SAMOA. 627 



In the Loyalty Islands, and, I think, amono^ the Papuans 

 generally, inarria^'es were r'oiuhioied with xery little ceremony 

 or demonstration. Betrothals havino- been made in early 

 life, perhaps in infancy, and beino- constantly kept before their 

 minds by the girl having to work for her destined husband 

 as soon as she was aide to perform the toil required, marriage 

 was a settled matter calling for no excitement. When the 

 time arrived that the friends tlionght it right that the betrothed 

 should live together, or the young man should decide for him- 

 self, little else was necessai-y than they should convey his wish 

 to the girl and her family, and then the youth would fetch 

 her away, or she would be brought to him nolens volens, 

 sometimes by force and ill-treatment. A fJ^ast was ])rovided 

 for the occasion by both families, of which all ]iresent])artook, 

 and " portions " were sent also to relatives living at a tlistance. 

 Betrothals can be annulled, l)ut only with the consent of the 

 young man and his family, and payment exacted, often very 

 considej-ible. If the engagement is broken without such 

 an-angements a deadly feud is likely to result, and a heavy 

 jienalty is demanded ])y the young man and his relatives. 



I^olygamy existed in Samoa, but oidy to a limited extent, 

 and was almost restricted to high chiefs. Children w^ere 

 mostly, though not invariably, included in the father's tribe. 

 If the mother belonged to a superior tribe to that of the 

 father, the childi-en would probably be adopted by members 

 of the mothers family, and, in that case, take their political 

 ])osition in that tribe in peace and in war. 



Polygamy among the Papuans is very general. Chiefs 

 jjossess several wives, oj", more jDrojjerly, slaves or labourers. 

 Among the inferior classes a man rarely had more than two 

 wives, and some remained bachelors. 



Land was held by tenure of inheritance derived from the 

 original possessor, and was divided and subdivided as fiimilies 

 multiplied. Some holdings were possessed by gift or ])urchase. 

 It was in the power of chiefs, or a council of chiefs, to dis- 

 ])Ossess a man of his land and even to expel him from the 

 tribe and district. Among the Papuans, as in the Loyalty 

 Islands, land under cultivation was the property of the 

 females who cultivated it ; its alienation, however, was subject 

 to the approval or otherwise of the heads of families and 

 chief of the tribe or district. 



Widows and orphans w^ere treated with com])assion and 

 kindness, A widow was at liberty to return with her children 

 to her own family. There was no obstacle interposed to 



