Tisese and its anthropological significance - Issues around the visiting sexual system among the Moso

This article addresses some controversial issues around tisese, a visiting sexual-reproductive institution among the Moso in Southwest China, and disc usses the anthropological significance of this case. Topics include the gro up naming of the Moso; the nomenclature of the visiting system, how to unde rstand the uniqueness of tisese, and whether it should be understood as a f orm of marriage, why the Moso have kept it and how to understand the roles of father and husband in this society The article argues that tisese is ind eed a sui generis institution which does not only challenge the anthropolog ical wisdom of such fondamental human institutions as marriage and nuclear family, but also has broad relevance to current theoretical interests such as gender, identity, ethnicity, political economy and anthropological demog raphy.