62 PRIMITIVE PATERNITY 



of the wife the widower is bound to marry her sister, 

 if one be eligible. A close bond unites the children 

 with their maternal uncle. 1 Among the Indians of the 

 Paraguayan Chaco a youth desirous to wed sends a 

 friend to the young lady's hut. At midnight "he 

 enters noiselessly, seats himself beside the sleeping- 

 place, smokes for an hour or two, and then retires as 

 discreetly as he came, without having spoken one word u 

 After two or three of these nocturnal visits the father 

 demands in a brutal tone of voice what business he 

 has to be in his house at such a late hour. The 

 intruder explains the object of his visit, and the father 

 and mother, after having assured themselves that 

 their future son-in-law will be a good warrior, and 

 that he will not beat his wife too much, &c., give 

 their consent, and without further formality the mar- 

 riage is concluded. The husband almost invariably 

 attaches himself to his wife's family, but it is not an 

 unknown thing for his parents, especially his mother, 

 to bring such influence to bear upon him that he will 

 leave his newly wedded wife, and return to his own 

 home, eventually arranging with his wife to spend one 

 half of his time at her village and for her to join him 

 for the other half at his own. The custom of pretend- 

 ing to carry off the bride by force is sometimes 

 practised, and may at one time have been more 

 general." 2 



In British Guiana the Arawaks are exogamous 

 and trace descent exclusively through the mother. 



1 Von den Steinen, 331 ; Schmidt, Indianerstudien^ 437. On the 

 Araguaya a river the Caraja youth builds a separate hut for his 

 bride ; but if he wed a lady from another village he leaves his own 

 and takes up his abode in her village. I gather that the Caraja are 

 matrilinal (Globus, xciv. 237). 2 Grubb, 61. 



