The Pueblo Indians lived in a matriarchal society which meant that the woman was honored and was the true ruler. The clans, or family groups, were based on descent through the mother and not through the father. Property therefore belonged to the women and when they died they left it to their daughters. The farmland was also the undisputed property of the women.

When a man married he went to live in his wife’s house. If his wife had no home, the husband had to build her one.

This structure of society, however, did not mean that men were the victims of the whims of the rights of their own. They were respected for their working skills and also for their contribution to the wealth of the whole Pueblo community.