Adat perpatih

It was founded by a Minangkabau leader named Sutan Balun, more famously known as Dato Perpatih Nan Sebatang.

Their culture is matrilineal and patriarchal, with property and land passing down from mother to daughter, while religious and political affairs are the responsibility of men.

That means, however poor an Adat Perpatih woman may be, she will never have to sell her dignity to earn a living.

This custom follows the Islamic obligation that Muslim men have to provide shelter and basic welfare of their divorced female relatives and their children.

Adat perpatih is similar to Oceanian matrilineal inheritance in the sense that both systems practise inalienable possessions.