Who Are the Mosuo?
The Mosuo are a small ethnic group of approximately 40,000-50,000 people living around Lugu Lake on the border of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in southwestern China. Though officially classified as either Naxi or Mongol by the Chinese government, the Mosuo maintain a distinct identity, language, and culture. They speak Mosuo, a Tibeto-Burman language related to but distinct from Naxi. The Mosuo are internationally renowned for their matrilineal society and practice of "walking marriage" (tisese), often described as one of the world's last matriarchal societies. Women head households, control property, and children belong to the mother's family. This unique social system has attracted intense scholarly and media attention.
Matrilineal Society
Mosuo society is organized around the matrilineal household. Women are the heads of households; property passes from mother to daughter; children belong to their mother's family. The grandmother is typically the family authority. Brothers and sisters live together throughout their lives; men remain in their natal homes, helping to raise their sisters' children. This contrasts sharply with the patrilineal, patrilocal systems prevalent across China and most of the world. Mosuo society is matrilineal (descent through mothers) rather than strictly matriarchal (rule by women), though women do hold significant authority. The household is the economic unit; members cooperate in farming, herding, and now tourism. Extended families of 20-30 people may share a single large house.
Walking Marriage
The tisese or "walking marriage" system is the Mosuo's most distinctive (and often sensationalized) practice. Couples do not live together or share property. A man "walks" to his partner's house in the evening, leaving in the morning; children from the union belong solely to the mother's household. Relationships are established through mutual attraction and consent; they continue as long as both partners wish and end without formal divorce. Women have full reproductive autonomy and sexual freedom unknown in traditional Chinese society. Men fulfill father roles not to their biological children but to their sisters' children. This system prevents property disputes between families and ensures women's economic security. However, media portrayals as a "free love" paradise are oversimplified; Mosuo relationships involve commitment and responsibility within different frameworks than Western marriage.
Contemporary Mosuo
Modern Mosuo life has been transformed by tourism. Lugu Lake's natural beauty and the Mosuo's "exotic" social system attract hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Hotels, restaurants, and cultural performances have created economic opportunities but also challenges. Cultural authenticity becomes a marketable commodity; some Mosuo perform "traditional" practices for tourists while privately living differently. Young people increasingly adopt mainstream Chinese lifestyles and values; walking marriage is declining, especially among educated urban Mosuo. Government policies have sometimes promoted "civilizing" Mosuo into conventional marriage. The Mosuo language faces pressure from Mandarin. Despite changes, matrilineal identity remains strong; Mosuo women retain household authority. The Mosuo illustrate both the appeal of alternative social systems for global audiences and the pressures that tourism and modernization place on small indigenous communities.
References
- Shih, C. K. (2010). Quest for Harmony: The Moso Traditions of Sexual Union and Family Life
- Mattison, S. M. (2010). Demystifying the Mosuo: The Behavioral Ecology of Kinship
- Walsh, E. R. (2005). From Nü Guo to Nü'er Guo: Negotiating Desire in the Land of the Mosuo