The Village In China Where Women Have 2 Husbands

中国有个村庄，“一妻多夫”

There is a region in Yunnan province, in rural China, where the Mosuo people live.  The Mosuo are, shall we say, quite a distinct group of people.  They're known as one of the only truly matriarchal societies in the world: women run the show, and men are just kinda there hel out.  

But is that still the case in 2023?  Have the cultural traditions withered away, as they have in so many other regions of China?  I wanted to visit and find out.  

在中国云南省有一个地区，那里住着摩梭人。可以说，摩梭人是一个非常独特的民族。他们被认为是世界上唯一一个真正的母系社会：女性掌管一切，男性只是负责帮忙。

但到了2023年，情况还是这样吗？这里的文化传统是否会像中国其他许多地区一样逐渐消亡？我想去一探究竟。

以下是Youtube网友的评论：

joybird5495

Tommy thanks so much for your videos. I lived in northeast China for 3 years teaching English. It’s such a beautiful country, and when I was there, about 15 years ago, my students and colleagues were welcoming and curious about all things western. I wanted to go to Yunnan but never made it. Thanks again for a taste of their culture.

汤米，非常感谢你。我在中国东北生活了3年，教英语。中国是一个非常美丽的国家，大约15年前我在那里的时候，我的学生和同事对西方的一切都很好奇。我想去云南，但没能成行。再次感谢你让我领略了他们的文化。

davepistone2597

People are people no matter where you go, and their government, policies, and politics don’t define them. The people define the country, not the other way around.

无论到哪里，人就是人，他们的政府、政策和政治不能定义他们。人民定义国家，而不是国家定义人民。

karljohan3989

I searched online and there's a spanish anthropologist named Anna Boyé who's an expert on matriarchal societies and spent some time with the Mosuo.

我在网上搜索了一下，有一个叫安娜·博伊维尔的西班牙人类学家，她是母系社会专家，和摩梭人相处了一段时间。

davewong4834

Yes, my wife was there just before Covid. She did visit some of those family units and was surprised by the arrangement, and how peaceful these units were. Just a matter of survival I guess while facing such poor living conditions, as a minority group in China.

我妻子在疫情前去过那里。她拜访了一些家庭，并对这些家庭的安排感到惊讶，非常和谐。作为中国的少 数民族，面对如此恶劣的生活条件，生存问题才是关键。

christinalin5658

When I travelled to Yunnan with my grandpa, we both got sick after a week, we had to leave a week earlier than we planned, once we were back to Beiing all symptoms were gone without doing anything, people told us it was because we didn’t adapt to the climate, water and food well in Yunnan.

我和我爷爷去云南旅行时，我们两个在一周后都生病了，不得不比计划提前一周离开，回到北京后，所有的症状都没了，没吃药，有人告诉我们这是因为“水土不服”，不适应云南的气候，水和食物。

fuzzylogics139

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences Tommy. How stunning was that landscape once again!? The beauty even on a screen is making me slightly emotional.

那里的景色多美啊！即使隔着屏幕也让我有点激动。

youreprettygood2603

I mean, having lived in China too, the myths we hear in the West about Asian women being submissive and obedient are clearly made up, at least in the case of China, I made many local Chinese friends in the 5 years I lived there, most of them married, and you can easily tell that it's the woman who wears the pants at home, doesn't matter if they're Han or from a minority, the wife rules the household, she controls the money and the expenses, the husband generally gets an allowance that's only a tiny fraction of his salary.

我也在中国生活过，我们在西方听到的关于亚洲女性顺从的流言显然是编造的，至少关于中国的是编的。

我住在中国的5年里，我交了很多当地的中国朋友，他们中的大多数人都结婚了，你可以很容易地看出，在家里是女人当家作主，不管他们是汉族还是少 数民族，妻子管着家庭，控制着金钱和开支，丈夫通常只得保留工资的一小部分。

dalpio

Thanks for showing us the peace and tranquility of China. This series has totally changed my outlook on the country

感谢你向我们展示了中国的和平与安宁。完全改变了我对这个国家的看法

spikermike2843

Mosuo has two tribes, one in Yunan, one in Sichuan.  The Yunan tribe is officially of Mosuo (aka Nax) ethnicity, while the Sichuan tribe, yes the old man was right, are actually categorized as Mongolians.  

摩梭人有两个部落，一个在云南，一个在四川。云南的部落正式属于摩梭人(又名纳西族)，而四川部落，实际上被归类为蒙古人。

mrmysterious

I never thought much about China but watching your videos has given me an appreciation for the country.

我从没关注中国，但是看了你的分享后，让我欣赏起了这个国家。

The144Kth

That story about the people in the region descending from Mongol warriors makes sense to me. You have a bunch of lost men, they find a few women and in order to not kill each other over them they decide to let the women control things in the "love' department, so to speak.

这个地区的人可能是蒙古后裔，我觉得有道理。一群迷路的男人，他们发现了一些女人，为了不自相残杀，他们决定让女人在婚姻中占支配地位。

RodrigoPalma700

Great, people seem freer and less paranoid than in the city, thank you for this wonderful video.

