In matrilineal societies, the rules of descent, which trace kinship and inheritance through the female line, often create a structural tension or 'puzzle' when combined with principles of residence. While children belong to their mother's lineage, the authority and property are typically controlled by men within that lineage, specifically the mother's brother (maternal uncle). This often leads to a contradiction between a man's role as a biological father and his role as a lineage authority figure.

Matrilineal Descent: In a matrilineal system, a person belongs to their mother's lineage. Inheritance of property, titles, and often political authority passes from a man to his sister's son, not to his own biological son, because his son belongs to his wife's lineage.

Principles of Residence:

1. Matrilocal (or Uxorilocal) Residence: The newly married couple lives with or near the wife's mother's family. In this setup, the husband moves into his wife's household or village.

   • Contradiction: In a matrilocal, matrilineal society, a man lives with his wife and children, but his children belong to his wife's lineage, not his own. His primary allegiance and economic responsibility are to his own sister's children (his nephews and nieces), who are his heirs and members of his lineage. He is often seen as an 'outsider' in his wife's household, and his authority over his own children is limited. The true authority figure for his children is their maternal uncle (his wife's brother), who belongs to their lineage. This creates a split in a man's loyalties and responsibilities: he lives with his wife and children but is economically and socially bound to his sister and her children. The Nayar of Kerala (historically) and some Iroquois groups exhibited aspects of this tension, where the maternal uncle held significant authority over his sister's children, often more than the biological father.

2. Avunculocal Residence: The newly married couple lives with or near the husband's mother's brother (maternal uncle). This residence rule is often seen as a structural solution to the 'matrilineal puzzle.'

   • Resolution/Contradiction: In an avunculocal, matrilineal society, a man, upon marriage, moves to live with his maternal uncle, from whom he will inherit property and authority. His own children, however, belong to his wife's lineage. When his son grows up, that son will move to live with his maternal uncle (his mother's brother), from whom he will inherit. This ensures that the male heir (the sister's son) is raised within the lineage from which he will inherit, thereby consolidating lineage authority and property. The contradiction here is that a man's own biological children do not live with him in his lineage's household; they live with their own maternal uncle. This separates the biological father from the social father/heir-to-be. The Trobriand Islanders are a classic example, where a boy leaves his father's home around puberty to live with his maternal uncle, learning the skills and responsibilities he will inherit.

In both cases, the fundamental contradiction arises from the fact that a man's children belong to a different lineage than his own, leading to complex arrangements to manage authority, inheritance, and family loyalties within the matrilineal framework.