WHAT IS MARRIAGE t 9 



women in war is conjoined with cannibalism, the 

 female captives being turned into wives and the men 

 into food. Among the early Greeks and Romans 

 wives were captured, and a similar practice obtained 

 among the Jews. 



It is only among the lowest races that actual 

 violence in the capture of wives is now resorted to. 

 From being real the process of capture has become 

 feigned, and in this secondary form may be found in 

 all quarters of the globe. The practice exists in a 

 transition state among the Bedouins. After a mar- 

 riage has been agreed upon, the bride offers a real 

 resistance to the bridegroom. The more difficult she 

 is to capture, the more she is applauded. Sometimes 

 she escapes into the mountains and has to be hunted 

 for for days, being secretly supplied with food by her 

 relatives. Darwin finds in the practice of feigned 

 capture examples of the process of sexual selection on 

 the part of women as well as men, the women only 

 allowing themselves to be taken when their pursuers 

 are to their liking. Among the Calmucks a girl 

 sought in marriage is mounted upon a horse and 

 rides off at full speed, her lover pursuing, and whether 

 she is caught or not depends entirely upon the state 

 of her feelings. A similar practice is seen in Pata- 



