Miao - Kinship

Generally, Miao have been pressured to take Chinese surnames, which are transmitted patrilineally. Descent is said to be patrilineal, and in some places the Han patrilineage form has been adopted. However, matrilineal kin are important in some areas. In practice, there is strong evidence that the system is bilateral. No serious comparative study of kin terms and lineage organization is yet available, and some of the writings on the subject suggest Miao politeness in telling Han investigators what they want to hear.