MARITAL JEALOUSY 203 



had as many as ten husbands. The aid of the chief 

 in such cases can be invoked by either party. The 

 prevailing polygyny causes a still greater sexual 

 laxity among the women than among the men. 

 Many husbands, even men of wealth and rank, regard 

 their wives' proceedings with so much indifference 

 that they make no objection to their adultery. Others, 

 when a lover is caught in the act, only make use of 

 their rights to extort the payment of a few goats. 

 In fact it happens again and again that the husband 

 eggs his wife on, in order to pluck the crow afterwards. 

 The whole sphere of matrimonial causes is so full 

 of baseness and fraud that the chief often gives no 

 damages to either side, being unable to repress his 

 disgust and characterising the affair as kindo kyesi, 

 an abominable thing. Husbands, whose moral feeling 

 is strong enough, a German missionary tells us, simply 

 to repudiate an adulterous wife and let her go to her 

 paramour without suing for damages are an excep- 

 tion. 1 Nor is polygyny any better safeguard of sexual 

 morality among the Ngoni on the west of Lake 

 Nyassa. " Men with several wives and many of the 

 wives of polygamists have assignations with members 

 of other families. I have been told,' 1 says a mission- 

 ary, " by serious old men that such is the state of 

 family life in the villages that any man could raise 

 a case against his neighbour at any time, and that 

 is the reason why friendliness appears so marked among 

 them each has to bow to the other in fear of offending 

 him and leading to revelations which would rob 

 him of his all." 2 Sir Harry Johnston's testimony 

 to the same effect is of more general application 

 1 Gutmann, Gtobus, xcii. 31, 32, 3 Elraslie, 59. 



