Mosuo
As the night arrives, the men of the Mosuo society travel to their respective women's houses for a nuptial visit, no matter what the distance is, manifesting what is known as part of the Mosuo tradition as a walking marriage. Such a practice begins with a courtship where the Mosuo women choose their men and make arrangements with them. The men will then visit the women once it is dark but are not allowed to stay and have to leave in the morning to return to their mothers' houses.
Thus, without the concept of a 'husband', the women in Mosuo can practise what is termed as 'serial monogamy' where it is common for them change partners as often as they like.
In a world where power in a society is held predominantly by males, the Mosuo culture is definitely refreshing, as it remains as one of the few existing matrilineal societies today. The walking marriage custom, which is something unique to the Mosuo culture, is a system the people of Mosuo regard as highly beneficial to their community both socially and economically. It is also the factor that contributes to the harmonious order of Mosuo, where interestingly there are no specific words for murder and rape in the language.
Stability is a feature of most Mosuo families, especially in huge families where the extended families all live together and share the responsibilities of caring for children. Fighting and arguments stemming from the splitting of property and the custody of children which are constantly experienced by the usual modern man and woman are nonexistent in Mosuo as well, as property rights and the custody of children naturally go to the women.
Other than the fact that lineage is traced through the women in Mosuo, household and property matters are also dominated by the women. Men work mostly as traders, but also help their sisters and other women in their families to take care of their children. They do not take care of their children nor live with them. However, if fathers want to care for their children or move in with the women, which is essentially uncommon, they can do so by presenting gifts to the family.
It is a real wonder that Mosuo can hold on to its cultural roots until this day, especially when this group of people reside in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China, where the rich ancient culture and order of patriarchy still has repercussions today.
On a different note, it has been argued that Mosuo cannot be said to be a true matriarchal society. This is because while women are given power at home, political power is still given to the men in Mosuo. As much as the stability in the Mosuo families is evident, the matriarchal system has been said to be enforced by the nobility to prevent the male peasants to gain power.
Interesting facts:
- Mosuo was forced to conform to the Chinese traditions during the Cultural Revolution, but returned to their culture when such rules and bans of their traditions were lifted.
- An average family's annual income is about US$100.
- One of their religions, Daba, is animistic but also involved goddess and ancestral worship.
- The other religion, Tibetan Buddhism, actually recognised a Mosuo man to be a 'living Buddha', a reincarnation of one of the Tibetan spiritual leaders.
- The people of Mosuo have their native language, but there is no writing system as of yet.