90 PRIMITIVE PATERNITY 



life. In one of them the man, in another the girl's 

 family, takes the initiative. In both cases presents 

 are exchanged between the relatives. In both cases 

 the bridegroom on going to claim his bride stays at her 

 parents' house for several days. Then he brings her 

 to his father's house. After a few days, or even 

 a month or more, the young couple are compelled by 

 custom to return ceremonially to the bride's home. 

 They stay there for a while and are then brought back 

 to the bridegroom's father's house ; after which they 

 are at liberty to live with or visit the parents of either 

 as they feel inclined. These proceedings are an 

 obvious compromise, and it will be observed that they 

 start from the residence of the husband with the wife's 

 folk, and not vice versd. The third mode of entering 

 into marriage is now obsolete. Formerly a man was 

 compelled to marry a girl whose person he had touched, 

 even if he had touched her accidentally. A man who 

 touched the naked breasts or heel of a maiden trans- 

 formed her by that act into his wife, and they lived 

 together thenceforth as man and wife. 1 If a young 

 man intentionally touched a girl with an arrow, it was 

 an offer of marriage. Two days afterwards he repaired 

 to her house, and if her relatives called him " son-in- 

 law" and treated him well, he knew that he was 

 accepted. " The man who cut or loosed one string of 

 the lacing which covered a maiden's breast, cut her 

 breech-cloth, or lay down beside her had to marry her ; 

 and she at once became his recognised wife without 

 further ceremony. Sometimes a young man would 

 repair to the house of his sweetheart after every one 

 had gone to bed. He knew where she slept. He 

 1 Compare the Indian cases cited above p. 40. 



