MOSUO CULTURE Crystal Mendoza Kristen Gomez Kaitlin Burke

MOSUO CULTURE Crystal Mendoza Kristen Gomez Kaitlin Burke Georgia Huston Adolescent Psychology Dr. Sara Villanueva 2 December 2013

Introduction- Origins • Population: 40, 000 people. • Lugu Lake in Southern China • Known as “The Kingdom of Women” matriarchal community. • Tibetan Plateau • No standing army • Isolated

Mosuo Women- China http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=eo. Tr. ARDa 8 BU

Physical Milestones of the Mosuan culture • Age of Sexual Autonomy • Age of puberty • Physical Maturity • (Most information is with a hetero couple)

Additional Biological Variables • Diet • Lifespan • Education • Isolation • Health

Gender Roles • Walking Marriages— women have more power • Family Responsibilities —men have less responsibility • Children live in maternal household

Ceremony Life • Ceremony occurs at 12 -14 -years-old • “Skirt Ceremony” for girls • “Pants Ceremony” for boys

Cognitive Domain • Synaptic Pruning—”use it or lose it” principle • Agrarian society with emphasis on family-focused relationships • Gender roles vary significantly • Both girls and boys are taught to value, seek, and enjoy sexual activities • Women do majority of physical/manual labor

Language and Education • No written language—all history, culture, and religion passed down orally • Formal education system extremely underdeveloped • Clash of traditional rural/familial education with formal education • Very few students graduate from high school, few-to-none attend college

Belief Systems • Tibetan Buddhism • Four Noble Truths 1. 2. 3. 4. Presence of Suffering Desire brings Suffering can be ended through achieving Nirvana Steps to Nirvana are known as the “Noble Eightfold Path” • Daba • “Original” religion of the Mosuo culture, has been largely replaced by Buddhism in recent history • Nature worship • Daba priests still called to perform special events

Closing • Uniqueness of the Mosuo Culture o Walking Marriages/ Women as head of household o “Skirt” and “Pant” Ceremony to mark the age of adulthood o Variation/reversal of gender roles in the household • Western World vs. Mosou culture • Tourism in the area has recently boomed. • The modern is growing around the ancient.

References Coming-of-age Ceremony. (2011, June 29). Retrieved November, 2013, from Lugu Lake, Mysterious Women's Kingdom website: http: //www. chinadaily. com. cn/m/yunnan/luguhu/2011 -06/29/content_12799765. htm Gong, B. , & Yang, C. -L. (2012, June). Gender differences in risk attitudes: Field experiments on the matrilineal Mosuo and the patriarchal Yi. In Gender Differences in Risk Aversion and Competition, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. http: //dx. doi. org/10. 1016/j. jebo. 2011. 06. 010 Journeyman Pictures, & ABC Australia. (1995, October). Mosuo Women- China [Video file]. Retrieved from http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=eo. Tr. ARDa 8 BU Long-term and sustainable Projects for the Mosuo Minority. (2013). Retrieved November, 2013, from Hidden China website: http: //www. hiddenchina. net/web/eng/unterstuetzung_mosuo_support. html Mosuo: A mysterious matriarchal group in china. (2003). Retrieved November, 2013, from China Culture website: http: //www. chinaculture. org/gb/en_curiosity/200405/11/content_47041. htm The Mosuo Culture. (2006). Retrieved from Lugu Lake Mosuo Cultural Development Association website: http: //www. mosuoproject. org/main. html Mosuo of China. (n. d. ). Retrieved from Joshua. Project website: http: //www. joshuaproject. net/people-profile. php? peo 3=18610&rog 3=CH Shaitly, S. (2010, December 18). Is China's Mosuo tribe the world's last matriarchy? Retrieved November, 2013, from The Guardian website: http: //www. theguardian. com/lifeandstyle/2010/dec/19/china-mosuo-tribe-matriarchy Stacey, J. (2009). Unhitching the Horse from the Carriage: Love and Marriage Among the Mosuo. Utah Law Review. Retrieved from http: //ehis. ebscohost. com/eds/detail? vid=2&sid=6 c 0 be 89 a-c 7 b 7 -41 eb-9 be 59815 e 7 da 024 f%40 sessionmgr 12&hid=6&bdata=Jn. Npd. GU 9 ZWRz. LWxpdm. Umc 2 Nvc. GU 9 c 2 l 0 Z Q%3 d%3 d#db=a 9 h&AN=59997723