Mosuo, China
The Mosuo live in a verdant valley at the foothills
of the Himalayas in Yunnan, south-west China. The
head of each household is ah mi – the mother figure –
who is often the grandmother, or other female elder.
Adult children continue to live with their mothers, so
children are brought up by mothers, grandmothers
and uncles – fathers play little or no role. Mosuo
follow the practice of “walking marriages,” or zou hun,
which means that women take lovers as and when
they please: knowing who the biological father is,
is of no consequence. The women are completely free
agents – sex is not dependent on a relationship – and
it is their choice whether to spend more than one
night with any man.
Things are changing now for the Mosuo – tourism
is beginning to encroach on their traditions, and
foreigners are visiting in search of free love...Khasi, India
The hilly state of Meghalaya, in north-east India, is
home to the Khasi tribe. Children bear their mother’s
name, daughters inherit any property, and the groom
comes to live with his wife’s family. In times past,
a woman would propose marriage (or sexual union),.
The Mosuo people live in the
Himalayan foothills at the
edge of Lugu Lake in China's
Yunnan Province. Children
are raised by their mothers,
grandmothers and uncles.escaping
but the man would run away. The woman’s family
would capture him and bring him to her, and this
process would be repeated until the man relented.
That ritual seems to be disappearing, and what
remains is the fact that marriage is as much a bond
between two clans (blood relations cannot marry), as
between two people. Should the union falter, it is
dissolved with no recriminations, stigma or custody
battles – children always stay with their mothers.Minangkabau, Indonesia
With a population of about 4. 2 million, the
Minangkabau tribe, from West Sumatra, Indonesia,
is the largest surviving matrilineal society in the
world. Mothers have the highest status, and property
is held by women and handed down from mother to
daughter. While the datuk (clan chief) is always male,
he’s chosen by the women, and they can remove him
if he doesn’t do his job properly. Power and authority
are therefore shared equally, and decisions are all
by consensus.
After marriage, a woman will have her own
sleeping area at her mother’s house, and her husband
will live with her, but is expected to have breakfast
with his own mother.