How does avunculocal residence connect boys to their maternal uncles?

In anthropology, avunculocal residence is a practice that physically and socially integrates boys into the household of their maternal uncle. This connection is established when boys leave their natal homes during adolescence to join the residence group of one of their mother's brothers.12

This arrangement serves to formalize the avunculate—a relationship characterized by the uncle’s authority over and responsibility for his nephews, including their upbringing, initiation, and marriage. By moving into the uncle's household, the nephew becomes part of a joint family structure that may include the uncle, his wife, their children, and the uncle's nephews and their own wives.21

This system often supports matrilineal descent, where the nephew may hold special rights to the uncle's property, often taking precedence in inheritance over the uncle's own children. Furthermore, these societies frequently encourage cross-cousin marriage, which helps keep property and kin ties within the family group by pairing a daughter with her father's nephew.21