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Is there an existing “matriarchal” society these days?

The Mosuo minority group in China, seemingly the last matriarchal society on earth, was exposed in an interesting documentary film clip “The Women’s Kingdom” delivered by a Shanghainese female journalist who studied in the U.S. previously. She had, as she explained, desired for the last decade of her life, to visit the Mosuo as they were a famous minority group in China, and now the world, for their “walking marriage”. The Mosuo is a matriarchal society where the women depend on no men but themselves. They have an interesting perspective of love and relationship.

You should take a look at the documentary at: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2005/07/introduction_to.html#

From the documentary, the young Mosuo ladies being interviewed seemed to show inner confidence in themselves. They did not seem afraid to express their opinion and projected honesty and wholesomeness. They looked calm, hardworking and strong. And their joy of singing and dancing was beautiful to behold, especially when one of the Mosuo ladies said when she was in the city of China and was not allowed to sing, she felt she would go mad, and she wanted to burst out singing at the top of her voice in the middle of the street.

It was also wonderful to hear that one of them, the Mosuo lady who left at one stage to go to the U.S. to study and then to return to be with her people, was very clear about the environment and the effect of tourism to her previously sheltered, beautiful and peaceful region.

When she mentioned that there was a time when the people from her district would drink water directly from their beautiful and prestine Lugu Lake because it was so clean, and the film showed empty green beer bottles being fished out of the lake, I thought of some countries I know, but in particular the Philippines, where once upon a time, the Pasig River that runs through Manila could be drunk from directly by the Filipinos. When you look at the Pasig River now, it’s never clear and turns, depending on the weather, from a dark earthy brown river to a murky dank green. It is filthy and toxic with waste discharges from factories built alongside the river banks. No matter how hard the campaign to “Clean the Pasig River” works, nothing much changes.

In the Mosuo region, it seems the water of the Lugu Lake has been polluted especially with the rubbish brought in by visiting tourists who have absolutely no regard for the safeguarding of special natural environment. The Mosuo people have to drink water from the mountain streams further up and inwards their region as they cannot drink any more from the Lugu Lake.

I think every transportation used to carry human traffic especially to tourist spots should be obliged to promote environmental protection and conservation material to educate the public and this should be continuous.

But back to the Mosuo ladies as we digressed a bit … the main Mosuo lady interviewed said that men come with the tourists thinking they can pay the Mosuo women for a “walking marriage” – as this practice is a one night affair between a Mosuo lady and a man she desires or “loves”. It’s mutual as well since the right to spend the night with a Mosuo lady has to be when she “allows” a man in her “Flower Chamber” for the night until the man is expected to leave the next morning before the inhabitants of her home wakes up.

It’s audacious of the men to think they can pay these Mosuo women for a one night stand, just like a city prostitute and I wholeheartedly cheered the Mosuo lady who slapped that man twice for suggesting he pay for her to sleep with him.

One woman interviewed who wasn’t of the Mosuo region had come as a tourist to visit Mosuo in search of Mosuo men. She thought they were charming and straightforward and gave me the impression that honesty seemed to be very much lacking in men these days for her to appreciate the directness of the Mosuo men.

Directness, honesty, and acceptance of one’s sensuality, sexuality and womanhood seem to be the common profile of the Mosuo women, and one Mosuo “prodigal daughter” Yang Erche Namu, or Namu, as she is mainly called seems to embody in a particular way, the confidence and attractiveness of the Mosuo women.

I’m just not sure if she’s exploiting the Mosuo women in her stories, and she has several autobiographies to date, but the one published recently with co-author and anthropologist Christine Matthieu, “Leaving Mother Lake” seems the more “truthful”.

Do I admire the Mosuo women? I do indeed. I think every woman should learn to be independent, sure of themselves and not think that men are the saviors and masters of the universe. I’m not a feminist, I just believe that women should be strong and capable. Marriage to me is sacred, but unless you’re sure of a man, it’s better to be like the Mosuo women and carry no emotional and psychological baggages.