Leaving Mother Lake

I got this book at the swap meet this past Saturday.  It's written by Yang Erche Namu who grew up in a remote village in the Himalayas in a region the Chinese call the Kingdom of Daughters, home to the Mosuo people, where women rule and there are no husbands.



Women here make most major decisions; they control household finances, have the rightful ownership of land and houses, and full rights to the children born to them.  From the age of 13, after being initiated, females may choose to take lovers from men within the tribe, having as many or as few as they please over their lifetime. Male companions visit the women's homes at night, but must return to their own homes in the morning. Any resulting children are raised by the woman's family. The father and all adult men are known as "uncles". There are no words to express the concepts of "father" or "husband".  In place of one father Mosuo children may have many uncles who take care of them.

I find this 2,000-year-old tradition strange, intriguing and kinda cool.  Here's more: