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Leaving Lijang Gu Cheng (Lijiang Old Town) and a
7-hour bumpy bus ride after, we arrived at Lugu Hu (Lugu Lake). Lugu
Lake was not like what everyone had raved about. Translucent blue waters
and clear cloudless skies? Neither of these was present. What we were
treated to instead were dark waters, which only reflected the state of
the skies – gloomy, grey and cloudy. We stayed for two days (not by
choice, rather because we could not get a seat on the next day’s bus)
walking around doing nothing much. We had wanted to cycle around the
lake, but changed our minds when we found out that not only was the
lake’s circumference 53 kilometres, the route was an undulating tarred
road we had to share with vehicles that passed through the area. That
said, the two days spent at Lugu Lake were no less fulfilling and
enjoyable for a couple of reasons – the company and the mini history
lesson I received.
Lugu Lake is located in the North West region of Yunnan Province. The
villages surrounding the lake are home to various ethnic minorities,
including the Mosuo people (some 20,000 of them stay in this area). Now,
one of the most fascinating aspects about the Mosuo people is that they
are probably the only (or at least one of the very few) matriarchal
societies that still exist in the entire world.
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A bit of a history and culture lesson:
The Matriarchal Society
In Mosuo society, children are under the custody of their mothers, take
their mothers’ surnames, and live in their mother’s household. One
woman, the “grandmother”, though not necessarily the oldest of her
generation, but the strongest, will become the head of the household. In
short, the women in the family run the show.
So what then do the men do? To quote what a Mosuo man, whom we met who
told us stories on the Mosuo culture, said:
“In the Mosuo culture, it is the women’s world, but it’s the men’s
paradise.”
Men have no say in the household, but they do have to go out and work,
though I’m not too sure what work they have to do. They do not have to
manage their children, although they are very much part of their
children’s lives. They have no say in their own household, neither do
they have a say in their “wives” household. They have no part in the
kitchen or in managing finances. Isn’t this then, as the local said,
“men’s paradise”?
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The Walking Marriage
Another interesting fact is that the Mosuo society does not subscribe to
a system of marriage that we’re used to – man and woman marry; woman
moves into man’s household; man are the head of the household. Instead,
the Mosuo man and Mosuo women do not marry and believe in a “walking
marriage”.
Picture this: A Mosuo woman at coming-of-age (13 years old) gets her own
room. She meets a suitor and if he’s interested, he will go to her room
at night, and hang his hat outside the door to indicate that someone is
in her room. He must then leave by the morning. This happens every night
during their courtship. The day the man is no longer interested in the
woman, he will not show up. The day the woman is no longer interested in
the man, she closes the door and does not allow him to enter. As simple
as that. Hence the term “walking marriage” was borne from the action of
the man walking to his partner’s room every night and leaving in the
morning.
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This may sound like the optimum setting for promiscuity, but in actual
fact, apparently some 90% or so Mosuo people stay faithful to their
partners once their relationship has been stabilised.
The History
Historically, the Mosuo people became a matriarchal society as a means
of survival. To cut the long story short, every person in the Mosuo
household, which typically has 10-20 people (sometimes more), has a
role. In the event of a union between man and woman in the Mosuo
culture, or rather the stabilising of a relationship since the idea of
“marriage” does not exist, neither man nor woman will leave the
household. This means that each household will not lose a particular
role overnight and will remain strong in numbers in the face of
adversity. Many centuries later, this culture remains almost the same.
I had first heard of the Mosuo people in a documentary I had chanced
upon on TV some years back and was most intrigued by its culture and the
idea of “walking marriage”. Having known of their existence, it was most
insightful for me to get a taste of the Mosuo culture, interact with
actual Mosuo people and see their stories come to life.
And here’s one ethnic minority group in China slightly better
understood. Now another 54 to go. |