Matrifocality

From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project

'Matrifocality' refers to the kinship structure of a social system where the mother assumes structural prominence. Most anthropologists distinguish this from matriarchy. Matrifocality occurs when maternal authority is prominent in domestic relations, owing to the husband joining the wife's family, rather than the wife moving to the husband's village or tribe, such that she is supported by her extended family, and husbands tend to be more socially isolated.