PEIMITIVE AGBICULTUEAL EACES 185 



formerly occurred in Hawaii, 1 and from an account given by 

 Kubary it seems to have been practised in the Pelew Islands. 2 

 Although Brainne does not actually say so, his account seems 

 clearly to indicate that intercourse occurs before puberty in New 

 Caledonia, 3 and the same may be deduced from Codrington's 

 account of Banks's Island 4 and from Danks's description of the 

 marriage customs of the New Britain group. 5 Krieger mentions 

 pre-puberty intercourse in British New Guinea, 6 while Murray 

 says that among the- Baru and other tribes girls are married 

 when between seven and ten years old, adding that marriage is 

 consummated immediately. 7 According to Seligman among the 

 Sinaugolo ' connection often takes place before menstruation is 

 established '. 8 The same is reported as occurring among the 

 Javanese 9 and very occasionally among the Topebatos of 

 Celebes. 10 



26. The average length of the suckling period would seem to be 

 at least two years and is probably longer. A few facts may be 

 given. In Samoa it lasts two years, 11 in the Solomon Islands 

 two years or more, 12 in New Caledonia more than three years, 13 

 in Fiji two or three years, 14 in the Bismarck Archipelago often 

 up to three years, 15 in what was German New Guinea about 

 three years, 16 in Sarawak three to five years, 17 among the Bontoc 

 Igorot slightly less than two years, 18 and among the Ainu four 

 or five years. 19 



27. Of postponement of marriage among girls there is again 

 practically no evidence. In the Society Islands girls were married 

 when between twelve and sixteen years of age. 20 In the Western 

 Islands of the Torres Straits girls marry a few years younger than 

 the men, of whom the age of marriage is given as between twenty 

 and twenty -five. 21 Very occasionally, as in the above cases, there 

 would seem to be some insignificant postponement of marriage. 



1 Dumas, Collection des Theses, p. 18. 2 Kubary, Journal dzs Museum Godeffroy, 

 vol. i, p. 53. See also same author, Ethnographische Beitrdge, p. 148. 3 Brainne, 

 Nouvelle-Caledonie, p. 250. ' Codrington, Melanesians, p. 235. 5 Danks, 



J. A. /., vol. xviii, p. 288. 6 Krieger, Neu-Guinea, p. 297. 7 Murray, Papua, 

 p. 195. 8 Seligman, J. A. /., vol. xxxii, p. 302. 9 Epp, Holldndisch-Ostindien, 

 p. 393. 10 Kreutz, Zeit. Soc. Wiss., vol. ii, p. 201. u Pritchard, Polynesian 



Reminiscences, p. 141. 12 Ribbe, Zwei Jahre, p. 144. 13 Bernard, Nouvelle- 

 Caledonie, p. 288. See also Glaumont, Rev. d'Eth., vol. vii, p. 80 ; Lortsch, Globus, 

 1885, p. 107 ; and Moncelon, Bull. Soc. Anth., vol. ix, p. 361. 14 Thomson, 

 Fijians,p. 176. 15 Thurmwald, Forschungen, p. 123. 16 Hagen, Unter den 



Papuas, p. 233. l7 Ling Roth, Sarawak, p. 100. 18 Jenks, Ethnological Survey 

 Publications, vol. i, p. 61. 19 Hitchcock, A. R. B. E., 1890, p. 465. 20 Moeren- 

 haut, Voyages, p. 62. 21 Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, vol. v, p. 247. 



