﻿538 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  194 
  3 
  

  

  Upon 
  marriage, 
  she 
  moves 
  to 
  the 
  abode 
  of 
  her 
  husband's 
  people 
  and 
  

   becomes 
  completely 
  identified 
  with 
  them. 
  In 
  case 
  the 
  girl 
  does 
  not 
  

   marry 
  at 
  all, 
  which 
  is 
  rather 
  exceptional, 
  arrangements 
  are 
  made 
  for 
  

   her 
  to 
  live 
  with 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  brothers 
  when 
  the 
  original 
  unit 
  splits. 
  

   Upon 
  divorce, 
  which 
  takes 
  place 
  only 
  among 
  Muslims, 
  the 
  woman 
  

   normally 
  returns 
  to 
  live 
  with 
  her 
  people. 
  

  

  A 
  clear 
  division 
  of 
  work 
  between 
  the 
  sexes 
  and 
  differentiation 
  of 
  

   status-role 
  can 
  be 
  observed. 
  This 
  differentiation 
  is 
  sharper 
  within 
  

   Muslim 
  than 
  it 
  is 
  within 
  Christian 
  families. 
  It 
  can 
  be 
  said 
  that 
  in 
  

   general 
  the 
  female's 
  status-role 
  is 
  subordinate 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  male's. 
  

   The 
  following 
  are 
  a 
  few 
  indications 
  of 
  this 
  tendency. 
  As 
  was 
  men- 
  

   tioned 
  above, 
  parents 
  are 
  named 
  after 
  the 
  first 
  son, 
  but 
  never 
  after 
  

   their 
  first 
  daughter. 
  The 
  desire 
  expressed 
  by 
  the 
  parents 
  and 
  their 
  

   relatives 
  is 
  always 
  for 
  a 
  male 
  child. 
  "May 
  Allah 
  give 
  you 
  a 
  son" 
  

   is 
  the 
  usual 
  saying. 
  One 
  never 
  hears, 
  "May 
  Allah 
  give 
  you 
  a 
  

   daughter." 
  Circumcision 
  or 
  baptism 
  of 
  a 
  boy 
  are 
  occasions 
  for 
  

   village 
  celebration, 
  whereas 
  a 
  girl's 
  baptism 
  is 
  observed 
  quietly. 
  In 
  

   some 
  localities 
  women 
  of 
  the 
  household 
  eat 
  only 
  after 
  men 
  have 
  fin- 
  

   ished 
  their 
  meal. 
  In 
  such 
  places 
  a 
  certain 
  degree 
  of 
  segregation 
  of 
  the 
  

   sexes 
  takes 
  place, 
  and 
  women 
  are 
  generally 
  kept 
  in 
  the 
  background. 
  

   However, 
  no 
  veiling 
  of 
  women 
  is 
  practiced 
  in 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  villages, 
  

   as 
  is 
  done 
  among 
  the 
  Muslims 
  of 
  towns 
  and 
  cities. 
  In 
  general, 
  it 
  is 
  

   men 
  who 
  make 
  all 
  important 
  decisions 
  regarding 
  family 
  affairs. 
  

  

  Regarding 
  the 
  division 
  of 
  work, 
  two 
  generalizations 
  may 
  be 
  made 
  — 
  

   that 
  men 
  handle 
  the 
  heavier 
  tasks, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  take 
  up 
  those 
  tasks 
  

   that 
  carry 
  more 
  prestige. 
  Taking 
  care 
  of 
  the 
  children, 
  preparing 
  

   meals, 
  getting 
  water 
  from 
  the 
  spring 
  or 
  well, 
  and 
  washing 
  and 
  mend- 
  

   ing 
  clothes 
  is 
  done 
  exclusively 
  by 
  women. 
  They 
  also 
  do 
  the 
  lighter 
  

   tasks 
  in 
  the 
  fields, 
  such 
  as 
  weeding, 
  gleaning, 
  and 
  fruit 
  picking. 
  

   Men 
  do 
  very 
  little 
  at 
  home. 
  In 
  fact, 
  they 
  would 
  be 
  looked 
  down 
  

   upon 
  by 
  the 
  community, 
  including 
  their 
  wives, 
  if 
  they 
  should 
  handle 
  

   any 
  of 
  the 
  jobs 
  assigned 
  to 
  women. 
  In 
  the 
  fields, 
  they 
  do 
  the 
  heavier 
  

   jobs, 
  such 
  as 
  plowing, 
  pruning, 
  harvesting, 
  and 
  threshing. 
  

  

  The 
  influence 
  of 
  the 
  joint 
  family 
  extends 
  also 
  to 
  the 
  marriage 
  

   institution. 
  In 
  fact, 
  the 
  latter 
  may 
  be 
  considered 
  as 
  a 
  function 
  of 
  

   the 
  former. 
  A 
  boy 
  may 
  know 
  his 
  girl 
  well, 
  and 
  the 
  two 
  may 
  fall 
  

   in 
  love, 
  but 
  the 
  final 
  decision 
  in 
  the 
  matter 
  rests 
  with 
  the 
  families 
  

   concerned. 
  The 
  parents, 
  the 
  aunts, 
  the 
  uncles, 
  and 
  the 
  grandparents 
  

   must 
  have 
  their 
  say. 
  Such 
  an 
  apparent 
  "interference" 
  or 
  "meddling" 
  

   is 
  a 
  logical 
  consequence 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  newly 
  married 
  couple 
  

   will 
  not 
  establish 
  an 
  independent 
  home, 
  but 
  will 
  live 
  with 
  the 
  rest 
  

   of 
  the 
  family 
  unit. 
  In 
  exceptional 
  cases, 
  the 
  boy 
  and 
  girl 
  may 
  rebel 
  

   against 
  a 
  negative 
  decision 
  by 
  their 
  families 
  and 
  elope. 
  Reaction 
  

   against 
  such 
  deviation 
  varies 
  from 
  locality 
  to 
  locality. 
  It 
  may 
  take 
  

  

  