266 PRIMITIVE PATERNITY 



she has reached maturity ; consequently there is 

 scarce a girl who remains a virgin after about five 

 years of age. True, she is often betrothed at birth 

 or when a few months old. In that case she will be 

 delivered to her future husband's family at the age 

 of four or five ; and although she may not formally 

 cohabit with him before puberty, it constantly happens 

 that he deflowers her long before then. 1 At the 

 harvest festival celebrated by the Azimba, a boy and 

 a girl under the age of puberty are allowed to " keep 

 house " by themselves during the daytime, and sexual 

 intercourse often or always takes place. Some of the 

 girls are betrothed and even married before puberty. 

 In any case they are required to undergo the puberty 

 ceremonies. If not previously deflowered, artificial 

 defloration is then performed by the women. On the 

 conclusion of the ceremonies a man is hired by the 

 girl's father to have sexual intercourse with her on the 

 following night, unless she already have a husband, 

 in which case the latter performs this rite. 2 The 

 ceremonies of the Wayao take place at an earlier age, 

 " when the girl is very young, scarcely approaching " 

 maturity. On her return home "she must find some 

 man to be with her," otherwise she will die, or at any 

 rate will not bear children. This ritual coition and 

 consequently the entire rites are regarded as necessary 

 to be performed before puberty. But though the 

 ceremonies antedate that era of her life, she may have 

 been already married and living with her husband ; 



1 Johnston, Brit. Cent. Afr. 408 note. 



* H. Crawford Angus, Zeits. f. Ethnol. xxx. Verhandl. 480. This 

 communication was made through Dr. R. Felkin, and may therefore 

 be considered as stamped with his authority as well as that of the 

 writer. 



