Preface
In recent years, with the rapid economic development of the mainland and the continuous progress of society, the culture of ethnic minorities in various places has gradually entered the public field of vision and has become one of the hot topics of discussion. Among these minority cultures, the matriarchal social system and marriage customs of the Mosuo people are undoubtedly the focus of attention, and their unique cultural traditions and lifestyles have left a deep impression on people.
As one of the ethnic minorities in southwest China, the Mosuo people live in the mountains near Lugu Lake in Yunnan Province, and their special geographical environment has given birth to a unique and rich culture of the Mosuo people, and this culture has also influenced and shaped the lifestyle and social structure of the Mosuo people to a certain extent.
1. The matriarchal social system of the Mosuo people
1. Matrilineal family structure
The social structure of the Mosuo people is very special, they live in a society with a matrilineal family as a unit, the core position of the family is maintained by the mother, and the descendants of the children also belong to the matrilineal family, this unique family structure makes the kinship relationship of the Mosuo people seem extremely complex, and it is also full of many interesting cultural connotations.
In the Mosuo family, the grandmother or mother generally manages the property and affairs of the family, and the male members often do not live together, but after adulthood, they can choose to build a hut called "stinging armor" outside as a place for their daily life, and the construction of "stinging armor" also requires the consent of female family members, which shows that in the Mosuo family, the status of women is very important.
2. Matrilineal succession
In addition to the uniqueness of the family structure, there is also a very strict matrilineal inheritance system in the matrilineal society of the Mosuo people, whether it is the family property or the family name, it is inherited and inherited by the matrilineal family, and once the woman gets married, her husband needs to enter the woman's family and become a member of the woman's family, which also reflects the concept of "mother-oriented" in the Mosuo society.
In such a social structure, Mosuo women have more voice and decision-making power, while men need to work and operate harder to maintain the life of the whole family, which can be said to be a complete subversion of the traditional family concept and life mode.
2. The marriage customs of the Mosuo people
1. Definition of walking marriage
In addition to being unique in terms of social structure, the marriage system of the Mosuo people is also very special, and what they advocate is a kind of marriage concept of "free love and free marriage", and this kind of marriage is realized through the unique marriage customs of the Mosuo people.
The so-called walking marriage means that both men and women can freely choose their partners, and at night, men need to "quietly" come to the woman's home to spend a night with the woman, and in the early morning of the next day, the man needs to "quietly" leave and return to his "thorn armor", and during the day, both men and women need to pretend to know nothing, such a marriage relationship also brings a mysterious and beautiful atmosphere to the whole society.
2. The meaning of getting married
In the Mosuo culture, walking marriage is not just a form of marriage, it contains a meaning far beyond our imagination, but represents a manifestation of family, friendship and social responsibility.
In the Mosuo marriage system, both men and women can have multiple "marriage walkers", and both men and women can choose to end their marriage relationship at any time without going through any divorce procedures, which also gives the Mosuo people more freedom and choice, so that they can treat the marriage relationship more rationally and equally.
Once a child is born, both men and women need to take on the responsibility of raising them, which also deepens the relationship between men and women to a certain extent, and also promotes the harmony and stability of the whole society.
3. Challenges faced by the Mosuo people
1. The dilemma of cultural inheritance
It can be said that the matrilineal social system and marriage customs of the Mosuo people are an important symbol of their unique culture and an important guarantee for the sustainable development of their society, however, in today's pluralistic society, the cultural traditions of the Mosuo people are facing unprecedented challenges.
On the one hand, it is the impact and influence of external culture, and on the other hand, the concept change of internal youth groups, more and more Mosuo people choose to leave their hometowns and go to the outside city to break through, which undoubtedly brings a huge impact on the cultural inheritance of the Mosuo people, and also makes people start to rethink how to better protect and inherit the unique culture of the Mosuo people in contemporary society.
2. Pressures for social development
In addition to the dilemma of cultural inheritance, the Mosuo people also face many practical problems and difficulties, such as the lagging development of education, medical care, employment and other aspects, and the Mosuo people living in the mountains and mountains are difficult to integrate with the modern civilization of the outside world, which also brings a lot of inconvenience and trouble to their lives.
How to better integrate into modern society while maintaining their own culture, and how to solve practical development problems so that Mosuo people can live a happy and beautiful life are undoubtedly important topics that Mosuo people and related researchers need to think about and solve urgently.
epilogue
The matriarchal social system and marriage customs of the Mosuo people are undoubtedly a unique landscape, and the difficulties and challenges they face also make us more deeply aware that behind every cultural tradition, someone needs to care for and protect it.
I hope that in the near future, the Mosuo people will be able to find a path suitable for their own development, and I also hope that each of us can draw strength and inspiration from it, and jointly write our own wonderful chapter for the rich and colorful cultural treasure house of the Chinese nation.