134 TABOO AND GENETICS 



this " women's speech " had arisen, it would of 

 course not be ..used by the men because of the 

 universal contempt for woman and mil that 

 pertained to her. This may have been the origin 

 of the use of different dialects in some tribes, 

 such as the Japanese, the Arawaks, some 

 Brazilian tribes, and others. (49). 



Although the division of labour between the 

 sexes had a natural biological basis, and indeed 

 had its beginning in the animal world long 

 before man as such came into existence, the idea 

 of the uncleanness of woman was carried over 

 to her work, which became beneath the dignity 

 of man. As a result, there grew up a series of 

 taboos which absolutely fixed the sphere of 

 woman's labour, and prohibited her from en- 

 croaching on the pursuits of man lest they be 

 degraded by her use, quite as much as they 

 barred man from her specific activities. In 

 Nicaragua, for example, it is a rule that the 

 marketing shall be done by women. In Samoa, 

 where the manufacture of cloth is allotted to 

 the women, it is taboo for a man to engage in 

 any part of the process. (30). Among the 

 Andamanese the performance of most of the 

 domestic duties falls to the lot of the women 

 and children. Only in cases of stern necessity 

 will the husband procure wood or water. (50). 

 An Eskimo even thinks it an indignity to row 

 in an umiak, the large boat used by women. 



