Nicole Siedhof

The Walking Marriages and Matrilineal Family

Structure of the Mosuo
The Mosuos practice of walking marriages and the uniqueness of their matrilineal family structures are two key
pieces of cultural uniqueness that enable them to remain isolated from and unchanged by the rest of China.

The Matrilineage The Mosuo want to remain isolated

The Mosuo are the last matrilineal society left in China.
At birth, children are automatically a party of his or her mothers family line.
and unique.
Those with the same female ancestry traditionally live under the same roof,
and they are considered ong hing or bone people( Hua: 2001).
Who are the Mosuo? Geographically, Lugo Lake helps them accomplish this goal.

The Mosuo are a small community of between 30,000 to 50,000 Yongning only has two roads, and the postal service barely functions.
inhabitants who live in Yongning, a small town within Chinas Communication with the outside world is largely nonexistent.
Yunnan Province (Walsch 2005).

Friend marriage is very good, he replied. First

we are all our mothers children, making money for
her; therefore there is no conflict between
brothers and sisters

Lugo Lake: www.students.washington.edu/tamiblu

A grandmother, the head of her household, with her grandchildren.

www.students.washington.edu/tamiblu
Map of China: http://sebrinaandjustin.andalib.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/China-map%20(Medium).jpg Likewise, the walking marriage, matrilineal society, and their
educational practices allow for them to remain socially and culturally
isolated (Hua:2001).

Second, the relationship is

based on love, and no money or dowry is involved. Educational Practices
If a couple feels contented, they stay together. If they How is this culture like and unlike The Mosuo community tends to reject most formal educational
institutions and instead rely on their extensive nuclear families to
feel unhappy, they can go their separate ways.
ours? provide necessary knowledge.
As a result, there is little fighting (Yuan: 2000). Their large matrilineal households make these teaching practices
In the United States marriage traditionally consists of cohabitation, shared
responsibilities, and equal parenting. possible. With numerous generations and many members of
extended families present, the number of teachers and breadth of
In the Walking Marriage partners live separately, only share responsibilities knowledge is extensive.
within their own matrilineage, and the mothers family takes on the job of
The Walking Marriage parenting. The only formal education the children receive is through
religious teachings which reinforce many Mosuo cultural values
A romantic relationship commonly practiced within the society. In this But, it is the main goal of a culture and society to mate and create offspring; and (Blumenfield: 2003).
walking marriage, also known as the furtive visit, the man visits the bedroom in this way, the walking marriage is not any different from relationships in the
of the woman he seeks, spends the night, and promptly leaves before dawn United States.
the next morning (Hua: 2001).
In these relationships, men and women enjoy complete equality in all
interactions (China Daily: 2009).

References:
Blumenfield, Tami, 2009, The Na (Mosuo) of China, http://students.washington.edu/tamiblu, 2/2/09.
Chinadaily.com.cn. 2009. Where Women Rule, retrieved from NewsBank on February 19, 2009.
Hua, Cai, translated by Asti Hustvedt. A Society Without Fathers or Husbands: The Na of China. New York. Zone Books.
Lu, Yuan, and Sam Mitchell. 2000. Land of the Walking Marriage. Natural History 109(9): 58.
Walsch, Eileen Rose. October 2005. From Nu Guo to Nuer Guo: Negotiating Desire in the Land of the Musuo. Modern China 31(4): 448-486. Sage Publications.

School children playing together: www.students.washington.edu/tamiblu