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Matrilineal Inheritance in East Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus

May 2024

A faceted red gem sparkles against a black background

Photo by Joshua Fuller on Unsplash

Inheritance has historically been the privilege of men, passed from father to son and validated by name and fortune. With little sentimentality, the four stories collected here—by writers from Azerbaijan, Croatia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan—reveal the less obvious objects, qualities, and complexes imparted by matriarchs to their loved ones, and the tremors of matrilineal inheritance felt through generations.

Image of a vibrant assortment of jewelry

Photo by János Venczák on Unsplash

Sins of the Mother: Unsettling Matrilineal Inheritance in East Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus

By Sabrina Jaszi, Mirgul Kali & Ena Selimović

The translators of the four stories in the Matrilineal collection consider matriarchal influence and the uncanny power of feminine inheritance.

Image of a pair of golden crescent-shaped earrings

Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Golden Earring

By O‘tkir Hoshimov

My mother was very careful with those gold crescent-shaped earrings, boasting that they were a gift from her mother-in-law.

Translated from Uzbek by Sabrina Jaszi

MultimediaMultilingual

Two halves of a brown egg shell

Photo by Dennis Anderson on Unsplash

Mamali

By Leyla Shukurova

The news that Mamali’s youngest daughter has decided to go study in Baku somehow spreads quickly through their village—much more quickly than Ulfet has counted on.

Translated from Russian by Sabrina Jaszi

MultimediaMultilingual

Breathtaking image of a temple in Nepal with snowy mountains in the background

Photo by Sebastian Pena Lambarri on Unsplash

Nepal

By Marina Gudelj

“Mom was like, ‘The Himalayas? She’s never even climbed the Mosor, right here on her doorstep.’”

Translated from Croatian by Ena Selimović

MultimediaMultilingual

Collection of pearl necklaces on a black background

Photo by Brian Wangenheim on Unsplash

Shakharbanu’s Curse

Whenever I think of the old woman, I remember her not as my great-grandmother but as the first person I learned to loathe.

Translated from Kazakh by Mirgul Kali