"Matrimoine" the female heritage ! Why is this word so little used?

As I write this article, the word "Matrimoine" in french with means female heritage appears in error, underlined in red.

Same when I write an email or in a word document, the automatic corrector offers me the word heritage instead!

It is on this reflection of making this word invisible that I began the TEDx which I gave in 2023.

What is the difference between "Matrimoine" and "Patrimoine" words (male heritage)?

Historically, and since at least the Middle Ages, "Matrimoine"' designates property inherited by the mother while "Patrimoine' designates those inherited from the father, which is quite logical.

Then over time the word heritage became omnipresent until the institutionalization of its protection through UNESCO:

“Patrimoine' is the legacy of the past that we enjoy today and that we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are two irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. (UNESCO, 2008)

We are talking about cultural, natural, tangible or intangible heritage, heritage of historical monuments, industrial heritage, linguistic heritage,

And how do we translate that into English?

When reading the English subtitles of my TEDx to check that the message remained coherent, what a surprise to discover that the words "Matrimoine" and "Patrimoine" had been translated in the same way with the word "heritage"!

I double-checked the translation with google translate and native English speakers, and it's still vague: "matrimony".

With this word "heritage" used in English as a translation for both women heritage and men heritage, it's as if my TEDx had lost all its meaning by simple translation.

It also makes us think about people who wish to study a culture other than their own, based solely on reported and translated facts, between the language barrier and socio-cultural codes to study in detail.

Amazigh heritage

In my journey of reconnecting with my Amazigh roots, my models naturally turned to the women of my family, of my tribe, but also to artists and activists such as Aïcha Tachinouite, Fatima Tabaamrant, Taous Amrouche, Tassadit Yacine...

The ancients have carried and transmitted our cultures over the centuries with authenticity and involvement, all orally, without any written trace, being the guarantors and leaders of the transmission of many characteristics of Amazigh culture.

And it remains fascinating that we are still the heirs in 2024!

However, public opinion sees us differently.

The orientalism conveyed during colonization (see upcoming article) largely contributed to exoticize and eroticize through propaganda of our ancestors as being submissive, uneducated, lascivious, wild and “easy” women.

The complete opposite of what I observed among the “elders” of my tribe.

These women were often widows, educated many children in precarious conditions, worked in the fields or in crafts and continued to transmit despite episodes of famine, war and colonization.

The threat of the end of transmission with the end of the tribal system?

The particularity is that this system of Amazigh matriarchy has been largely preserved via the foundation of the tribal system. Certain characteristics protected them, such as marrying young with a person from the same tribe to preserve traditions, transmissions, wealth, lands and rituals.

Women of many tribes had the right to divorce if things were not going well in their marriage or if the man could not have children, to remarry. There have even been cases where a young girl was "promised" to a much younger boy to ensure an inheritance and standard of living for the woman.

The woman's "booklet A" and her financial autonomy were made up of jewelry, pieces that she had at her disposal since her marriage and that she could use as she saw fit.

However, people are now marrying less and less between members of the same tribe, which can be understood with the rural exodus, migratory movements, and the difficulties of living comfortably, working and studying in one's lands of origin.

Women study more, work, manage a household and a busy social life, in the country of origin or abroad within a diasporic community.

How to preserve Amazigh heritage?

• How then can we master all aspects of Amazigh culture while being uprooted, in the midst of changes to our way of life and transmission?

• Are we the last witnesses of the ancestral way of life and transmission before the phenomenal impact of new technologies and social networks?

• How women can both reconnect with their heritage and then transmit it with authenticity: should we try to imitate our old ones even if we no longer have the same way of life via rituals or should we create new modes of transmission in line with our contemporary lifestyles?

• How to react to cultural appropriation and the exoticization of our cultures by people who are not Amazigh? Do we have the tools to protect everything?

• Should Amazigh heritage be supported, accompanied and financed by the governments of the Amazigh peoples and foundations to maintain the safeguarding of oral transmission?

So many questions to raise and raise awareness as an Amazigh woman who carries on her shoulders the heavy responsibility of not breaking the chain of transmission and representation established for centuries...

And you, how do you plan to preserve Amazigh women heritage?

Raissa Leï