不错，那里的人似乎比城市里的人更自由，更少偏执，谢谢你的精彩内容

Bethany217accountability

Thank you for this beautiful window to the world you've offered. Thank you.

感谢你为我们打开了一扇通向世界的美丽窗户。谢谢！

ssreenavin

Take care Tommy, rest well. We surely want to see more of the world through your lens. Thank you.

保重，汤米，好好休息。我们想通过你的镜头多了解世界。谢谢你！

freshprinceofchicago

Would love to see more country side China and the wonderful people!

希望看到更多关于中国美丽乡村和善良人民的内容

TwoCentsOnTour

Never been to Yunnan, looks beautiful.... That dialect sounds tough though  Hope you head back to the Mainland soon!

从没去过云南，看起来很美，虽然这种方言听起来很难懂。

ad.6472

Really beautiful place! Love the nature

真是个美丽的地方，喜欢那里的环境

unifieddynasty

You absolutely have to go back to China more. You can conversationally speak the language, you do deep dives of places less often travelled, and you're willing to give China a fair shake while also not shying away from your American worldview. That's quite a rare combined skillset.

你一定要多回中国看看。你可以用当地语言交谈，可以深入到很少有人去的地方，你愿意公正的看待中国，同时也不回避你的美国世界观。这是非常罕见的。

Giles20

No way, you went to Lugu lake. Such an awesome place. Mosou people are really interesting. The lads there are big drinkers too, I dont think ive ever drank so much booze in my life when I was there.

你去泸沽湖了，是个很棒的地方。摩梭人真的很有趣。那里的小伙子们都很能喝，在去那之前我从来没有喝过那么多酒。

SabbaticalTommy -

Oh man,  What a shame you had to cut Yunan short.  It is the prettiest countryside and locals I have ever seen you visit.

在我看来，这是你去过的最漂亮的乡村，见过的最漂亮的当地人。

ichaffee1

I love how you show all these interesting parts of China and talk to the people

喜欢你介绍中国这些有趣的地方，和当地人交谈

HeiterProductions

Love these videos! I can't travel right now but am thankful you can take me to places while I cannot

喜欢这些内容，我现在没法去旅游，但我很感激你能带我去那些我去不了的地方

joni4867

Apparently both the Mosuo and the Nakhi (what they are registered as in the census) are descendants of the Qiang people, which are thought to have been of Tibo-Burman origin

好像摩梭人和纳西人(他们在人口普查中被登记为纳西人)都是羌族人的后裔，羌族被认为是藏缅混血

desireco

Your videos are awesome as always but the nature and weather there seem amazing.... nature looks beautiful.

你的内容总是很棒，但那里的自然和天气似乎很神奇，自然环境看起来很美。

junayedonmove129

Showing us what is going on in that small village in china. Man I love this.

向我们展示了那个中国小村庄的情况，我喜欢。

prime1collector792

China is so beautiful and the people are so kind and humble. Peace to everyone.

中国是如此美丽，人民是如此善良和谦逊。愿大家平安。

vajraheart6052

Great vlog.  Yes as you say, 14:50 Mosuo are ethnically Tiban and practice Tiban Buddhism and culture.  

As soon as I saw the two grandmas, one was carrying Tiban rosary and prayer wheel. Then the boy said his name is Tashi Dhondup, which is Tiban.  Eg the other side of the border with Nepal, they are similar to Sherpas in Nepal that are ethnically Tiban so Mousou live on the Tib and China border.   Nax people in Lijiang also have Tiban culture but not as close as Mousou.

是的，正如你所说，摩梭人是藏族人，信奉藏传佛教和藏传文化。我看到两位奶奶，一位拿着藏传念珠和经轮，那个男孩说他叫扎西顿珠，这是藏语名字。例如，在尼泊尔边境的另一边，他们与尼泊尔的夏尔巴人相似，他们是藏人，所以他们生活在中国的西 藏边境。丽江的纳西族人也有藏族文化，但没有摩梭人的那么接近。

axe3425

I have seen this ethnic group on the Chinese news, they are usually brothers sharing the same wife, which can effectively avoid fighting

我在中国新闻上看到过这个民族，他们通常是兄弟共一个妻子，可以避免打斗

kk66

The walking marriage was history, now Mosuo people get married freely, just like any other place of China. But the matriarchal tradition still exsts, the Grandmother is the boss of the family.

走婚已经成为历史，现在摩梭人可以自由结婚，就像中国其他地方一样。但是母系氏族的传统仍然存在，祖母是一家之主。

michaeldesilvio221

I've seen this in India, Indonesia, Ghana, Costa Rica and many other places. It's become very popular.

我在印度、印度尼西亚、加纳、哥斯达黎加和许多国家都看到过这种情况，非常流行了。

hutlazzz

incredible view and people and culture, sometime I wish politics just didnt exst

令人难以置信的风景、人民和文化，有时我希望政治不存在