The Swan Song of Matrilineal Clans: The Walking Marriage Customs and their Evolution Among the Zhaba Zang People

Abstract: As an ancient Tibetan group, the Zhaba are known for their distinctive languages and wedding customs. Their most representative practice is “walking marriage,” a matrilineal marriage system that highlights the authority of maternal kin and helps sustain long-standing modes of production and everyday life in the Zhaba region.

In recent years, with the increasing frequency of cultural contact and ethnic exchanges, the custom of walking marriage in Zhaba has begun to undergo some changes, posing new challenges to Zhaba, which is currently on the edge of endangered ethnic cultures.

Therefore, this article explores the social and cultural foundation, basic characteristics, and contemporary changes of the walking marriage customs of the Zhaba Zang people, in order to focus on and grasp the core elements that enable the preservation and transformation of the Zhaba walking marriage customs.