318 PRIMITIVE PATERNITY 



result of adultery the child will belong to the husband. 1 

 As an old writer says, " he is so far from revenging his 

 wife's infidelity upon her that he prefers to accept the 

 bastard child as his own." This however does not 

 prevent his bringing her partner in the offence before 

 the chief for punishment ; and he receives one half of 

 the fine inflicted, which consists of cattle. 2 Similar 

 customs may be said to be general among such of the 

 Bantu tribes as are patrilineal. Among the Nilotic 

 tribes the rule of the Kavirondo is that any children of 

 a woman at the time of her marriage, whether they be 

 legitimate or not, become her husband's by virtue of 

 marriage. 3 



Turning now to the true Negroes we find in Buna 

 on the Ivory Coast a social condition in which father- 

 right is predominant, but has not yet succeeded in 

 stamping out all vestiges of the more archaic stage. 

 The family is strongly organised, its head being 

 the eldest male, who is absolute master. All the 

 children born during a marriage are the husband's 

 property, even those who are the fruit of adultery. In 

 case of divorce where the wife is known to be pregnant 

 the child subsequently born belongs to the husband ; if, 

 however, her pregnancy be not then known she retains 

 the child. 4 In Seguela parentage runs in the paternal 

 line by preference, and the family is similarly organised. 

 Every child born during the marriage belongs to the 

 husband. In case of lengthened absence of the 

 husband the wife is authorised to live in concubinage 



1 Kidd, 229, 231, 357 ; Post, Afr.Jiw. i. 472 ; Cape Rep. Native 

 Laws, Evidence, 136. 2 Albert!, 141. 



3 G. A. S. Northcote, /. A. I. xxxvii. 62. 



4 Clozel, 308-312. 



