Cuarrer XXXIV 
SEXUAL—MARRIAGE, POLYGAMY, DIVORCE, WORK, 
AND LABOR 
Marriage: By betrothal (868); choice on man’s side (869); temporary ex- 
change (870); purchase (871); capture (872); choice on girls’ side (873) ; 
right of birth (874). 
Marriage usually with parents’ consent (875). 
Variable degree of consanguinity observable (876). 
Marital and family relationship: Arawak (877, 878); Carib (879); Warrau 
(S80) ; personal names (881). 
Discrepancies of age (S82). 
Members of different tribes (883). 
Puberty and prenuptial ordeals of the male (S884); of the female (885). 
Marriage customs: Drinking, dancing, etc. (S86); gifts of food, firewood, ete. 
(S87) ; combing, etc., of the hair (888). 
Vosition of husband and wife in family circle (S89). 
Relations between husband and wife (890). 
Mother-in-law (891). 
Polygamy: Its prevalence (892); factors (893) ; wife’s sister (894) ; household 
(895) ; relative position of wives and children (896). 
Widowhood (897). 
Divorce (898). 
Relations of sex to labor (899-903). 
868. Marriage, or rather the cohabitation of male and female, is 
not as a rule regarded in a serious light. Engagement and court- 
ship are out of the question, while kissing and cuddling are said to 
be practically unknown. Among Arawak, as well as Carib, the 
beauty of a girl is judged by her feet, her face being of secondary 
importance. To make himself pleasant to a wench, the Indian 
youngster will say: “ What dainty little feet you’ve got! Your eyes 
are like a deer’s, and you are as nimble as a spider monkey! ” Cold 
and heartless as the mating is to us, it is not entirely wanting in 
romance. The redskin lass does not, however, confess her love to 
the violet or daisy like her European sister, but confides it to the 
kkulasili (thrush). “ Sing! my kulasili, and tell him how I love him.” 
And the thrush sings and is answered by another thrush, and so 
throughout the forest and savanna, the song of love is carried along. 
“Oh! may he understand what the kulasili says,” sighs the belle. 
And the youngster will express his heart’s desire in the same man- 
ner (PEN, 1, 136, 187), Except among the more sophisticated there 
666 
