In pre-colonial Yoruba society in West Africa, kinship was organized around patrilineal descent, meaning lineage and inheritance were traced through the father's line. Despite this structure, Yoruba women maintained significant economic independence and social authority. Which of the following historical features of Yoruba society best explains how women maintained this autonomy?
- AThe widespread adoption of a single, uniform matrilineal system across all West African ethnic groups to support women's trade.
- Their active leadership in autonomous market guilds and control over their own trade profits.Answer
- CA belief system that designated women as the sole spiritual custodians of land, thereby preventing men from inheriting family property.
- DThe adoption of early European colonial legal frameworks that granted women complete property rights over their husbands' compounds.
Answer
Their active leadership in autonomous market guilds and control over their own trade profits.
The correct answer is correct because pre-colonial Yoruba society, while tracing lineage and inheritance patrilineally, featured a parallel social structure that granted women significant autonomy. Women dominated local trade and established self-governing market guilds, retaining individual ownership of their earnings, which allowed them to wield substantial political and social influence.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Kinship, Gender, and Family Structures in Pre-colonial Africa
Hints
1
Consider the difference between family descent rules (how lineage is traced) and economic systems (how trade and wealth are managed).
Estimated Time:1m 0s