Mosuo

Known to many as the Mosuo (Chinese: 摩梭; pinyin: Mósuō also spelled Moso or Musuo), but known often to themselves as the Na, the Mosuo are a small ethnic group living in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China, close to the border with Tibet. Consisting of a population of approximately 40,000, most of them live in the Yongning region and around Lugu Lake, high in the Himalayas (27°42′35.30″N 100°47′4.04″E / 27.709806°N 100.7844556°E / 27.709806; 100.7844556).

Although the Mosuo are culturally distinct from the Nakhi, the Chinese government places them as members of the Nakhi (aka Naxi) minority. Their culture has been documented by indigenous scholars Lamu Gatusa and Latami Dashi (the collection of papers that he edited, published in 2006, contains an extensive list of references in Chinese, and a bibliography of books and articles in other languages compiled by He Sanna).