The Controversial Mosuo Culture - Essay Example

The Controversial Mosuo Culture In the contemporary world, the Peoples Republic of China is among the first lane burgeoning economic powerhouses and a communist government with a questionable record on human rights. In the southwestern parts of China, however, a female dominated Chinese culture, the Mosuo, maintain their traditional matrilineal system and their controversial ‘visiting marriage’ practice. The matriarchal group lives around the Lugu Lake, surrounded by mountains, with Sichuan Province to the East and Yunnan Province to the west. In general, four aspects of the Mosuo tradition are highly controversial, including the ‘walking marriage’ or Axia marriage, the matriarchal family structure, the religion, and the interaction of the minority group with the outside world (PR China). This article seeks to address the controversial issues concerning the minority group, with verification of the facts from five interviewees from the community (appendix 1). A typical Mosuo family consists of ten family members, though the size varies and some may consist of between 20 and 30 members. Nonetheless, a female leads each family. In essence, the family head is the most proficient female in the house and all other members of the family respect her. She has important responsibilities and honorary status because all other members of the family depend on her decisions on family matters. Lugu Lake is the home for the Mosou community, which has about 35,000 to 50,000 members. The community enjoys plenty of space and building material for building, thus each family poses its own courtyard, with the number of rooms in each courtyard dependent on the size of the family. However, one room stands out: the grandmother’s quarters. The Mosuo family uses this room to offer sacrifices to ancestors, receptions, dining, and discuss family matters. However, the room has a dark atmosphere and low ceiling, creating a sense of intimacy with the only source of light coming from the flames in the coal-stove chambers. Here rests a stone representing the entire ancestry of the family (Vogt). Mosuo tradition holds that the stone carries the souls of the past generations, and thus the fire must remain lit throughout the year to keep the ancestor warm. In some families, the grandmother’s room may contain a big chink of meat that symbolizes the wealth of the family. The Mosou preserve the meat of slaughtered animals using salt and ash, then stitch up the skin and keep it dry in a shady and clean place. Such preserved meat usually lasts for over three years before the family can eat it. The Mosou believe that a steady supply of meat is a symbol of the appetite for money and food. Beside the grandmother’s room, most families have a two-storied structure for chanting and storing Buddhist scriptures. This building is the most cleanest and beautiful in the courtyard (PR China). Their economy is largely agrarian, mainly producing the basic needs for their lives. On average, the annual income of most Mosuo is around $150 to $200, a very low figure even by the standards in china. However, the community is not dying of poverty: they manage to acquire all the basic needs. However, other unimportant factors such as travelling and education are expensive. The marriage aspect of the Mosou is probably the most controversial and famous practice of the minority group. However, most people are only aware of the ‘walking marriage’ practice. The Mosou have three marriage patterns: the traditional Axia (visiting marriage), monogamy, and Axia cohabitation. Monogamy, however, only exists among the Mosuo members living in urban areas and other village with many ethnic groups. The larger Lugu Lake population still practices the “visiting marriage.” Traditionally, the community is marriage-free. Mosou men refer to their women as Axia, or intimate companion, while women refer to their lovers as Azhu. None of the partners is bound by marriage and they both live in their mother’s homes their entire lives (Vogt). All girls of age have their special houses for their Azhu where he can visit during the night and leave early the next morning. If the girl wants to end the affair, she simply closes the door and the man will quit coming back. Essentially, the lovers have no legal or economic ties: their mutual affection and love is the basis of their relationship, though the will of the female is of higher importance and respect. The offspring of the couple belong to the mother’s side and inherit her surname. Children upbringing is the responsibility of the mother and uncles, and they get to know their father during adult ceremony. Based on an interview with members of the community, the matriarchal family structure has two significant advantages. First, no complex relationships exist. The relation between family members are relatively simple, thus fewer conflicts in the community. Second, the women are responsible for most of the work and oversee matters concerning property since they are the head of the family (PR China). According to research, blood-based relations tend to be relatively stable than love-based relations, thus the community lives in unity and harmony. Traditionally, all Mosuo members believe in naturalism, and consider children as sacred symbols of their ancestors. According to their belief, their ancestors, whom they hold in good memory, will at one time come back to them as children. Thus, a child receives a name of an ancestor in their adult ceremony in order to become a full member of the clan (Vogt). This ritual is especially very important for girls. The girls receive a woman’s costume upon their adult ceremony, and the community considers her as a deceased elder. When she dies, the initiation costume together with drink and food are laid near her coffin. The community believes that she will come back to the world as a young girl. The Mosou ancient religious beliefs focused on the divinity of nature. This is evident from the veneration of the sacred mountain, Gemu, which the community refers to as the Goddess of Love, and the sacred lake, Shinami, as the Mother Goddess (PR China). All nature is female for the Mosuo. However, the Tibetans forced the community to adapt Lamaism, a variation of Buddhism. Legend has it that Gemu became furious since the Lamas did not respect Mother Earth, thus leading to the integration of Gemu and Buddhism. The Mosuo have strong beliefs in