PEIMITIVE AGRICULTURAL RACES 173 



* until she reach the age of puberty, a girl is permitted by her 

 parents and by her betrothed to go about freely and have as 

 many lovers as she pleases '.^ A considerable proportion of 

 marriages among the Ibo-speaking people of Nigeria take place 

 before puberty. ^ In the Congo districts the habit is specially 

 common.^ Sexual relations commence early among the Bushongo ; 

 after reaching the age of puberty * a girl is not supposed to have 

 further sexual relations before marriage '.^ It is also recorded 

 by van Overbergh of the Mangbetu,^ by Delhaise of the Warego,^ 

 by de Rochebrune of the Onolove.' Speaking of the Bangala, 

 Weeks says that ' above the age of five years it would be impos- 

 sible to find a girl who was a virgin '.^ ' The sexual morality of 

 the Bahuana is conspicuous by its absence ; the unmarried 

 indulge as they please from a very early age, and the girls before 

 puberty.'^ Torday and Joyce, who are responsible for this 

 statement, speak very similarly of the Bambala,^" and du Chaillu 

 of the Mpongwe.ii The Masai and the Nandi in East Africa 

 have a regularized system of intercourse before puberty. ^^ jt 

 also occurs among the tribes inhabiting the Baringo district ^^ 

 and among the Swaheli.^* Children of the Wapagoro, in what 

 was German East Africa, are brought together by their parents 

 when about seven years of age, and are separated for a period 

 when menstruation begins — that is to say, about three years 

 later.i^ Pre-puberty marriage was formerly very prevalent 

 among the Makonde ^^ and the Wanjamuesi ^"^ of the same district. 

 ' As regards the little girls over nearly the whole of British Central 

 Africa, chastity before puberty is an unknown condition. Before 

 a girl is become a woman it is a matter of absolute indifference 

 what she does, and scarcely any girl remains a virgin after about 

 five years of age.' ^^ Similar testimony is given by Stannus ^^ and 

 by Maugham 2° for the same district. 



1 Partridge, Cross River Natives, p. 254. " Thomas, Ibo-speaking Peoples, 



p. 62. 3 Hiitereau, Ann. Miis. Congo Beige, ser. 3, tome i, p. 4 ; Cureau, 



Societes Pritnitives, p. 109. ■• Torday and Joj^ce, Aim. Mus. Congo Beige, 



ser. 3, tome ii, p. 110. ^ Van Overbergh, Coll. Mon. Eth., No. 4, p. 309. 



' Delhaise, ibid.. No. 5, jJ- 157. He thinks, however, that the practice was intro- 

 duced by the Arabs. ' Rochebrune, Bev. d\inth., vol. iv, ser. 2, p. 281. 

 ' Weeks, J. A. I., vol. xxxix, p. 442. ' Torday and Joyce, J. A. I., vol. xxxvi, 

 p. 288. "> Ibid., vol. xxxv, p. 420. " du Chaillu, Explorations and Adven- 

 tures, p. 162. '^ Johnston, Uganda Protectorate, vol. ii, pp. 824 and 878. 

 " Dimdas, K. H., J. A. I., vol. xliii, p. CO. " Velten, Sitten und Gehrduche der 

 Swuheli, p. 28. '^ Fabry, Globus, vol. xci, p. 221. >« Weule, East Africa, 

 p. 305. " Reichard, Z. G. E., vol. xxiv, p. 253. " Johnston, British 

 Central Africa, p. 409, note. •' Stannus, ./. A. I., vol. xl, p. 309. -" Maugham, 

 Znmhezia, p. 333. 



