It was hypothesized by Raymond Scupin that kinship plays an important role in modifying the position of women in patriarchal societies. By this, he meant more specifically that there are important roles to be found in the gender of the descent, be it matrilineal (female) or patrilineal (male), as well as the gender of whom a newly married couple will be residing with (matrilocality or patrilocality). There will be two tribes compared in this paper to test this hypothesis. First, take a look at the Minangkabau, an Indonesian tribe found in West Sumatra. Although they are patriarchal, they practice both matrilocalic and matrilineal tendencies. Also discussed will be the Yanomano, a tribe found near Brazil and Venezuela, holding strictly patrilineal and patrilocalic ideals. In comparing them, the differences in kinship can be noted in the mobility of a woman's position.
	The first item that should be looked at is the kinship within the two societies. By noting the differences, one can attribute them to the differences in mobility in women's status. The Minangkabau are both matrilocal and matrilineal. In this society, women maintain the name and identity of the family, as well as control the inheritance of wealth. Men are not even part of the family of their wife and children, but remain in that of his own parents. The kinship of the Yanomano is opposite to that of the Minangkabau. They are patrilocal and patrilineal. In this society, the man is the head of the family, and the family name and identity is restored through male descendants. The wealth of a family is also passed down to males.
	Now, one should consider the roles of men and women in these societies, to see how these properties of kinship have affected them. In the Minangkabau society, dominated by women in both lineage and inheritance, the women do in fact hold higher status on a more practical level. Men in this society have an obligation to support all females with whom he is tied. While keeping this obligation he receives none of the wealth that comes of it, as well as family identity. In a larger sense, however, males, having spent their lives gaining wisdom and knowledge, are placed collaboratively into positions of ruling, where they ultimately call the shots. In this case, although men still hold control in power, they lack social prestige, which is reserved for women. 
	Looking now at the Yanomano, the domination of family name and inheritance in this culture lies with the men. The choice of marriage falls solely into the hands of males, as they “pick” the girl they wish to marry while they are still at a young age. Upon reaching puberty, she will then reside with the man, who is far older than she. It should be noted that men also get more free time than women, as their childhood seems to extend further into their lives. Women are expected to be subordinate to men, and it is not uncommon for a man to act violently toward a women. In fact, violence toward women is actually encouraged at a young age. These facts all point out that the social status of women in this society lies far lower than that of men.
	It was found in these examples that a direct relationship seems to exist between gender orientation of descent, as well as family domination, and the status of the sex these things were oriented toward. While the Minangkabau are matrilineal and matrilocal, the women to dominate the general social status. At the same time, the patrilineal and patrilocal Yanomano seemed to favor the men by far in social status. Scupin's hypothesis stated that mobility of the role of women depended on the gender domination of the kinship. While in the case of the Minangkabau women did see higher status, they still could not obtain positions of political authority. Therefore, using the two examples at hand, Scupin's hypothesis was not supported.