. . .Thus, I have no doubt whatsoever that, if given the opportunity, many Mosuo will learn and adapt quite rapidly, and will be able to take back control over the changes that are taking place in their communities/culture, and control their own futures. I don't really see this as "poverty alleviation"...I see it more as empowerment.
I am glad that the efforts are to help the Mosuo take control of their affairs and try cope with the future. Poverty alleviation is a nice effort, but many times it seems to lack real long term planning.
I gather from your posts that the Han Chinese have been (hmmm how to put this) very ignorant of the Mosuo and in some (many?) cases quite cruel. Do the Mosuo have other neighbors or allies that can help them transition and cope with the changes they are making? Also, I believe you had mentioned there were laws banning Mosuo religious practices. Have the Mosuo made any progress in gaining rights or protections, or are efforts still focused on rescinding the restrictions?
I hope all is well for you and the Mosuo and that you are all succesful in perserving as much of their culture and history as is possible.
This is a hard question to deal with, because it
is politically sensitive, but I'll do my best to answer. To begin with, Communist doctrine teaches that society has different stages in evolution, Communism being the highest/best stage. Thus, all other stages are inferior, primitive, etc. So
all education about minority groups in China tends to be very condescending, using terms such as "backwards", "primitive", "superstitious", etc. (Its useful to note that there are quite a few people in the West, both past and present, who tend to use the same labels). And the stated goal of the government was, until very recently, to get rid of those "primitive" cultures, and bring them all the benefits of Communism.
In the past, this led to significant abuses. The system of walking marriages was made illegal, and anyone caught in such a relationship could be imprisoned. Daba priests were outlawed from passing on their knowledge to younger people. Education was done exclusively in the Chinese language, and focused on hammering into them the idea that their culture was primitive and backwards.
The good news is that, today, this has really changed a lot. Walking marriages are now completely legal. Daba priests are allowed to train younger priests. And minority schools are actively encouraged to incorporate teaching about the local language and culture into their curriculum. In the latter case, this has proved to be a particular benefit to many minority groups in China, as children in younger minorities are no longer raised and educated to be ashamed of their own heritage. But for the Mosuo, since they have no written language, it is extremely difficult to develop any curriculum to teach that language...which is one of our main reasons for making the development of a written language so high a priority.
I can see a big shift in attitudes in China towards minorities. Among people who are over 35, and from a particular minority, there tends to be a sense of embarrassment or shame when they tell others they're from a particular minority; but among younger minority members, there is getting to be more and more of a sense of pride in their ethnic background. Responses from Han Chinese are changing, also. If I talk to Chinese who are over 35 about the Mosuo, their attitude is something like, "Well, that's nice, but they're backwards/primitive, they need to change"; whereas among younger Chinese, I'm finding great interest in learning more about the Mosuo, and of embracing their culture as fascinating and valuable.
Given past abuses, its not surprising that the Mosuo still tend to bear some grudges towards Han Chinese in general (and this is not helped by swarms of Chinese tourists who come and treat them like zoo exhibits, or who come just to have a "walking marriage" with a local girl). But they are also a very pragmatic people, and tend to take each person as an individual. In my own work with the Mosuo, I've brought both foreigners and Han Chinese to work with and help them on various projects; initially, certainly, the Mosuo tended to be more cautious or skeptical about the Chinese, than they did about the Westerners...but once those Chinese had demonstrated that they respected the Mosuo culture, and treated them as equals, there were no problems.
One further note...I believe I mentioned this earlier, but don't want to look back over everything to find the exact post! The Chinese gov't has a list of 56 "official" minorities in China. If you check that list, you will find that the Mosuo are not listed on it. They are, instead, lumped in with the Naxi, who are a completely different minority (different language, different religion, different culture); this is due to historic misunderstandings, and just plain lack of knowledge, when this list of minorities was first made. However, this is a critical issue, as the Chinese government
does allocate money to each minority to help support their local development. But since the Mosuo are not an official minority, they do not receive such support...or they receive a much smaller portion, after most of it has been spent on the Naxi.
There have been some efforts to get the gov't to recognize the Mosuo as a separate minority, but thus far it has not happened...and is not likely to happen soon, either. The Mosuo are not the only group in China in this situation, there are a number of other groups that are also lobbying for recognition as a separate minority. From the gov't's point of view, the moment they recognize one such group, they're gonna' open a giant can of worms and have tons of similar claims. This (again, from their point of view) could cause "social instability", and a bureaucratic nightmare. So, the easiest way to deal with it is just say no to everybody.
The short answer is, you don't, or can't, and they will adapt in some way. Your efforts to help them keep as much control of the transformation is admirable, and is to me empowerment at its best. 
