The Implementation of Low-Inheritance Customary Law Within Minangkabau Migrant Families in Indonesia: A Law,Power,Space Approach

Abstract

The Minangkabau tribe is an Indonesian ethnic group from West Sumatra, Indonesia, and one whose complex social structure is traditionally based on a matrilineal kinship system. Due to increasing economic pressure and the implications of their matrilineal kinship system on the lives and expectations of males, many of their young people migrate to other parts of Indonesia. Over time, Minangkabau beliefs and practices have been challenged and reshaped by that migration. This study thus aims to understand how and why Minangkabau migrant families have increasingly implemented a form “low” (individual) inheritance as opposed to “high” or collective matrilineal-based inheritance. Based on the interviews with Minangkabau families in Semarang City, Central Java, and with data compared with that obtained from previous studies, the study shows that the implementation of low-inheritance customary law depends on the attribution of “power” or status, knowledge of the (customary inheritance) law, and the new social spaces within which family members find themselves.

Keywords

customary law gender inheritance law-power-space Minangkabau

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