226 THE EEGULATION OF NUMBEES 



In this connexion it may be noticed that we often hear of the 

 scorn poured upon the weak and unsuccessful ; it appears to be 

 the case that such men sometimes never marry.i Among the 

 Kutchins ' poor men, whose abiHties as hunters are small, and 

 who have been unable to accumulate herds, remain bachelors '.^ 

 One of the most difficult things an Eskimo has to learn is how to 

 catch seals. ' The poor wretch ' that cannot do so ' is despised to 

 the last degree, and is obliged to subsist on women's diet, such as 

 scolpings, which he can fish for on the ice, mussels, periwinkles, 

 dried herrings, &c.' ^ With regard to postponement of marriage, 

 from twenty-three to twenty-five is the usual age of marriage for 

 men among the Thompson Indians,* from twenty-one to twenty- 

 five for men among the Lillooets,^ and twenty-five among the 

 Abipones.^ 



With regard to the races of the second group, among the Tope- 

 batos men marry when about eighteen. They have both to present 

 gifts to, and to do work for, their future parents-in-law.'' The 

 bridegroom also works for his future parents-in-law among the 

 Bontoc IgoroD.^ In Fiji ' young men of the lower orders married 

 rather late in life for a primitive people, rarely, it appears, before the 

 age of twenty-five '.^ Later the same author says that ' marriages 

 were often delayed for years when the bridegroom's family were 

 too poor to acquire property commensurate with their pride \^^ In 

 the Maldivo Islands ' although a man is allowed four wives at 

 a time, it is only on condition of his being able to support them 'M 

 In the Caroline Islands ' a suitor serves for his wife in the house 

 of his father-in-law elect as Jacob did with Laban and frequently 

 has his pains for nothing '.^- Marriage by purchase is common 

 in New Guinea and often results in a postponement of marriage 

 while the purchase money is being collected.^^ Speaking of the 

 New Britain Group, Danks says ' some I have met who have never 



' See Carpenter, Intermediate Types, passim. ^ Richardson, loc. cit., 



vol. i, p. 383. 3 Crantz, loc. cit., vol. i, p. 163. * Teit, loc. cit., vol. i, 



p. 321. 5 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 265. 



^ Ratzel, loc. cit., vol. ii, p. 124. According to Man (loc. cit., p. 81) men among 

 the Andamanese marry at from eighteen to twenty-three years of age ; Portman 

 (loc. cit., p. 369) says twenty-six. Deniker (Rev. d'Eth., p. 301) says that the 

 Ghiliaks do not marry until between twenty and twenty-five years old. The 

 Aetas of the province of Cagayan have to pass a bow and arrow shooting test 

 before marriage (Blumentritt, Z. 0. E., vol. xxvii,p. 65). The custom of wrestling 

 for wives has been recorded for various races (Lubbock, Primitive Man, p. 106). 



' Kreutz, loc. cit., p. 202. » Jenks, loc. cit., p. 68. ' Thomson, 



Fijians, p. 172. '» Ibid., p. 202. " Rosset, J. A. I., vol. xvi, p. 168. 



*- Christian, Geog. Journ., vol. xiii, p. 1 14. " Krieger, loc. cit., pp. 172, 297. 



