Sans père ni mari

About this title

The Na, farmers of the Himalayas in China, live without the institution of marriage. Brothers and sisters live together all their lives, sharing household chores and raising the women's children. Like all cultures, the Na prohibit incest, and practice a system of nocturnal encounters, either occasional or lasting and known to all, at the woman's home. The woman's partners, who can be multiple, do not bear economic responsibility for the children, and the “fathers” unless they resemble their children, are not identified. This film shows how a society can function without a father or a husband.