But the most odd part of Minangkabao is the fact that it’s matrilinear, meaning that family property is owned by the family mother, and only inherited by their daughters. We meet Yefri who explains how this works. The sons inherit nothing when the mother dies. Unmarried sons are forced to move out of the house, and the daughter’s family takes over the house and the farm. On the wall inside one house we see a map of a big family tree. But all the names on the map are female, men don’t count.
-Though when it comes to the real power in society, Yefri says, it’s still the men who decide. Though women may be present in assemblies and whisper their meaning, she says with a smile.