Abstract
Mosuo dwellings are distinctive vernacular architecture forms that are shaped by the unique matriarchal society of Mosuo in Southwest China. They have undergone dramatic transformations during the 21st century as a result of modernization and tourism. There is a lack of theoretical and empirical studies regarding the impact on the authenticity. This paper aims to fill this gap and develops a theoretical framework—cultural architectural assets—to understand and interpret the transitions of Mosuo dwellings and their authenticity in transitions. Adopting an anthropological methodology approach, this article examines the changes and continuities of Mosuo dwellings during the last thirty years. Fieldwork was conducted in nine Mosuo villages in Yongning Township through a range of qualitative methods, including participatory observations, photographic survey and photo elicitation interviews. The investigation results revealed cultural-architectural elements that are continued in the transitions include the courtyard form, the sacred chamber and the grandmother’s house; cultural-architectural elements that are changing include the flower house and grass house; cultural-architectural elements that are disappearing include the back room (Dupan) and the upper hearth in the grandmother’s house as well as the wooden shingle roof. As a result, the study constructs a conservation approach for sustainable development in three dimensions: living culture, building culture and values and beliefs. This analytical framework can be adapted to be applied to different contexts as a sustainable approach for the conservation and development of vernacular architecture in transitions.
Highlights
The aim of the present research was to define dynamic authenticity and to construct a conservation approach for sustainable development of cultural-architectural elements belonging to this unique vernacular architecture within the changing context of modernity, which supported inhabitants, policymakers and practitioners
This research has gone beyond simple descriptive analysis of the evolution of Mosuo dwellings; more importantly, the originality of this research lies in its cross-disciplinary approach and in the production of a new theoretical framework—cultural architectural assets—for the investigation of vernacular architecture in transition and the authenticity
Cultural architectural assets place emphasis on the dynamism of context as well as the association of such assets with both cultural continuity and social significance; they should not be seen as merely safeguarding the past architectural traditions, but, more importantly, as safeguarding the logic of continuity that all communities or social groups regard as their valuable architectural assets
Summary
Known as “the Kingdom of Women”, the Mosuo people are one of the few remaining matriarchal societies in the world They are mainly distributed in the Yongning basin and surrounding areas: Around the Lugu Lake of the Ninglang District in Yunnan Province, and to the west of the Yanyuan District in Sichuan Province [1]. Instead of a civil marriage, the Mosuo have “walking marriages” (“Zouhun” in Chinese), an ongoing sexual relationship based on mutual affection [3]. Men usually visit their lovers at night in the woman’s house, and return to their own maternal family in the early morning [4]. The Mosuo practice two religions simultaneously: Tibetan Buddhism, and their native religion Daba [6]
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