126 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 190 



mother and the sons to the father, but they did not always follow the 



rule (S 125).)'* 



The French idea of the indissolubility of marriage did not appeal 

 to the Huron and was a great obstacle to conversion (JR 10: 63). 

 One convert expressed the difficulty this way : "If we take a wife, at 

 the first whim that seizes her, she will at once leave us ; and then we 

 are reduced to a wretched life, seeing that it is the women in our comi- 

 try who sow, plant, and cultivate the land, and prepare food for their 

 husbands" (JR 14: 235). One very sick woman refused baptism 

 when she was told that she could not separate from her husband after 

 she had been baptized ( JR 13 : 141 ) . 



The Huron did not marry any relative in either the direct or collat- 

 eral line, however distant the relationship (JR 8: 119; 10: 213), or a 

 relative within three degrees of consanguinity (S 123) .^^ 



When a boy was of marriageable age, apparently his parents and 

 relatives suggested to him a suitable girl to marry ( JR 27 : 31 ; 30 : 37 ; 

 33 : 87) . In any event, when the young man wished to marry a girl, 

 he had to ask her parents for her. Without this consent, the girl was 

 not his, although most frequently the girl did not accept this parental 

 advice.^^ The boy then painted his face and wore the finest ornaments 

 he could get to appear more handsome to the girl and gave her a wam- 

 pum necklace, bracelet, chain, or eaiTing (C 137-138; S 122) or a 

 beaver robe and perhaps a wampum collar (JR 14: 19). If the girl 

 liked the suitor, she accepted the present, and the lover came and slept 

 with her for three or four nights. The girl might do this in deference 

 to her father's wishes and, still not liking the suitor then could reject 

 him. He had no further recourse (C 138; S 122). If the boy and 

 girl agreed to the marriage and had the consent of their parents, the 

 second marriage ceremony followed. A feast of dog, bear, moose, 

 fish, or other meat was prepared, and all the friends and relatives of 



2* Mary Jemison also said that the Iroquois mother takes the girls, and the father, the 

 boys (Seaver 1824 : 180), although others say that the mother generally takes the children, 

 especially if they are small (Jackson 1830 a : 64 ; 1830 b: 29-30; Shimony 1961 a: 228). 

 Morgan's (1901(1) : 316) statement on the subject is somewhat colored by his concern with 

 matrilineal descent. 



^ At least some Iroquois today hold that marriage is prohibited with any known relative 

 (Shimony 1961 a: 30-31). Morgan (1901(1) : 79) states that the clan, and anciently the 

 moiety, were exogamous. In present practice, the rule of clan exogamy occasionally is 

 broken (Fenton 1951 b : 46 ; Shimony 1961 a: 31-32). The Wyandot also practiced clan 

 exogamy (Powell 1881: 63). 



^ Probably "parent" in these sentences should be read "mother." The Wyandot boy 

 seeking a wife asks her mother, sometimes through his own mother (Powell 1881 : 63). A 

 similar custom is reported also for the Iroquois : the boy told his mother, or other female 

 relative, of his intentions and she told the mother, or other female relative, of the girl 

 (Jackson 1830 b: 28). At least some marriages were arranged by the mothers (Jackson 

 1830 b: 28; Morgan 1901(1) : 312-313; Handle 1951: 170). The arrangement of mar- 

 riages by the mothers may have been advantageous to the couple : women saw more of the 

 young girls and could judge their characteristics (Parker 1910 b : 31). At the present time, 

 mothers do not choose spouses for their children (Shimony 1961 a : 225). 



