COURTSHIP 239 



with her family, assists her in her daily work, and sleeps for a 

 time in whatever house she may occupy. During the night he 

 seeks the girl, who will be sleeping among others, and by blowing 

 on the burning end of a cigarette he obtains light enough to dis- 

 criminate. The efforts of the man to embrace and caress her the 

 girl withstands vigorously with blows and scratches, so that his 

 face and chest are often torn and covered with blood. So things 

 continue for several nights perhaps, the man suffering patiently 

 the while, until, if she is willing to take him as a husband, she 

 yields herself This is their nuptials, and concludes the marriage.* 

 Thenceforth, the man holds to his wife's house rather than his own 

 family's, but often the parents will learn nothing for some time.f 



* "Among the Battas no marriage ceremonies take place; rich men and 

 rajahs only regale the village by killing a buffalo or hog." — Featherman. 



t (a) Cf. St John's Lije in the Forest of the Far East. — " Besides the ordinary 

 attentions which a young man (of the Sarawak Dyaks) is able to pay the girl 

 he desires to make his wife, as helping her in her work, and carrying home her 

 load of vegetables, as well as making her presents, there is a peculiar testimony 

 of regard that is worthy of note. About nine or ten at night, when the family 

 is supposed to be asleep within the mosquito curtains in the private apartment, 

 the lover quietly slips back the bolt by which the door is fastened on the 

 inside, and enters the room on tip-toe. He goes to the curtains of his beloved, 

 gently awakes her, and she, on hearing who it is, rises at once, and they sit 

 conversing together and making arrangements for the future, in the dark, over 

 a plentiful supply of sireh leaf and betel-nut, which it is the gentleman's duty to 

 provide. If, when awoke, the young lady arises and accepts the prepared 

 betel-nut, happy is the lover, for his suit is in a fair way to prosper ; but, if on 

 the other hand, she rises and says, ' Be good enough to blow up the fire,' or ' to 

 light the lamp,' then his hopes are at an end, for that is the usual form of 

 dismissal. Of course if this kind of nocturnal visit is frequently repeated, the 

 parents do not fail to discover it, although it is a point of honour among them 

 to take no notice of their visitor ; and if they approve of him, matters take their 

 course, but if not, they use their influence with their daughter to ensure the 

 utterance of the fatal ' Please blow up the fire.' " 



{b) "Customs of the Minahassers," Hickson's Celebes, p. 272. — "Two young 

 people meet at the mapalns (communal gatherings for work, followed by a 

 feast), and over the feasting and singing become interested in one another, and 

 fall in love. Then follows the courtship, which is not supposed to be open and 

 above-board, but is, nominally at least, carried on in secret. It consists in 

 nocturnal visits of the young man to the young woman's house, visits which 

 although frequently attended by immorality, are not necessarily so, and are 

 often perfectly decorous and formal. 



"The young woman prepares a mat for her lover, and after dark he comes 



