Duolocal residence, also called natolocal residence, is a postmarital residence pattern in which a married couple lives apart from each other, with each partner remaining in their own natal household and kinship group rather than either spouse relocating to join the other's. Anthropologists have documented at least two variants: patrilineal duolocality, in which a clan's patriarchs marry patrilocally while other family members continue to live duolocally with their own natal kin, as recorded by anthropologist Harumi Befu among the Nagakiri of Japan; and matrilineal duolocality, in which residence and descent both follow the maternal line, as among the Mosuo of southwest China, whose large multigenerational matrilineal households allow men to live with their own mothers and sisters while contributing only minimal domestic or agricultural labor. Under either variant, neither spouse changes kinship-group membership upon marriage, since both remain embedded in their own natal descent group throughout the marriage.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Duolocal residence, in which spouses continue to live separately with their own natal kin after marriage, occurs characteristically in strongly matrilineal societies such as the Akan and the Minangkabau.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.