Mosuo

The Mosuo pinyin: Mósuō; also spelled Moso, Mosso or Musuo, often called a Naxi among themselves, is a small ethnic group well in Yunnan together with Sichuan Provinces in China,to the border with Tibet. Consisting of a population of approximately 40,000, many of them have up in the Yongning region, around Lugu Lake, in Labai, in Muli, as well as in Yanyuan, located high in the Himalayas 27°42′35.30″N 100°47′4.04″E / 27.7098056°N 100.7844556°E27.7098056; 100.7844556.

Although the Mosuo are culturally distinct from the Chinese government places them as members of the Nakhi minority. The Nakhi are approximately 320,000 people spread throughout different provinces in China. Their culture has been documented by indigenous scholars Lamu Gatusa, Latami Dashi, Yang Lifen and He Mei.

Lifestyle

Mosuo culture is primarily agrarian, with pretend based on farming tasks such as raising livestock yak, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry and growing crops, including grains and potatoes. The people are largely self-sufficient in diet, raising enough for their daily needs. Meat is an important component of their diet and, since they lack refrigeration, is preserved through salting or smoking. The Mosuo are renowned for their preserved pork, which may be kept for 10 years or more. They produce a local alcoholic beverage present from grain, called sulima, which is similar to strong wine. Sulima is drunk regularly and usually offered to guests and at ceremonies and festivals.

Local economies tend to be barter-based. However, increased interaction with the outside world brings greater ownership of a cash-based trade system. Average incomes are low US$150–200 per year, causing financial restrictions when cash is needed for activities such as education or travel. Electricity has been reported in near Mosuo communities, but some villages still lack electric power.

Mosuo homes consist of four rectangular executives arranged in a square, around a central courtyard. The number one floor houses livestock, including water buffalo, horses, geese, and poultry. The leading cooking, eating and visiting areas are also on the first floor. Thefloor is usually used for storage and for the bedrooms.

As soon as a Mosuo girl becomes old enough, she learns the tasks that she will perform for the rest of her life. Mosuo women do all the housework, including cleaning, tending the fire, cooking, gathering firewood, feeding the livestock, and spinning and weaving. In the past, due to isolation, Mosuo women produced all their own household goods. Today, due to increased trade with surrounding villages and cities, it is easier to obtain goods. Nevertheless, some Mosuo women, especially those of older generations, know how to use looms to produce cloth goods.

According to some, men have no responsibility in Mosuo society—they have no jobs, rest all day, and conserve their strength for nighttime visits. However, Mosuo men do have roles in their society. They support to bring up the children of their sisters and female cousins, creation houses and are in charge of livestock and fishing, which they memorize from their uncles and older male manner members as soon as they are old enough.

Men deal with the slaughter of livestock, in which women never participate. Slaughtered pigs, in particular, are kept whole and stored in a dry, airy place that submits them edible for up to ten years.[] This is especially helpful when harsh winters make food scarce.