214 - president's address — section f. 



and healthy children capable of upholding the prestige of the tribe. 

 Considering the women of his own tribe thus to be inferior breeders, 

 he would naturally look to the neighboring tribes for a fitter mate. 

 He would most likely take by force or by stratagem what he wanted, 

 and in many marriages customs of different races up to the present 

 day we find survivals of this old original marriage custom. Of 

 a marriage as we understand it to-day these remote ages knew nothing ; 

 the abducted woman belonged to the tribe as a whole. The result 

 would be apparent to the tribe ; the children born by the abducted 

 females would be strong and healthy ; they would be able to defend the 

 tribe against invaders ; they Avould be more successful in the quest for 

 food, and would make the tribe once more to flourish. The welfare of the 

 tribe being the principal aim, the men would soon look on the original 

 tribal females as unfit for sexual intercourse, and a system would 

 spring up by which it was possible to distinguish the offspring of the 

 abducted women from the offspring of the females originally belonging 

 to the tribe. The simplest system, it seems to me, is at present to be 

 found in the north-eastern part of the Gazelle Peninsula, and it is most 

 likely the original system still remaining in force. As stated previously, 

 these tribes speak of themselves as We and as They, thus in a very simple 

 way distinguishing the members of the original tribe from the members 

 who are the offspring of females belonging to another tribe. 



But this dual system would not be sufficient when a number of 

 neighboring tribes mixed with one another ; the We and They would 

 be insufficient to distinguish the different groups of offspring, and man 

 would look for other ways. Maybe a certain outward sign, inherited 

 by the children from the mothers, has brought him to look for such 

 signs in all other cases ; and having, in his opinion, found such a sign 

 he would look for it, and class all individuals possessing this charac- 

 teristic sign as belonging to one group. What these signs in every case 

 have been we do not know, but the system of classing the different 

 groups according to the run of the lines in the palm, as still found in 

 New Hanover, seems to me to be highly instructive, and conclusively 

 to prove that man has tried to solve the question of offspring in this 

 way. 



A system like this, based on an outward sign, would soon be found 

 inadequate ; errors would come to light and cause trouble and com- 

 plications, and therefore other systems would have to be looked for. 

 We may, I think, take it for granted that the prehistoric philosopher 

 took as lively an interest in this question as the philosophers of to-day 

 take in the origin of religion or of the belief in God. 



Now it would be entirely in conformity with the present native form 

 of thinking and of reasoning to give to women of a certain tribe a general 

 name by which to distinguish them from women of a second or third 

 tribe. In choosing a name the native, up to the present day, selects 

 from his surroundings and prefixes a male or female article to differen- 

 tiate the sex. As an example you will find in New Britain such names 

 as Tokalangar and Jakalangdar (kalangar = parrot), to is the male and 

 ;ais the female article ; or Tomarwp and Jamarup (marMp— cassowary) ; 



