WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER 327 



MARRIAGE 



POLYGAMY, MONOGAMY 



Formerly a cacique had three, four, or more simultaneous wives ; 

 having several wives added to his prestige. The great-grandfather 

 of the present cacique in Ouilaquina had six wives ; his grandfather 

 had three ; his father, four ; he himself has one. Commoners not 

 infrequently had two wives; in more recent times, with rare excep- 

 tions, they have only one. 



In the early days the support of several families was no economic 

 problem. Later, however, a man would have found it difficult to take 

 care of two families — "that was while w^e were being deprived of our 

 land and animals, and were being chased from one place to another." 

 Today it is impossible for a man to support more than one family; 

 also, monogamy is enforced by Argentine law. 



Each of simultaneous waves lived with her children either in a 

 separate toldo, in one of several attached toldos, or in a section of 

 one large toldo. Attached toldos had outside entrances only. Simul- 

 taneous wives were seldom sisters. "Our cacique had six wives, not 

 one was a sister of any of the others. The six lived in two houses, 

 and agreeably so." Each wife took her turn at cooking for all, but 

 all wives and their children ate with the husband. A 70-year-old in- 

 formant, the son of a cacique, told of his father's three wives : "They 

 were not sisters, but life was always pleasant in our house. We all 

 lived together in one house and had one big fireplace. My mother 

 had six children ; one of the other wives had four ; the other, five. — I 

 recall one cacique who had 25 children, because of his many wives. — 

 We children of the three wives got along well; we had great respect 

 for each other and liked each other ; our parents would not have al- 

 lowed us not to like each other. My own mother I called nuke ; she 

 was my father's first wife. The other two women I called kake nuke; 

 in your language it would be aunt mothers. My father I called chau 

 chau. All sons of his three wives were my brothers, and I called them 

 peni ; all his daughters were my sisters, and I called them lamijen 

 or dea." 



When Kolupan married, the Argentine army was already in control, 

 and monogamy was being enforced. Quoting him : "I had one child 

 by my first wife. I did not like my first wife. While married to her 

 I went around like a wild horse. After she died I married another. 

 I had a daughter and a son by her. After she died I had two wives 

 at the same time; each lived in a separate house. One was my true 

 wife, according to Argentine law; the other I had alongside of her, 



