, societies across the globe started to bend towards
a more patriarchal structure, which is pervasive in most communities in modern
times.
 However, there are still surviving matriarchal societies to be found where
women, literally, are the dominant steering factor in all matters, social, political,
and economical.
 In Malawi Lhomwe, Yao, Maseko Ngoni, Chewa are regarded as matriarchal
societies.
4.2 Indigenous system of inheritance

 Indigenous system of inheritance are traditional customs where property is
passed on from the parent to the children.
 Some ancient societies and most modern states employ egalitarian inheritance,
without discrimination based on gender and/or birth order.
 This inheritance can be on land, movable property or other sources of
inheritance.
 Patrilineal primogeniture, where the eldest son inherits, is customary among
many cultures around the world.
 Patrilineal ultimogeniture, where the youngest son inherits, is customary among
a number of cultures.
 In some societies, there is no clearly prevalent inheritance pattern, while others
gave their land to the one considered best qualified, though they have a
preference for sons.
 Giving more or less equal shares of land to sons, but excluding daughters is also
common in many populations, as is giving relatively equal shares to both sons
and daughters or slightly less to daughters.
4.3 Indigenous Systems of Land Tenure

Land inheritance customs greatly vary across cultures.
The Ethnographic Atlas gives the following data regarding land distribution:
primogeniture predominates in 247 societies, while ultimogeniture prevails in 16.
In 19 societies land is exclusively or predominantly given to the one adjudged best
qualified, while equality predominates in 301 societies. Regarding land inheritance
rules, in 340 societies sons inherit, in 90 other patrilineal heirs (such as brothers), in
31 sister's sons, in 60 other matrilineal heirs (such as daughters or brothers), and in
98 all children. In 43 societies land is given to all children, but daughters receive
less. In 472 societies, the distribution of inherited land follows no clear rules or
information is missing, while in 436 societies inheritance rules for real property do
not exist or data is missing; this is partly because there are many societies where
there is little or no land to inherit, such as in hunter-gatherer, pastoral societies or
societies.
Patrilineal primogeniture, where the eldest son inherits, was customary among
many cultures around the world. Patrilineal ultimogeniture, where the youngest son
inherits, was customary among a number of cultures.

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4.

0 INDIGENOUS SYSTEM OF INHERITANCE

4.2 Indigenous system of inheritance

4.3 Indigenous Systems of Land Tenure

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