The Mosuo are mentioned prominently in the book Sex at Dawn which I wrote about earlier. The Mosuo, who are found on the Chinese/Tibetan border,  are one of the few remaining egalitarian and matriarchal societies. What is so fascinating about them is, partly that they are a matriarchal society where the mothers ares the center of the family, but also that a mothers family raises the children and the father does not necessarily have to have any direct involvement with his children. The children’s mother and her brothers etc take care of raising the children. Here it truly does take a tribe to raise a child.
They do not marry as we, westerners understand the term. They have something called Walking Marriage. At night if a woman wants the man to come in to spend the night then she leaves the door open for him, and in the morning he must be gone. Women may have however many partners as she deems appropriate, but these liaisons are usually based on love and not necessarily on libido.
Frontline World: Rough Cut has a 20 minute video titled ‘The Women’s Kingdom’ detailing the Mosuo culture. It is fascinating. Please take a moment to watch it.
Read More
- Mosuo (Wikipedia)
- The Mosuo Project (Lugu Lake Mosuo Cultural Development Association)
- Change of Life for Mosuo Women (video BBC News)
- The Mosuo Matriarchy – ’Men Live Better Where Women Are In Charge’ (Buddha Channel)
- Mosuo: A Mysterious Matriarchal Group in China (Everything Chinese)
