A Mosuo Woman (via Flickr's naroki)
Located in the Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China is the ethnic group of the MOSUO (also called the Na, Moso or Musuo). They are about 40,000 in number and have one of the most intriguing practices in the world -the women are completely in charge, leaving very little for the men. They live mainly around the beautiful Lugu Lake, high up in the Himalayas mountain range making the place one of the most isolated and closed societies in the world.
A group of Mosuo women.
The Mosuo people are rural and rely primarily on farming and animal husbandry to survive. A local delicacy is a type of pork that can be preserved for up 10 years before consumption! A local wine is also made from cereals and is called sulima.
Inside China's Kingdom of Daughters.
The women do all the chores in the house: cooking, cleaning, making fires, fetching wood, caring for animals and weaving clothes. The only time males are deemed useful is when they slaughter animals, fish or organize funerals (the females take no part in burials).
A Mosuo grandmother, wizened with age and back-breaking hardwork.
If a Mosuo woman shows interest in a man, she gives him the permission to come visit her, and this is often done in secret. He sleeps over at her place and leaves by dawn. The male can have as many sexual partners as possible, and same goes for the woman. Interesting!
When a baby comes, the father has no business with that, the child takes the name of the mother's family and is raised by her mother or her family. ??? Also, couples do not share any property. Cool, isn't it??? Hear one Mosuo man:
'We Mosuo men live great lives and we play around all the time. '
Hear what researchers say about the Mosuo matriarchy:
"You are responsible for almost nothing, you work much less and you spend the whole day with your friends."
"They aren’t interested in getting married or starting a family with a man. When the love is over, then it’s over. They don’t stay together for the kids or for the money or for anything else."
The women decide what happens. Some of them do it more strictly and others in a friendlier way. They are strong women who give clear orders. When a man hasn’t finished a task he’s been given, he is expected to admit it. He is not scolded or punished, but instead he is treated like a little boy who was not up to the task.
One Mosuo said of walking marriages: '' It is very good. First,
we are all other mother's
children, making money for her, therefore there is no conflict
between brothers and sisters. Second the relationship is
based on love, and no money, or dowry, is involved. If a
couple feels contented, they stay together. If they feel
unhappy, they can go their separate ways. As a result, there is
little fighting."
Hear what researchers say about the Mosuo matriarchy:
"You are responsible for almost nothing, you work much less and you spend the whole day with your friends."
"They aren’t interested in getting married or starting a family with a man. When the love is over, then it’s over. They don’t stay together for the kids or for the money or for anything else."
The women decide what happens. Some of them do it more strictly and others in a friendlier way. They are strong women who give clear orders. When a man hasn’t finished a task he’s been given, he is expected to admit it. He is not scolded or punished, but instead he is treated like a little boy who was not up to the task.
One Mosuo said of walking marriages: '' It is very good. First,
we are all other mother's
children, making money for her, therefore there is no conflict
between brothers and sisters. Second the relationship is
based on love, and no money, or dowry, is involved. If a
couple feels contented, they stay together. If they feel
unhappy, they can go their separate ways. As a result, there is
little fighting."
Sola Sobowale is a Nigerian actress who starred in a film titled Lagidigba (Ilubinrin) in 2000. The film depicts a kingdom of women and shares some amazing similarities with the Mosuo women of southwestern China. You can enjoy the film, Lagidigba here:
And as you might have guessed, past generations are traced along the mother's line. In the Mosuo culture, there is actually no word for 'father' or 'husband'. In a walking marriage, a Mosuo woman can 'fire' a man at any time and get another one as a sexual partner. Yes! This is the real Lagidigba, Ilubinrin, a Nigerian film by Sola Sobowale which features a village where women ruled all -including the men.
A Mosuo woman by the beautiful Lake Lugu.
A Mosuo family
A Mosuo woman rowing across the Lake Lugu...clearly in control.
A Mosuo woman on the serenely-beautiful Lake Lugu
THE WALKING MARRIAGE
One curious practice or tradition among the Mosuo is that there is no marriage as we know it. When a girl reaches maturity, she wears a special skirt signifying her new status, and she is then given a new room where she can receive as many male visitors as she wishes, the man usually sneaks in at night, and leaves by morning. The private bedroom is called the FLOWERING ROOM and once a girl passes puberty, she is given her own private bedroom and can start to invite and receive male partners, sometimes as young as 12.
"Usually it is a secret buried deep in the bone. We don't even
tell our brothers and sisters. The girl's family can hear the
footsteps in the dark, but they never see the boy's face until
there is a baby."
This is known as WALKING MARRIAGE among the Mosuo. When the girl eventually gets pregnant and delivers, the baby stays with her own family and the man has no say whatsoever as far as paternity is concerned. Even though that means that the father of many of the kids may not be identified, that is no big deal among the Mosuo and there is no shame about it. As a matter of fact, all sexual relationships among the Mosuo are referred to as 'walking marriages' and there is no form of traditional marriage as we have it here in Africa.
Some walking marriages can last years or a even a lifetime while some others last just a night or two!
This Mosuo man has had about six walking marriages.
WATCH THE INCREDIBLE VIDEOS OF THE MOSUO WOMEN BELOW:
In a case where a Mosuo woman has a new boyfriend and the old one comes knocking at the door, she tells him to come another time. He goes without getting angry at the woman's refusal. This is because among the Mosuo, both the men and women have the freedom to choose their lovers and there is no influence of power or money. Na wa o!
The all-powerful woman who heads the household is called the 'Ah mi' which means 'elder female' in Chinese. She decides what happen in the house, how money is spent, who gets what job, shares the responsibility, how inheritance is done, settles disputes and other things a male would do in many other societies of the world. When a Mosuo man grows old, he depends not on his own kids but those of his own blood sister. And uncles are much more important than fathers. Hope you got that part? ;)
During a spiritual session.
A Mosuo woman can terminate a walking marriage simply by closing the door. The man lives with his mother all his life and he is a property to his mother's family just as his own kids are too, to their own mother's family. Shey you gerrit? lol! Interestingly, there is virtually no rape, divorce (no marriage at first), infidelity or prostitution.
However, Mosuo men are in charge of the funerals. Among this amazing people, dogs are sacred and are not killed, and they follow a religion called DABA. They are considered to be very religious. And by the way, the Mosuo do not celebrate birthdays. Well, next time you hear 'what a man can do, a woman can do better', you now know better! ;) Thanks for your time.
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