130 TABOO AND GENETICS 



considered a great presumption for the wife to 

 walk by the side of her husband. (33). In 

 many islands of the South Seas the houses of 

 important men are not accessible to their 

 wives, who live in separate huts. Among the 

 Bedouins a wife may not sit in any part of the 

 tent except her own corner, while it is disgraceful 

 for a man to sit under the shadow of the women's 

 Yojfe (tent covering) . (34) . Among the Hindus, 

 no female may enter the men's apartments. 

 In the Society and Sandwich Islands the females 

 were humiliated by taboo, and in their domestic 

 life the women hved almost entirely by 

 themselves. The wife could not eat the same 

 food, could not eat in the same place, could not 

 cook by the same fire. It was said that woman 

 would pollute the food. (35). In Korea a 

 large bell is tolled at about 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. 

 daily, and between these hours only are women 

 supposed to appear in the streets. (36). In the 

 New Hebrides there is a curious segregation of 

 the sexes, with a dread among the men of eating 

 anything female. (37). 



Among many tribes this segregation of the 

 women and the separation of the sexes begin at 

 an early age, most often at the approach of 

 puberty, which is earlier in primitive peoples 

 than in our own race. (38). The boys usually 

 go about with the father, while the girls remain 

 with the mother. This is true in Patagonia, 



