Patrilocal residence

In social anthropology, patrilocal residence or patrilocality (also virilocal residence or virilocality) is a term referring to the social system in which a married couple resides with or near the husband's parents. The concept of location may extend to a larger area such as a village, town, or clan area. This practice is found in about 69 percent of the world's cultures that have been described ethnographically; yet, it is not prevalent in the modern world any more.

In a patrilocal society, when a man marries, his wife joins him in his father's home or compound, where they raise their children. These children will follow the same pattern: Sons will stay, and daughters will move in with their husbands' families. Families living in a patrilocal residence generally assume joint ownership of domestic sources. The household is led by a senior member, who also directs the labor of all other members.

Matrilocal residence may be regarded as the opposite of patrilocal residence. However, since the majority of societies exhibit at least some degree of patriarchy, in most matrilocal groups the brothers (or mothers' brothers) are the authority figures, not the wives or mothers themselves.

Bibliography

• Ember, M., and C. R. Ember. 1971. The Conditions Favoring Matrilocal versus Patrilocal Residence. American Anthropologist 73:571–594.
• Fox, Robin (1967). Kinship and Marriage: An anthropological perspective.. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-27823-6.
• Korotayev, Andrey. 2001. An Apologia of George Peter Murdock. Division of Labor by Gender and Postmarital Residence in Cross-Cultural Perspective: A Reconsideration. World Cultures 12(2): 179-203

External links

• Chart and explanation of patrilocal residence