What is the Mosuo of China?

The Mosuo (Chinese: 摩梭; pinyin: Mósuō; also spelled Moso or Musuo), often called the Na among themselves, is a small ethnic group living in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China, close to the border with Tibet. The Nakhi are about 320,000 people spread throughout different provinces in China.

Are the Mosuo matrilineal?

Matriarchal cultures are run by women. Technically, Mosuo culture is matrilineal, but many anthropologists classify the Mosuo tribe as a “matriarchal society”. The Mosuo themselves sometimes use the term matriarchal to describe their culture in order to bring more tourism and interest into their culture.

Are there societies without marriage?

The Mosuo people of south west China do not marry and fathers do not live with, or support, children. Their mating system is called “walking marriage” where the man and woman do not live together even though they sleep together.

Where do the Mosuo people live in China?

What it’s about: America has technologically averse subcultures within its borders, and China is no different. The Mosuo (who also call themselves the Na) are a population of roughly 40,000 who live near the Tibetan border, and have remained an agrarian society through China’s industrial revolution.

How is the Mosuo culture different from other cultures?

In fact, it is not easy to categorize Mosuo culture within traditional Western definitions. They have aspects of a matriarchal culture: women are often the head of the house, inheritance is through the female line, and women make business decisions. However, unlike a matriarchy, the political power tends to be in the hands of males.

How was marriage introduced to the Mosuo people?

As Shih argues, marriage, as different from tisese, was introduced into Mosuo society through contact with other ethnic groups during the Yuan and Qing empire-building process. If there are no offspring of one sex, it is common for a child from another family to join an adoptive household.

Who are the matriarchs of the Mosuo people?

Thereof has Heide Göttner Abendroth much to tell, who has lived with the Mosuos in order to make anthropolical studies of their practising a matriarchal way of living, in her book; “Das riesige Territorium, das heute “China” heißt, hat eine lange Geschichte der matriarchalen Gesellschaftsform.