this integrated religion and believe that it has protected them in the past and will continue to protect them. Similar to other minority groups, the Mosuo also have a unique diet. The staple food for the community is corn and rice, as well as yams and highland barley. In autumn and summer, the community prefers fresh vegetables, including radishes and greens. In the spring and winter however, they prefer dried turnips, pickles, preserved yams, and kippers. Additionally, they also prepare pig’s feet and sausage with rice (Vogt). Before meals, the community likes drinking butter tea. They also love preparing corn spirit. As earlier mentioned, each family has an average of between 10 and 20 members. The entire family shares the staple food, but vegetables depend on the appetite of individuals. When eating rare dishes or meat, the family reserves a ration for absent members. Dish handing is based on elderliness, except in New Year’s Eve when the entire family helps themselves to the delicious foods set around the fire pit. The typical food for the community is pig fat, particularly because it is symbolic of affluence and riches. When slaughtering a pig, they remove all bones from the pig apart from the skull and all types of seasoning. Lastly, they sew the meat into a lute shape (PR China). Such a preserved delicacy may last several years, and tastes better than ham due to the fatty content. Due to the extensive coverage of media on the Mosuo, the culture enjoys a lot of interest in past few years. Numerous books, documentaries, and various anthropologists have invaded the area to study the minorities. Despite all these efforts, most of the information about the Mosuo is misleading and damaging. This is attributed to the limited information concerning their origin or history, and the fact that the community does not have a written language. Indeed, their history is one of an oral nature: passed down from one generation to another through word of mouth through local priests. In essence, most of the information concerning the Mosuo culture is a collage of “likely” hypotheses. This leads to competing and differentiating anthropological theories, all presenting different ideas concerning the minority group (PR China). Subsequently, it becomes difficult to either approve or disapprove these theories. Nonetheless, the controversy surrounding the community has had a fair share of media coverage, including Chinese social networks Weibo and Renren. Based on the interviews, majority of the information in the social website labelling the area as a “sex tourist attraction site” is misleading. According to the interviewees, the “walking marriage” aspect of the culture is not as loose as outsiders perceive it. Some marriages last for several decades, perhaps longer than formal marriages. The only difference between the formal marriage and their walking marriage is that love and affection take the highest priority, not wealth and other factors as with the former (PR China). The interviewees also expressed their concern over modern challenges. Similar to other things in the world, the Mosuo culture experiences slow but constant revolution. As the tourist and other outside elements populate their habitants, it is impossible to detect the influence they have on the minority community. The Mosuo have their own unique language, but it is not written, as a measure to protect their culture, the schools in Mosuo are bilingual, teaching both the Mosuo language and standard Chinese. The increased contact with the outside world has led to the decline of the culture, including reducing the level of “visiting marriage” to 60%. Additionally, the interviewees agree that once a Mosuo child acquires education from other parts of the country or the world, they essentially have nothing to do within the community (PR China). Works Cited PR China. Mosuo: A Mysterious Matriarchal Group in China. Web, May 23, 2012. (http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_curiosity/2004-05/11/content_47041.htm) Vogt, Jurgen. The Mosuo Matriarchy. Web, May 23, 2012. (http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,627363,00.html) Appendix 1 The article bases its assertion and facts on written and collected data from an interview. The author conducted an interview on five subjects: Shama, who runs a family guesthouse, Erqing, an owner of another guesthouse owner in Luoshui village, Duoji, a boatman, Erche, a local villager and head of a family, and Namu, a local adult girl in a walking marriage. The interviewees were subject to five similar questions concerning their culture, with only a brief explanation required. Question One Is the Mosuo society entirely a heaven for feminists? Shama – Not really, the Mosuo women have a different way of dominating. Erqing – Mosuo society is not exactly a heaven for women, as they take care of all societal problems. Duoji – I do not understand what you mean by “heaven”, but they try to make the society a better place. Erche – Being leaders in the society has its own challenges. Namu – Not exactly a heaven, but females are better positioned to express themselves than in other male-dominated societies. Question Two What does the walking marriage mean? Does it last? Shama – A marriage without official commitments. Erqing – Simply a marriage that lacks any formal attachments. Duoji – A marriage arrangement where the couple are free to end the marriage anytime. Erche – A Marriage without formal ties. Namu – A romantic relationship. Question Three What are your religious beliefs? Shama –Buddhist. Erqing – Buddhism. Duoji – Budhhism with elements of Gemu. Erche – Integration of Buddhism and Gemu. Namu – Tibetan Buddhism. Question Four How is the gender roles divided? Shama – Women lead the society. Erqing – Matriarchal. Duoji – Women are the absolute leaders, thus responsible for all societal needs. Erche – Women lead the family. Namu – Matriarchal society. Question Five Is there any other thing that the outside world does not know about the Mosuo culture? Shama – The Mosuo culture is not entirely about “walking marriage.” Erqing – Actually, walking marriages last longer than the formal marriages. Duoji – Women domination does not necessarily mean that men are oppressed: we have equal rights. Erche – Despite contact with the outside world, the culture remains strong. Namu – The matriarchal structure of the Mosuo society leads to harmony and unity, with no violence. Read More