CiiAP. XX. INTEEFEEING CAUSES. 363 



" killing and driving out the others, establislies himself 

 " as the head of the community." ^ Tlie younger males, 

 being thus expelled and wandering about, would, when 

 at last successful in finding a partner, prevent too close 

 interbreedino' within the limits of the same familv. 



Although savages are now extremely licentious, and 

 although communal marriages may formerly have 

 largely prevailed, yet many tribes practise some form 

 of marriage, but of a far more lax nature than with 

 civilised nations. Polygamy, as just stated, is almost 

 universally followed by the leading men in every tribe. 

 Nevertheless there are tribes, standing almost at the 

 bottom of the scale, which are strictly monogamous. 

 This is the case with the Veddahs of Ceylon: they 

 have a saying, according to Sir J. Lubbock,^ " that 

 " death alone can separate husband and wife." An 

 intelligent Kandyan chief, of course a polygamist, 

 " was perfectly scandalized at the utter barbarism of 

 " living with only one wife, and never parting until 

 " separated by death." It was, he said, " just like the 

 '* Wanderoo monkeys." Whether savages- who now 

 enter into some form of marriage, either polygamous or 

 monogamous, have retained this habit from primeval 

 times, or whether they have returned to some form of 

 marriage, after passing through a stage of promiscuous 

 intercourse, I will not pretend to conjecture. 



Infanticide. — This practice is now very common 

 throughout the world, and there is reason to believe 

 that it prevailed much more extensively during former 

 times.^^ Barbarians find it difficult to support them- 



8 Dr. Savage, in 'Boston Journal of Nat. Hist.' vol. v, 1845-47, 

 p. 423. 



9 ' Prehistoric Times,' 18G9, p. 424. 



^0 Mr. M'Lennan, ' Pjimitive Marriage,' 1865. See especially ou 

 exogamy and infanticide, p. 130, 138, 1G5. 



