Mosuo, an ethnic minority in the People's Republic of China
Their culture has been documented by indigenous scholars Lamu Gatusa and Latami Dashi (the collection of papers that he edited, published in 2006, contains an extensive list of references in Chinese, and a bibliography of books and articles in other languages especially English compiled by He Sanna).
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Although the Mosuo are culturally distinct from the Nakhi, the Chinese government places them as members of the Nakhi (aka Naxi) minority.
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Among the Nakhi in Yongning County in Yunnan and the Yanyuan County in Sichuan, existing remnants of the Mosuo matriarchal family structure which were vigorously but unsuccessfully eradicated during the Communist era.
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The official Chinese government classification includes the Mosuo as part of the Nakhi people, although neither ethnicity support this categorization.
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Through both Han Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, Tibetan Buddhism has gained widespread respect (especially in the case of the Mosuo).
Alongside the Mosuo, the Pumi here adopt a matriarchal system linked to the Azhu system, which literally means friendship, and families are formed by virtue of consanguinity instead of marriage.
Mosuo |
Examples of matrilocal societies include the people of Ngazidja, the Ancient Pueblo Peoples of Chaco Canyon, the Nair community in Kerala in South India, the Moso of Yunnan and Sichuan in southwestern China, the Siraya of Taiwan, and the Minangkabau of western Sumatra.