MALEKULA, NEW HEBRIDES. 705 



continue to live and eat with their mothers, but when they 

 become " Baras," then they are separated, and must prepare 

 their own food on their own fires. 



Rank or Degrees. 



To give a full description of these would be a long labour. 

 There are four classes through which men rise — Baras, 

 Gulguls, Muluns Mais, or Maras. No one of these classes 

 can eat food with any of the others, or cook it on the same 

 fire, and of course none of them can eat food prepared by a 

 woman, or on a fire kindled or used by her. In cases of 

 sickness, women may prepare food for their husbands, or 

 brothers, or sons, but when the man recovers he has to kill a 

 pig to regain his footing. 



To become a Bara, or rise to any of the other degrees, 

 a man makes a " Mangkea " or " Sing-sing " at which he 

 sets up a tones, a carved and painted fern tree, to represent 

 one of his ancestors, kills from two to ten pigs, and assumes 

 his new name. 



After that a Bara is reckoned among the men, sits in theii" 

 amil, goes out to fight with them, may marry, and in general 

 has all the privileges of the tribe. 



Marriage. 



When a man has a marriageable daughter, he travels 

 round the villages or sends word that he is disposed to treat 

 with any one about her. For a young girl 9 boars and 2 

 pigs ai'e demanded, but less for a widow. 



As I remarked before, there does not seem to be any 

 betrothal ; any man who can muster the pigs may have the 

 woman, and one reason they give for marrying their girls at 

 such an early age is to prevent others from violating them. 

 There are degrees of consanguinity which may not marry ; 

 e.g.y brothers and sisters, which is a very wide term, embrac- 

 ing — I. Actual brothers and sisters. 2. Cousins german. 



On the marriage day the little bride is adorned, her face 

 painted black and red, a new mat tied I'ound her middle, and 

 a longer one, about 9 feet, tied round her shoulders containing 

 her few possessions, knife, &c. She is escorted by all the 

 women of her village, some of them carrying branches of 

 dracaena, having the leaves tied with a root. The men 

 generally follow at a short distance. On their arrival at the 

 husband's village, the father addresses the bridegroom, tells 

 him that he must not beat her, or desert her, but see that 



