96 PRIMITIVE PATERNITY 



A bride-price is perhaps the most usual incident of 

 a marriage, and is found even among peoples where 

 the husband goes to reside with the bride and her kin. 

 But as we have seen it is very often the condition 

 not of marriage itself, but of the transfer of the 

 bride to the household of her husband and of her 

 children to his kin. Speaking broadly and subject 

 to exceptions, the children of a marriage where the 

 wife continues to reside with her own kin belong to 

 that kin and not to their father's. The converse is not 

 so general. Among some nations the wife, though 

 residing in her husband's dwelling and under his 

 protection and authority, retains and transmits to her 

 children her kinship. Even the payment of a bride- 

 price does not invariably transfer them. The tie of 

 blood with the mother is recognised, with the father 

 is ignored, however notorious the paternity may be. 

 But a local tribe in such a case would, as already 

 pointed out, be composed of men and their children 

 who, if kindred were counted through males instead 

 of through females, would constitute a patrilineal kin : 

 that is, they would be descended in fact on the male 

 side from a larger or smaller number of common 

 ancestors. The affection of a father for his children 

 is by no means dependent on the reckoning of kinship. 

 On the contrary it quite commonly precedes it. 

 Where the father is the head of the household a large 

 measure of power over the children is in his hands, 

 even before his kinship with them is legally recog- 

 nised ; but it is liable to be largely qualified by the 

 rights of the mother's kin. Paternal affection, the 

 impulse to domineer and the greed of undivided power 

 over the children would all alike lead to the desire of 



