Negeri Sembilan

Negeri Sembilan is a matrilineal society. Adat Perpatih is the practice of this matrilineal way of life. The domestic unit was traditionally the community house, in which a head woman, her sisters, their daughters, and their children lived. In early history several of these houses made up the clan, within which no marriage was allowed. Several clans made up a government consisting of a male representive from each house. Rice is the main form of subsistence in Negeri Sembilan. Not only is rice the basic source of food, but the cultivation affects the matrilineal society as well. Land is owned by the wife and passed on to her daughters.

The man's role in the buying and selling of land is restricted by his duty to his wife and her kin. If a man buys land he cannot register it in his own name without seeming to be planning to divorce his wife. He is also obliged to provide a portion of the land for his daughter on marriage. This system of matrilocality causes very little tension because rice growing is considered a woman's task. There is no desire to grow more rice than needed for food. For most families rice is not something planned for and relied on because of its unpredictability. The cash crops in Negeri Sembilan are fruit and rubber. Both products are sold to the Chinese to make an income. In the late 1800's, tin was a major production and lured many immigrants and the British. Today, only a few declining tin mines can be found throughout the western valleys and along the coast.