Women at the Center: Life in a Modern Matriarchy
"This is an accessible study delivering vivid and personal descriptions of the importance of women to the everyday workings of Minang life."—Maila Stivens, University of Melbourne, The Australian Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2004"Women at the Center is an argument against the polarizations implicit in the old studies of power and gender. The Minangkabau, Sanday shows us, have thrown out polarity and subjugation and brought in a society modeled on 'conjugation.' What makes them so remarkable is that they are at once wholly, authentically matriarchal and also determinedly Islamic."—Women's Review of Books, October 2002"In this densely detailed and painstakingly researched book, Sanday makes no bones about her contention that the Minangkabau are truly a living—and thriving—matriarchal society. . . Women at the Center deserves to be read and studied widely for bringing something breathtakingly new and exciting to the forefront of anthropology and gender studies."—Silja J.A. Talvi, The Santa Fe New Mexican, 29 December 2002"This fascinating, richly documented work is an invaluable contribution not only to anthropology but to a better understanding of human possibilities. It dispels the notion that society always has been and always will be male dominated. It shows that societies where women have power are not mirror images of patriarchy but societies where both women and men benefit from an ethos of peace and accommodation The importance of these findings cannot be overemphasized in a world where relations based on domination rather than partnership threaten us, our children, and our future."—Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and The Blade and The Power of Partnership"Peggy Sanday has long been a dissenting voice in the debates about the universality of male dominance. This pioneering feminist anthropologist now gives substance to her arguments, redefining matriarchy and revealing the power of maternal symbols through an accessible ethnography of a famous matrilineal community."—Lila Abu-Lughod, Anthropology and Women's Studies, Columbia University