150 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 



groom. A bit of the sugar cocks and some of the dried 

 fruits are also given from off the table to each of the 

 pair. Eating from the same sugar cock and drinking 

 wine from the same goblets are symbolical of union 

 in sharing their lot in life. 



After this the bride and bridegroom dine together, 

 and it is now for the first time in his life frequently, 

 and always for the first time on his marriage -day, 

 that the latter sees the features of his wife. She wears 

 no rouge on this day, so he knows what share of 

 unadorned beauty he has got. The bridegroom eats 

 as much as he likes, but the bride must not take any 

 food except what is sent to her by her own family for 

 seven or fourteen days. She sits, dignified and com- 

 posed, beside her feasting husband, and does not open 

 her mouth either to eat or to speak. It may be observed 

 here that it is only on his wedding-day that a man jn 

 high -class life deigns to dine with his wife." 



In Pemba, the spice island of Zanzibar, the amount 

 of the dowry appears to be the first and chief con- 

 sideration. Captain J. E. Craster, 1 in his book on 

 the country, says : " The woman asks for as much 

 as she thinks her future husband may be willing or= 

 able to give. Fifty rupees is a usual amount. This 

 money the woman spends on clothes and ornaments. 

 If at any subsequent time the woman wishes to dis- 

 solve the marriage she can do so by refunding to her 

 husband the amount of her dowry. As a rule it is not 

 possible for the woman to find the money unless some 

 other man wishes to marry her. In this case, how- 

 ever, her prospective husband buys her freedom. The 

 husband is not allowed to claim more for his wife 

 1 See Bibliography, 24. 



