A
matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant (of either
sex) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are female. In a
matrilineal descent system (= uterine descent), an individual is considered to
belong to the same descent group as his or her mother. This is in contrast to
the more common pattern of patrilineal descent.
The
uterine ancestry of an individual is a person's pure female ancestry, i.e. a
matriline leading from a female ancestor to that individual.
In
some cultures, membership of a group is inherited matrilineal. For example, it
is traditionally said that one is a Jew if one's mother (rather than one's
father) is a Jew.
Orthodox
Judaism states that, to be a Jew, one must be either a proselyte or the child of
a Jewish mother. This ruling is based on the fact that intercourse between Jews
and non-Jews is forbidden, and any offspring resulting from such an act is
considered to have no paternity. It is not mentioned directly in the Bible, but
derives from the Oral law
(Mishnah tractate Kiddushin
3:12). The
Talmudic
commentary finds scriptural proof from various verses in the Torah and the rest
of Tanakh (the Jewish Bible).
A matrilineal line of descent of Jesus is given in Matthew 1;16
There
have been some theoretical ideas of ancient Egypt (cf Cleopatra VII of Egypt)
having applied matrilineal succession, but it was at least not constant nor
consistent. Usually in Egypt, a male Pharaoh succeeded another male Pharaoh, his
father, but the factor which produced results resembling matrilineality was that
among the sons of the dead Pharaoh, those sons who were born of the Great Royal
Wife, enjoyed preference. And the Great Royal Wife very typically was Pharaoh's
female relative, for example a sister or a niece, or even his own daughter.
The fact
that mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited enables matrilineal lines of
individuals to be traced through genetic analysis.