280* THE SERI INDIANS [eth.axn.i7 



the tdan relation, etc; for no stripling may seriously coutemplate matri- 

 mouy until lie has entered manhood (apparently corresponding with 

 the warrior class), nor can he mate in his own totem, though all other 

 clans of the tribe are apparently open to him; while the maiden must 

 have passed (apparently by a considerable time) her puberty feast. lu 

 any event, too, the proposal is formally conveyed by the elderwomau 

 of the suitor's family to the maiden's clanmother, when it is duly i)on- 

 dered, first by this dame and her daughter matrons; and later (if tlie 

 proposal is entertained) it is deliberated and discussed at length by the 

 matrons of the two clans involved, who commonly hold repeated councils 

 for the purpose. At an undetermined stage and to an undetermined 

 degree the maiden herself is consulted; certainly she holds the power 

 of veto, ostensible if not actual. Pending the deliberations the maiden 

 receives special consideration and enjoys various dignities; if circum- 

 stances favor, her kinswomen erect a jacal for her; and even if cir- 

 cumstances are adverse, she is outfitted with a iielicau robe of six or 

 eight pelts and other matronly requisites. When all parties concerned 

 are eventually satisfied a probationary marriage is arranged, and the 

 groom leaves his clan and attaches himself to that of the bride. Two 

 essential conditions — one of material character and the other moral — 

 are involved in this ])robatioiiary union ; in the first jdace, the groom 

 must become the i^rovider for, and the protector of, the entire family of 

 the bride, including the dependent children and such cripples and 

 invalids as may be tolerated by the tribe — i. e., he must disjilay and 

 exercise skill in turtle-fishing, strength in the chase, subtlety in war- 

 fare, and all other physical qualities of competent manhood. This 

 relation, with the attendant obligations, holds for a year, i. e., a round 

 of the seasons. During the same period the groom .shares the jacal 

 and sleeping robe provided for the prospective matron by her kins- 

 women, not as privileged s])ouse, but merely as a protecting com- 

 panion; and throughout this probationary term he is compelled to 

 maintain continence — i. e., he must display the most indubitable proofs 

 of moral force. During this period the always dignified jiosition occiu- 

 pied by tlie daughter of the family culminates; she is the observed of 

 all observers, the subject of gossip among matrons and warriors alike, 

 the recipient of frequent tokens from designing sisters with an eye to 

 shares of her spouse's spoils, and the receiver of material supplies 

 measuring the comjjetence of the would-be husband ; through his energy 

 she is enabled to dispense largess with lavisli hand, and thus to dignify 

 her clan and honor her spouse in the most effective way known to 

 prindtive life; and at the same time she enjoys the immeasurable moral 

 stimulus of realizing that she is the arbiter of the fate of a man who 

 becomes warrior or outcast at her bidding, and through him of the 

 future of two clans — i. e., she is raised to a responsibility in both per- 

 sonal and tribal affairs which, albeit temporary, is hardly lower than 

 that of the warrior-chief. In tribal theory the moral test measures 



