MARITAL JEALOUSY 123 



the latter 's claim on him for compensation by lending 

 him his own wife. Further, on emerging from the 

 puberty ceremonies every one whether girl or boy 

 must find one of the opposite sex with whom to have 

 ceremonial intercourse : so little virtue is attached to 

 sexual purity in itself. 1 



The Guanches of Grand Canary and Gomera held it 

 to be one of the first duties of hospitality for the host 

 to offer his own wife to a guest ; and refusal of the 

 courtesy was considered an insult. The people of 

 Lanzarote, another of the Canary Islands, practised 

 polyandry. Many of the women had three husbands 

 "who held the position in turn by months, the one 

 next to succeed to the honour serving until his time 

 came to be lord." The Gomerans at least seem to 

 have been in the stage of motherright : probably the 

 inhabitants of the other islands were in the same 

 stage. In Grand Canary the lord of the district had a 

 ius primce noctis over all girls ; but he might if he 

 pleased depute it to one of the nobles. 2 



The tribes inhabiting the Elema district of New 

 Guinea bordering on the Papuan Gulf still reckon 

 kinship through the mother. But the development of 

 the paternal potestas has been considerable, and it is 

 significant that theft of property and sexual immorality 

 are by the native law identical and bear a common 

 penalty, namely, death. This is said to have been 

 laid down by their original male ancestor Ivu, who 

 came out of the ground and married a woman whom 

 he delivered out of the trunk of a tree. The tribal 



1 Duff Macdonald, i. 126, 173, 119; Capt. C. H. Stigand, 

 y. A. I. xxxvii. 122. 



2 Cook, Amer. Anthrop. N. S. ii. 479. 



