In India, these include the Marumakkathayam among the Nair and Malabar Muslims in Kerala, the Aliyasantana system among the Tuluva, as well as the matrilineal traditions which exist among the Khasi and Garo of Meghalaya.
In Kerala, southern India, a custom known as Marumakkathayam was practiced by the Nair nobility, the Malabar Muslims and royal families.
Usually after one king, his nephew through his sister succeeded to the throne, and his own son receives a courtesy title but has no place in the line of succession.
Similar traditions exist among the Minangkabau culture of West Sumatra, the Nakhi of China, the Gitksan of British Columbia, the Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee), the Hopi and the Berbers.
For example, the man who would have the formal responsibilities that Western cultures assign to a father would be a boy's mother's brother, since he is the closest elder male kinsman.