SAMOA 



.From a photograph taken during (he Scientific Expedition of H.. M.S. " UAalleiuier," 18,";Mi. FuMi/ied tiy llorttiurgti & >So, Edinburgh. 



Government Copyright. 



A GROUP OF NATIVES, HAWAII. 



friend and supporter, or, as we should call him, " the best man," who arranges the match 

 and provides the feast. Widows follow the law of the Levirate, and marry the husband's 

 next brother. Each bride brings with her one or two handmaids, who may become secondary 

 wives. A young mail must be tattooed before he can marry. Having made his choice 

 from among the girls of the island he lives in, he sends his " best man" to negotiate and 

 make all the arrangements. The young woman usually has no choice, but is obliged 

 to submit to the decision of her parents. They, on their part, must obtain the chief's 

 consent. For a long time before the wedding takes place all the bride's relations help 

 in getting her dowry of fine mats and native cloths. The family of the bridegroom are 

 likewise actively engaged in collecting property for him, such as cloth, pigs, canoes, etc. 

 When the contracting parties are of high rank, the ceremony takes place in some space 

 devoted to public ceremonies, and surrounded by bread-fruit trees. Here the guests seat 

 themselves in a circle, cross-legged, glistening with oil and bedecked with plenty of beads 

 and flowers. At first the bride remains seated in a house somewhere near, from which 

 extends a carpet of native cloth reaching to the place of assembly.^ There the expectant 

 bridegroom is seated at the farther end of the long carpet. And now, all being ready, 

 the bride comes forth. Needless to say, she is gaily bedecked with beads, flowers, and shells, 

 and also girt round the waist with fine mats, some of which form a flowing train behind. 

 Her maidens follow, all bearing mats. These they spread out before the bridegroom, and 

 return to the house for more. This is repeated a good many times, until, in some cases, 

 the number reaches two or three hundred. All these constitute the dowry collected by 

 her relations. The bride takes her seat by the side of the bridegroom, and presently stands 

 up to receive the applause of her assembled guests. It is now time for the husband to 

 show his wealth, which he does with considerable display. The disposal of all these worldly 



