boas] social order AND LAWS. 579 



'able to provide for a family and she can do the work falling to her 

 share, they are allowed to marry. It happens frequently that the 

 young man's parents are unwilling to allow him to provide for his 

 parents-in-law, and then he may be rejected at any moment. Usually 

 the young couple must begin housekeeping with the young wife's 

 family and the young man. if belonging to a strange tribe, must join 

 that of his wife. It is not until after his parents-in-law are dead 

 that he is entirely master of his own actions. Though the betrothal 

 be entered into in the days of childhood the bride must be bought 

 from the parents by some present. In other instances the men choose 

 their wives when grown up and sometimes a long wooing precedes 

 the marriage. The consent of the bride's parents, or, if they are 

 dead, that of her brothers, is always necessary. Marriages between 

 relatives are forbidden: cousins, nephew and niece, aunt and uncle, 

 are not allowed to intermarry. There is, however, no law to pre- 

 vent a man from marrying two sisters. It is remarkable that Lj^on 

 states just the reverse (p. 353). I am sure, however, that my state- 

 ments are correct in reference to the Davis Strait tribes. 



Should the newly married couple join the wife's family this would 

 serve as a check to polygamy, which, however, is quite allowable. 

 It is only when the new family settles on its o^vn account that a man 

 is at full liberty to take additional wives, among whom one is always 

 considered the chief wife. Monogamy is everywhere more frequent 

 than polygamy, only a very few men having two or more wives. Ac- 

 cording to Ross polyandry occurs with the Netchillirmiut (II, pp. 350, 

 373). As long as the mother-in-law lives with the young family the 

 wives are subordinate to her, while the mothers of both parties are 

 independent of each other. No example came to my notice of both 

 parents living with the newly married couple. Sometimes the man 

 and wife do not set up a new household at once, but each remains at 

 home. The property necessary for establishing a new family is the 

 hunting gear of the man and the knife, scraper, lamp, and cooking 

 pot of the women. 



A strange custom permits a man to lend his wife to a friend for a 

 whole season or even longer and to exchange wives as a sign of friend- 

 ship. On certain occasions it is even commanded by a religious 

 laAV (see p. 005). Nevertheless I know of some instances of quarrels 

 arising from jealousy. Lyon states, however, that this passion is un- 

 Ifuown among the Iglulirmiut (p. 355). The husband is not allowed 

 to maltreat or punish his wife; if he does she may leave him at any 

 time, and the wife's mother can always command a divorce. Both 

 are allowed to remarry as soon as they like, even the slightest pretext 

 being sufficient for a separation. 



I may be allowed to refer once more to the diA-ision of labor be- 

 tween the man and woman. The principal part of the man's work is 

 to provide for his family by liunting, i. e., for his-svifeand children and 



