To live a promiscuous life of free love is often frowned upon, especially for women, but the Mosuo embrace it as the norm, and even encourage it!
The controversial Mosuo walking marriage relationship allows couples to sleep around with whomever they wish. Any children produced are exclusively owned by the woman – fathers in the conventional sense of the word do not exist!
Culture facts:
Location: Lugu Lake, Sichuan and Yunnan border, southwest China.
Population: Approximately 53,000.
Religion: 90% Tibetan Tantric Buddhism (Yellow Hat sect of the Dalai Lama), 5% Daba (local animist beliefs) and 5% Christian.
Status of the group: Mosuo are not officially recognised as a separate minority group in China, but are instead classified under Naxi in Yunnan, and Mongolian in Sichuan.
Matriarchal features:
- The walking marriage relationship allows for multiple sexual partners.
- Children belong exclusively to the mother and take her name.
- The most capable daughter inherits the ancestral property and becomes the head of the family.
- Men do not move out of their mother’s house, but live as eternal ‘mother’s boys’.
- Women run the family tourist businesses.
Mosuo culture – eBook video