Matrilineality, Women Power and the Matriarchs of Precolonial Southern Africa

In this chapter, we revisit African archives on matrilineality and sample matriarchs in Southern Africa. In matrilineal societies inheritance is by female lineage and the family lineage is traced through the female side so that children take their mother’s name. In addition, not knowing the father of a child does not carry the stigma it does in patrilineal societies since children belong to their mother’s household. Matriarchal societies are those headed by women with females holding the primary power positions in the control of politics, resources, and property. Although marriage is still important in matrilineal societies as much as it is in patrilineal societies, it is women who have agency of sex and their bodies. It is however important to note that simply being matrilineal does not imply being matriarchal as a society can be matrilineal without being matriarchal and vice versa. In this chapter, although we dedicate the first section on matrilineality and the distinction with matriarch thereof, the main focus is on the neglected matriarchs’ narratives of Southern Africa including Queen Anna de Sousa Nzinga of Angola, the spiritual prophetess and warrior Mbuya Nehanda Nyakasikana of Zimbabwe and prophetess ‘Mantsopa of Lesotho. In this chapter we chronicle the lives of these great Southern African matriarchs and their inspirational influence to modern day African feminism.