“Mother and Child”; Autonomous Region of Bougainvile; December 2012
This image, my favorite amongst my Bougainville portraits, made me think of the unusual role this mother and daughter play in the family. Almost all the clans in Bougainville are matriarchal. Intrigued by this unfamiliar practice, I had to ask a Bougainvillean woman colleague how it works and she summed it up like this: ”Mothers hold an important leadership role, not only in the family but also within the clan, especially when it comes to rights and ownership over ancestral lands. Clan land has to be under the name and discretion of the clan’s woman elder. Only female children are entitled to inheritance. Men and boys may use the land to prosper the family but the ownership remains under the name of a woman.” I truly wonder about the advantages and disadvantages of this arrangement compared to those practiced in patriarchal societies. What is its impact in terms of empowering women in the society?