Many of the Indigenous nationalities existing at the margins of China were presented by Beauclair. Although she described the matriarchal aspects of the cultures, she did not explicitly label them as matriarchies, in this period before such discussions were credited.

The Mosuo people, related to the Tibetans, were described here by the Chinese anthropologist Yan. Analysing the matrilineal kinship system of the Mosuo, she showed their ancient origins, providing all the Mosuo relationship terms in detail.

Because of its mother-centeredness, Yan termed the Mosuo society a “living fossil,” calling it “backward,” which is in accordance with the patriarchal Chinese government's disparaging evaluation of these traditional cultures.

In this study (whose title means, “Matriarchy in Southern China”), Goettner-Abendroth presented her field work on the Mosuo, elaborating on the classical matriarchal patterns of this society at its social, economic, political, and cultural levels, using her definitions elaboratd in Modern Matriarchal Studies. Her positive view of this society includes numerous statements from Mosuo women and men, regarding their own culture.

Here, Lamu Gatusa (his name in Mosuo language; in Chinese it is “Shi Gaofeng”), an Indigenous Mosuo and anthropologist of the Yunnan Academy for Social Sciences, elucidated the mother-centering of his traditional Mosuo culture.

Presenting at the First World Congress on Matriarchal Studies in 2003, Lamu outlined the marriage patterns of the Mosuo people, labelling his own culture “matriarchal”.

A student of Lamu, the Indigenous scholar Hengde Danshilacuo (her name in Mosuo language; in Chinese it is “He Mei”) provided a comparison of the variants of clan-based, matriarchal family patterns and monogamous, patrilinear ones that co-exist among the Mosuo, putting her positive emphasis on the traditional matriarchal patterns.

Chinese anthropologist Du took a close look at the Lahu in Chopsticks Only Work in Pairs, the study's title borrowing a Lahu aphorism that captures the spirit of their cultural parallelism, which practices an egalitarian form of society without being mother-centered. Instead, male and female counterparts have exactly balanced roles in an overall spirit of exact equality. In this sense the Lahu socitey is non-patriarchal and might have had matriarchal patterns in the past.

Japanese scholar Mabuchi documented the sister-brother double regency existing in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan's most remote Southern islands. Such s ister-brother alliances were not limited to aristocratic women, for all the women of the Ryukyu Islands were worshipped by their brothers, in a pattern typical of the Indigenous cultures of the Pacific.

In this paper, Japanese scholar Ohnuki-Tierney emphasised the eminent role of female shamans in the traditions of the Indigenous Ainu people on Hokkaido, the Northern main island of Japan. The Ainu preserved one of the most ancient cultures of the Japan.

Here, Carter outlined the matriarchal elements intrinsic to the Japanese traditions of the Sun Goddess in the Shinto religion. The formalized, state-run Shinto of the emperors was separate from popular Shinto, in which the traditions of the female shamans of Japan survived.

Carter further explored Shinto Goddesses in traditional Japanese religion and hinted at their matriarchal background.

Korean scholar Kim reviewed the history of Korean women, demonstrating that, in Korea's earliest epochs, women had been shaman-queens, guiding their matrilineal clans and leading their people. Kim sketched of the debilitation of women's status through diverse epochs, up to 1945.

Harvey examined traditions of exclusively female shamanism in Korea, as seen through the biographies of six women. Originating in the most ancient of Korean history, female shamanism continued into the present, although it became a phenomenon confined to the lower classes.

Kooij gave a generalized overview of the religions of Nepal, deepening the focus on the rich cycle of festivals of the Newar of the Katmandu valley, with specific attention to the mother goddess, Kali, as ancient.

A Napalese scholar, Deep, continued the conversation on the Nepalese Festivals, demonstrating that the worship of Kali constituted the oldest layer in the syncretic religion of the Newar, in a cult of nature worship exclusively dedicated to the mother goddess. Ancient Newar Indigenous traditions continued to have been practiced into modern times by rural farmers and the urban lower castes.

Indian scholars Trilok and Gupta focused on Newar religious practices, particularly in the Katmandu valley, paying special attention to the Durga Puja, the festival of the goddess Durga, and women-led practices.

Meaning, “Mysterious Nepal,” Geheimnisvolles Nepal described the religion of the Katmandu Newar, also emphasizing the important festival, Durga Puja, during which all aspects of the great goddess Durga coalesce. Durga as a living goddess takes the form of a pre-pubescent girl, called “Kumari.” The archaic festivals of the Newar have matriarchal roots, although a clear idea of this coherence is lacking with all these authors.

Acharya provided a comprehensive study of the high position of the Nepalese Newar women in early times, as reflected in the goddess festivals. However, despite the vivid goddess tradition in Nepal, she found that cultural encroachment by the Nepal's patriarchal Hindu neighbor, India, had fundamentally changed social organization, to the detriment of Nepalese women.

