Word Search: Visit the Mosuo people, where women run everything

Imagine living in a “queendom” of women – a place where all decisions, inside and outside the home, are made by women. What kind of place would that be?

Click start to play today’s Word Search, where the word “matriarch” led us to a unique location in the world.

We don’t have to really imagine, because such a place exists.

The Mosuo people, an ethnic group that lives in the Yunnan and Sichuan regions of China, are a completely matriarchal society. Having long been isolated from other parts of the country, and its issues, the Mosuo provide a great case study in how a place would function if led by its women, according to a February 2021 report by the World Economic Forum.

In this society, children take the name of their mother’s family, with whom they live throughout their lives. Households are run by matriarchs – usually the grandmother – and inheritance is passed down from mother to daughter. The matriarch is the one who makes all the decisions, even financial ones, and work that is doled out to the community is done so evenly. Women often do work that goes to men in other cultures.

The Mosuo also practice something called a “walking marriage”. In this system, a couple carries on a relationship by mutual consent. They remain in the homes of their respective families, and the man “walks” over to the woman’s home at a predetermined time, to spend time together. They never live together.

Relationships can last as long as the couple want, and there are no social or economic obligations involved. Anthropologists call this a kind of serial monogamy, and find that most of such relationships last for a long time. Any children born through such marriages are raised by the mother’s family, and the father’s involvement or role is decided by all involved. Usually, the child’s uncle plays the role of the father figure.

Men in the Mosuo culture can hold some power – they are usually in charge of death-related activities, including funerals and the slaughtering or hunting of animals. Some even hold political positions, although most are occupied by women.

Interestingly, a December 2020 study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that Mosuo women living in areas where they had control over their lives, were healthier than their counterparts in other regions. The researchers tested two markers of long-term health: blood pressure and inflammation (women tend to have higher levels of both). They found that a mere 3.6 per cent of the women in matriarchal societies had high inflammation levels (in patriarchal communities, it is 8.3 per cent), while 25.6 per cent had hyperthension (as opposed to one-third of women in comparison areas).

Researchers concluded that better women’s health is associated with increased autonomy and resource control – something that patriliny may not necessarily prioritise for women.

Overall, it turns out that if you put women in charge, they do a stellar job!

What do you think? Play today’s Word Search and let us know at games@gulfnews.com.