CHAR ACT ERS. 
eeremonies; the consent of the wo- 
man to live with the man being 
sufficient. That being obtained, 
gifts of clothes and trinkets were 
made to the bride; and frequently 
the bridegroom received presents of 
hogs, fowls, and other things, from 
the relations of the woman, to 
whom, in case of a separation, they 
were to be returned. A plurality 
of wives was allowed. A man might 
have as many as he could maintain ; 
but very few had more than two. 
and most of them confined them- 
selves to one. It was very expen- 
sive to have several wives; for the 
husband, on making a present to 
one, was obliged to make an equal 
gift to each of the others. Mach 
wife lived in turn with her husband 
two days, during which time the 
others cultivated their grounds, or 
carried their provisions to market ; 
the property of each was distinét 
from that of the others, but the 
husband shared with ail. 
dren of the different women were to 
| be noticed by their father only on 
the days when their respective mo- 
thers sojoured with him. A breach 
of this decorum would have inflamed 
the injured mother with jealousy ; 
a passion, however, in every respect 
confined to the temperary dame, for 
to the others all the extra-gallantry 
of the man was a matter of indif- 
ference. If the men sometimes be- 
haved with brutality to their wives 
or children, it was generally the 
_effeét of intoxication, It has been 
asserted, that they regarded their 
wives as so many beasts of burden, 
and felt no more concern at the 
loss of one of them, than a white 
= 
* Edwards. 
The chil- 
797 
planter would have felt at the loss 
of a bullock.”* . Without saying 
how far this observation may be ap- 
plicable to ee I will here 
introduce an anécdote, though ra- 
ther out of time, which will eluci- 
date the point. In the course of 
an attempt that was made to convert 
the Maroons to christianity, which 
will appear in its proper place, poly- 
gamy was considered, and the Ma- 
roon told that, as a christain, he 
could not have more than one wife. 
Having been attached to two for 
some time, and having children by 
both — ** Top, massa governor,” 
said he, ‘¢ top lilly bit—you say me 
mus forsake my wife.””—‘* Only 
one of them.”—‘‘ Which dat one? 
Jesus Christ say so? Gar a’mighty 
say so? No, no, massa; Gar 0’ 
mighty good; he no tell somebody 
he mus forsake him wife and chil- 
dren. Somebody no wicked for 
forsake his wife! No, massa, dis 
here talk no do for we.”—In other 
language thus: ‘ Stay sir,” said 
the maroon, “ stay a little. You 
tell me that I must forsake my 
wife.’”—*“* Only one of them,”— 
‘¢ And which shall that be? Does 
Jesus Christ say so? Does God say 
so? No, no, sir; God is good, 
and allows no one to forsake his 
wife and children. He who for- 
sakes his wife must be a wicked 
man. ‘This is a doétrine, sir, not 
suited to us.”’ + 
However, these people were cer- 
tainly in a state far removed from 
civilization, and I do not doubt that 
their passions might haye, occasion- 
ally, instigated them to violences 
that were savage: yet that at any 
time 
+ No reader, of common understanding, will ‘see in this any argument against 
} the conversion of the negroes to christianity. It must take place gradually; and 
Imean, whenI come to that head, to shew that the work may be best attempted 
} first among the Maroons remaining in Jamaica, 
