Visiting
marriage represents the main marriage system of Lugu Lake¡¯s Mosuo people.
While the male ¡°Axia¡± and female ¡°Axia¡± spend their whole life with their
respective maternal families. In the evening, after having dinner in his
own home, the man will go and stay with his sexual partner or ¡°Axia¡±.
The next morning he will go back home to work. The man and woman involved
in the Axia visiting marriage relationship address each other as ¡°Axia¡±
(lover) . Their relationship is not like that of a husband and wife, but
they are simply
sexual partners. This kind of marriage involves no economic relationship.
The mother¡¯s side of the family are responsible for bringing up any children
that are produced through this kind of relationship. Mosuo people¡¯s marriage
is free. Their ¡°marriage¡± can come to an end if either of the partners
no longer wants to live with the other.
At
night, the man goes to meet his female Axia at her ¡°flower building¡±.
The next morning, they hurriedly go back to their own
respective families to work.
