The Position of Daughters in the Inheritance of Wealth in the Nias Community, Somambawa District, South Nias Regency

Abstract

This study examines the position of daughters in inheritance of wealth in the Nias community in Somambawa District, South Nias Regency, North Sumatra Province. In the Nias customary law tradition, inheritance adheres to a patrilineal system, where inheritance rights are drawn only from the paternal line so that sons are fully entitled to the inheritance of their parents, while daughters in principle do not receive a share. This situation differs from the provisions of civil law (BW), which places men and women in equal positions as heirs. The purpose of this study is to determine the implementation of inheritance distribution in the Somambawa community, analyse the position of daughters in the Nias customary inheritance system, and identify the factors behind the community's continued adherence to this custom. The research method used is a sociological-juridical descriptive method through direct interviews with respondents determined by purposive sampling. The results of the study indicate that the Somambawa community prefers to use Nias customary law over civil law in the distribution of inheritance because the patrilineal system is considered more appropriate to their social values ​​and family structure. Daughters only receive a share limited to the agreement or compassion of their brothers, without any customary legal obligation to provide it. The main factors influencing this choice are the orientation of inheritance to sons, patrilineal marriage patterns, and cultural values ​​that are still strongly held by the community. Thus, it can be concluded that the position of girls in Nias' customary inheritance in Somambawa District is very weak compared to boys', and this shows a fundamental difference with the provisions of civil law that apply nationally.