Marriage Customs. 219 



on war and a " free lance " existence. Now, as wives are 

 sometimes scarce, they take them young. 



When the Angoni had plenty of cattle, as many as 

 twenty cows would be paid to a father for his daughter, 

 although the usual number was from five to ten beasts. 



Now all the youth does is to arrange with the parents 

 and the girl, and then hand over a few shillings, or some 

 cloth or beads, and the girl is his. Then a beer drink 

 usually takes place, and the youth, who has probably got a 

 hut ready for his bride, takes her off and they cohabit. 



The missionaries are trying to instil into the minds of 

 the natives that a single wife is much preferable to a 

 number, and they are teaching the natives to read and 

 write and relinquish their polygamistic habits, and many of 

 the younger men have done so. 



This is a big question, but, so far as I can see, this 

 system does not work well with natives, particularly with 

 the older men who have from three to ten or more wives ; 

 if these are cast off they either lead immoral lives or they 

 hold an inferior position for being unattached. A man's 

 wealth and food supply depends largely on the extent 

 of his household, or households I should write it, as each 

 wife has her own hut. 



The women do the greater part of the hard work, as they 

 perform most of the hoeing in the gardens, and they cook 

 their husband's and children's food, get water and firewood, 

 and do a lot more ; so if a man has only one wife he will 

 find that his garden will be small, and often, if she is ill, 

 there will be no food to eat, as it is hard work for her to 

 pound grain, and do the other necessary daily tasks. 

 Therefore many of the old men have refused to give up 

 any of their wives, and as they are too old to bother about 

 learning to read and write they lead their old lives, except 

 that fighting and raiding play no exciting part. 



The man usually does the heavy work of timber felling 

 and making a garden, and he hunts pig and small buck 

 with his dogs and a spear. The old men always have a 

 great craving to imbibe native beer ; and they often travel 