Throughout his trilogy, Briffault examined older sources regarding the traditionally high status of women. Concerning Tibet, he clarified that with Tibetan multiple marriage, in which a group of sisters from one clan marries a group of brothers from another clan, it was a question of noting how many sisters or brothers were connected by the two families, usually not many.

A Catholic missionary, Hermanns tried to sort out the source of Tibetan women's status.

Translating as “The A-mdo Tibetan Family,” the text drew on Chinese chronicles (905–581 B.C.E.) describing vast realms along the Tibetan-Chinese border as being ruled by matriarchal-style queens. Falsely concluding that the chronicles necessarily implied male inferiority in these queendoms, which would have been very atypical of Tibet, Hermanns decided that the Chinese histories of Tibetan queens' realms lacked credibility.

Majumdar followed Briffault with this statistical study of the distribution of Tibetan polyandry, establishing that it was the preferred, legal form of marriage, found in the old, respected families, who maintained it as a national heritage.

Sierksma evaluated the same Chinese chronicles of queendoms as Hermanns, but treated them as reliable reports.

Ehrenfels worked from the Bachofenian concept of “mother right,” but his comprehensive work remains one of the best studies on the history of Indian matriarchies, especially of the complex Nayar culture. His insights into social and religious patterns accompanied an analysis of the problematic relationship between patriarchal Hindu Brahmins and the matriarchal Nayar and a thorough critique of women's oppression in Hinduized areas.

Iyer's first volume on the region of Kerala was a preliminary look at the ancient traditions there, trying to piece together the complex past from archaeological evidence.

Here, in search of origins, Iyer focused especially on the hill peoples of the region of Kerala, considering them as pre-Dravidian.

In reviewing customs, religious practices, and beliefs, Iyer here gave numerous indications that matriarchal patterns once prevailed over all Kerala and other regions of Southern India, including all the Malabar Coast, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Sri Lanka.

Schneider and Gough described matrilineage among the Nayar, including much on typical Nayar festivals, of which the initiation celebrations for girls were the most elaborate.

The Indigenous scholar Tourreil anaylzed the decline of the Nayar matrilineality and matriarchal culture as a result of modern, outside, economic and social pressures.

Related to the Tibetans, the Khasi were first described in Gurdon's old, but still important work. Gurdon not only provided much information about the classical, matriarchal patterns of the Khasi people, but also reflected on the structures of the culture as “matriarchy.” Lacking a clear definition of matriarchy, however, he was unable to come to any solid conclusion about it.

Roy studied Khasi social and religious patterns and the spiritual-political organization of their female-male double reign in “Syiemship.” The Syiem of each region was the son or nephew of the high priestess, the “Syiem Sad.” The mother (aunt) allowed her son (nephew) to act as her delegate, a widespread pattern in matriarchal society.

An Indigenous Khasi as well as a scholar, Pakyntein evaluated the changes to her traditional, matriarchal Khasi-Pnar culture under modern pressures.

The Indigenous Khasi and scholar, Mukhim, considered the modern challenges to the matrilinearity and matriarchy among the Khasi people, finding both to have been in decline. She saw the cultural transition in progress as disadvantageous, especially to Khasi women.

Maretin waxed glum on Minangkabau women's prospects, seeing primarily “survivals” instead of intact traditions.

Bachtiar assessed the cultural competitions arising from divergent social systems, one traditional and one Islamic.

Schrijvers and Postel-Coster considered the changes wrought on women's social position in the modern world. They emphasized that land and trade in the hands of women were the economic basis of the matriarchal Adat, or traditional laws, of the villages, a situation which they regarded as being endangered by modern encroachments.

In thoughts first published in 1979, Benda-Beckmann considered the impact on the social order of changes in property relationships among the traditional Minangkabau.

In this paper (whose title means, “ The Way Women Lose Their Land”), Gura directly questioned what happened when women's economic power, based on land-holding, was disrupted.

In her contribution to the discussion (which translates as “Green Revolution in Western Sumatra”), Benad considered what agricultural change did to rural cultural patterns.

In this excellent historical study, including the original Malaysian Adat, or traditional, matriarchal law, Kato showed that the Minangkabau of the rural heartland are mutually linked to those outside the heartland, in all of Sumatra's and Indonesia's large cities. Each half support the other through long-standing gift economies, contributing significantly to the adaptability and vitality of the Adat, up to Kato's present.

Anthropologist Sanday offered a densely detailed study of the Minangkabau lives. Whether rural or urban, the Minangkabau were known not only for their egalitarian male-female relationships, but also for their literary flair and business acumen. In the final chapter of Women, Sanday critiqued the conceptual confusions around the term “matriarchy” and re-defined matriarchy as a set of interdependent relationships.

Sanday's conclusions were reinforced by the Indigenous Minangkabau author Dhavida, who set forth the pre-eminent role of Minangkabau women in her society.