Father Is Not Allowed To Live With Children And Their Mother In Mouso Tribe Of China

As in the Mouso tribe women are the rulers, so the birth of a girl is celebrated happily than that of a boy. The children are always recognized by the names of mother's family. However, the name of the father must be known. It is considered bad in the Mouso society if mother does know the name of her children's father. On the birth of child the father visits his father in law's home with gifts accompanied by his parents and sisters. Father can also attend the birthday of his kids but he can not live under a roof with the children and their mother.
The girls and boys of Mouso tribe are considered mature when they reach to the age of 13 years. On the occasion a function called " coming of age" is held. On the eve of function all the children wear in uniform dress. In the function girls present their skirts and boys their pajamas. So the it is "skirt function" for girls and "pajamas function" for boys. At the end of the function girls is alloted a separate "flower room" where she selects her companion for "walking marriage".
Mouso people like to live in the form of a huge family. Inspite of absence of traditional marriages they have very strong family system. The eldest woman(Ah mi) is the head of the family and she has all the powers of a dictator. She has the powers of deciding all the affairs of the family. She assigns the responsibilities to every member of a family.She has also the powers of "finance minister" of home and keeps the accounts and manages financial matters.
Though Mouso women do all the jobs but burial ceremonies and all the arrangements are done by men at the death of a person. One man from each home of the village participates in burial arrangement and management.
Due to the modern amenities of life like television and and working of the Mouso men in the cities, the social changes are quickly occurring in the Mouso society.
Mouso tribe is inhabited at the bank of Loko Lake that attracts tourists because of the natural beauty of the area. So the visits of tourists have been increases in the recent years. The idea of walking marriage has caused the existence of prostitution dens. The prostitution has legal status in the area in the form of walking marriages. This new trend is damaging the centuries old culture of Mouso tribe. It is feared that Mouso culture will diminish sooner or later.