192 Field Museum of Natural History- A nth., Vol. XII. 



asuang, 1 meanwhile asking those spirits to accept the offering and to 

 cease troubling the child. No ceremony takes place at the time of 

 naming or at the age of puberty, but at the latter period the teeth are 

 filed and blackened so that the young person may be more beautiful 

 and, therefore, able to contract a suitable marriage. 



MARRIAGE 



Frequently parents arrange matches for their children while they 

 are still very young, but in the majority of cases the matter is left until 

 after the age of puberty when the wishes of the young people are taken 

 into consideration. The youth or his father having chosen a suitable 

 girl takes or sends a spear, knife, or other acceptable present to her 

 father. If this offering is accepted it indicates approval of the match, 

 and soon thereafter a feast is prepared to which friends of both families 

 are invited. At this feast the price to be paid for the girl and the time 

 of marriage are agreed upon, and at least partial payment is made. 

 As is the case with the neighboring tribes, a part of the value of this 

 gift is returned. Following the agreement the boy enters the service 

 of his fiancee's father and for a year or more lives as a member of the 

 family. Even after the marriage a considerable amount of service is 

 expected from him at the time of planting, harvesting, or building. 



The marriage ceremony proper follows a feast, and consists of the 

 young couple feeding each other with rice and drinking from a common 

 cup. 



Should anything occur to prevent the marriage, after the payment 

 for the girl has been made, the gifts must be returned or service equal 

 to their value must be rendered. 



Unfaithfulness on the part of the woman seems to be the one cause 

 for a separation and this is uncommon, for unless her admirer purchases 

 her for a sum equal to the amount her husband spent in obtaining her, 

 the divorced woman remains as a slave in the home of her former 

 husband. 



Polygamy is permitted and is quite common, but a man may not 

 take a second wife until a child has been born to the first. In addition 

 to his wives a man may have as many concubines as he can afford to 

 purchase. 



It is said to be a grave offense for a man to embrace a married woman, 

 or even to touch the breasts, elbows, or heels of any woman he does 

 not intend to marry. An unmarried woman who permits such familiar- 

 ities is considered as good as married. Despite this assertion, the 



1 See p. 176. 



