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The capacity of folk song to reveal complexities in Mosuo culture (China)

- Author(s)
- Bliss, Carol
- Title
- The capacity of folk song to reveal complexities in Mosuo culture (China) / by Carol Bliss
- Publication
- Hong Kong: Claremont Graduate University, 2004
- Subjects
- Dǎ tiào [打跳] ; Sichuan ; Yunnan
- Type of material
- Document
- Eduki mota
- Thesis
- ISBN / ISSN
- 0496892363
This dissertation explores a phenomenon of uncommon beauty, the folk songs of the Mosuo people of southwestern China. It follows a thread of interest, examines the impact of folk songs on the observer, and traces the attempt to understand this unique culture and the changes occurring in it through the language and imagery in folksongs. Cultural values as observed in Mosuo folk songs include reverence for nature, peaceful coexistence with neighbors, and appreciation and respect for gender differences. As the Mosuo face the forces of modernization, many aspects of their culture are changing, such as educational systems, values, and identity. Through authoethnographic and qualitative research, this dissertation explores aspects of change and cultural identity among the Mosuo, a unique matrilineal society living around Lugu Lake, located between the borders of Yunnan and Sichuan province. For hundreds of years, the Mosuo have kept a reported tradition of visiting marriage in which women and men take lovers at night but rarely marry. Mosuo families live in their mother's household, raised by uncles. This unique society has attracted increasing attention from tourists and scholars. The Mosuo people live in a culture whose ways of living and learning have remained largely unchanged for the past several centuries. Recent anthropological studies have focused on gender issues and changes in family structure. Within the last ten years, a road over the mountains has increased access to Lugu Lake. The economy has begun to shift from a subsistence economy to one influenced by tourist dollars. Changes in folk songs reveal complex societal changes. Traditional folk songs collected by Mosuo scholar Lamu Gatusa are compared to folk songs that have been adapted for the pleasure of tourists. This research encourages appreciation and respect for indigenous knowledge and different ways of living and learning. It contributes to discussions about authenticity, cultural preservation vs. loss of cultural identity, the value of wisdom traditions, and societal change as market forces and modernization reshape indigenous cultures.