EFATE, NEW HEBRIDES. 723 



Marriage. 



In tlie case of children, the parents of the boy propose to 

 the parents of the girl, and if the pro])osal is accepted a 

 feast is held and the children are betrothed. The betrothed 

 girl remains with her parents and in their house initil she 

 reaches maturity, when, as just said, she is publicly and with 

 great ceremony conveyed to the house of her husband, the 

 feasting lasting five days. Marriage is hy ])urchase. 

 Persons belonging to the same tribe {Nakainanga) are not 

 allowed to marry ; thus males and females of the Nakainanga 

 naui (yam tribe) may not marry, and so of all the tribes. 

 Children take their tribal classification, not from the father, 

 but from the mother, that is, they belong to the tribe of the 

 mother. In war they do not necessarily join the mother's 

 kin, and those of the same nakainanga. may sometimes be 

 opposed in battle. As to the law of inheritance of land or 

 property, the relatives seem to inherit, and a widow is regarded 

 as a part of the property of the deceased inherited by them. 

 A son-in-law and his mother-in-law avoid each other ; the 

 mother-in-law covers her face so as not to be seen by him, 

 and if passing where he is keeps as far away as possible, and 

 crouches low so as not to be seen. A son-in-law and his 

 father-in-law also will not touch each other — though the 

 restriction is not so great in this as in the former case, as they 

 may be near and looking at each other. But if they 

 inadvertently touch each other they have to go through a 

 ceremony in which a pig is killed, to cleanse themselves from 

 the stain. Two reasons for this are given — the one being 

 that if they touch each other the son-in-law will be poor, or 

 become poverty-stricken ; the other (and proper one) being 

 that if they do they will be vimam, and their eyes will be 

 darkened (they will be weak) in battle. The wife has to 

 weave or plait mats, cook, and also make her own plantation, 

 and keep it in order. Her treatment greatly depends on the 

 disposition of her husband. 



The Tribe. 



If by a " tribe " is meant a Nakainanga, what constitutes it 

 is descent from the same mother in the female line, and the 

 Nakainanga, as such, has no chief. Of the people of a village 

 there may be several chiefs. The office of a chief is handed 

 down by the chief to a successor whom he appoints and who 

 is pubhcly, with })ig-killing and feasting, designated or 

 appointed. But the chief does not appoint his own son, but 



