392 ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES, 



and place the woman therein to wait the arrival of her affianced 

 man. 



A girl was frequently betrothed to someone by the parents at 

 her birth, and was handed over to her affianced man when she 

 arrived at puberty. 



Polygamy was customary and was not restricted ; the more 

 wives a man had, the richer he was considered.* As a rule the 

 women were a free gift, but at times a remuneration had to be 

 offered in the shape of weapons or other useful utensils. The man 

 who had a number of sisters whom he might promise, or over 

 whom he possessed some influence through his parents, stood the 

 best chance of having many wives. 



It was not considered adulter}^ for a brother to have sexual 

 intercourse with the wife of a brother, and it would frequently 

 occur that one brother would lend a wife to another who had 

 none of his own. During the absence from the district (when, for 

 instance, on a visit to a friendly tribe) the wife or wives were left 

 in charge of a brother who assumed the part of husband for the 

 time being. If the absentee had no brother, this duty would fall 

 upon the nearest relative. The husbands of two sisters were 

 considered to be l)rothers. 



Marriage between blood relations was strictly forbidden. They 

 firmly believed that if closely related people had carnal connection^ 

 both offenders would be bitten by " jidjigongs " (snakes); this was 

 a constant dread to them, as it might not take place till after 

 many years. 



The same punishment was also supposed to follow looking at or 

 speaking to mothers-in-law, which was forbidden before as well as 

 after marriage. 



Young people were strictly forbidden to indulge in carnal 

 intercourse. If detected at such an offence, they would receive a 

 severe beating from the other members of the tribe. In case a 



* My informant (Mr. Barry) told me that he had known some men to 

 have as many as five wives. 



