Traditionally, the Ga combined matrilineal and patrilineal systems of inheritance and succession.
- Women’s property and offices: Succession to most roles held by women and inheritance of women’s property tend to follow the matrilineal line (through the mother’s side).
- Men’s property and chiefly offices: Land, lineage property, and many male‑held public offices are usually passed through the patrilineal line (father to son).
Historically, women dominated trade in the coastal towns, especially in markets. Ga‑speaking women became renowned as traders, and a husband traditionally had no control over his wife’s money, a practice that still echoes in many households today.
In earlier times, Ga men lived together in men’s compounds, while women—sometimes even after marriage—lived with their mothers and children in women’s compounds, reinforcing the importance of the maternal kinship network.
