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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 1 2 



not over 10 or 11 years of age. Ordinarily, they 

 show respect for their teacher and are obedient. 



It is rare for a farm woman to make purchases 

 at a village store. A few women in the village who 

 occasionally do so usually go directly from the 

 house to the venda, make their purchases and re- 

 turn directly home, the amount of time they are 

 away being quite limited. Women with children 

 old enough to make purchases usually send them 

 to the store instead. 



The inauguration of regular bus service ^'* pre- 

 sents a new and serious problem of accommoda- 

 tion to women who travel on it and who never 

 before have been in such close proximity to strange 



men. 



The relations between husband and wife com- 

 bine both intimacy and distance. Considerable 

 affection ordinarily develops. Affectionate ges- 

 tures, however, are never seeen in public after mar- 

 riage, and rarely before, a fond glance consti- 

 tuting the limit in this respect. At marriage, the 

 authority over the daughter formerly exercised 

 by the father passes to the husband. As an ob- 

 server put it, "The husband becomes the master, 

 the one who directs, the one whose wishes are 

 respected." "When you're single," said a farm 

 woman, "you follow your parents; and when 

 you're married, you follow your husband." "A 

 woman must always obey her husband," said an 

 older woman in the village. "If he tells her to 

 do something, she must do it." In addition, if 

 she would gain prestige in the group, she must 

 become a "good housewife," "a good mother" and 

 "a hard worker." 



The wife must not quarrel with her husband or 

 even enter into a serious discussion with him. 

 She must accept, without grumbling, her role 

 (see the following section). If she exceeds the 

 limits set for her behavior, she is subjected to the 

 negative sanctions of gossip and ridicule. 



At the same time, this dependent relation has 

 its compensations. The mores lay upon the man 

 the duty of protecting, as well as supporting, his 

 wife. If she were to work outside the family 

 and he were to live from what she makes, he would 

 be universally condemned. The husband holds 

 property in common with his wife. On no occa- 

 sion, must he strike her. In most cases, more- 



2^ See sections on Transportation, p. 95, and Isolation and 

 Contact, p. 104. 



over, the formal relationship is at least to some 

 extent modified, and in a few cases it is completely 

 undermined, by the emotional attachments which 

 normally develop between human beings under 

 conditions of primary contact. 



The obligation laid upon a husband, as has been 

 indicated, is to provide food, shelter, and at least 

 the minimum of other physical comforts for his 

 wife and to protect her against all harm. "When 

 a man marries," said a village leader, "he takes 

 on a great load. When the ox is alone, he can 

 lick himself ; when he's under the yoke, he cannot." 

 "The women say it's the man who has a good 

 life," remarked a village leader, "but the men 

 say it's the man who is the burro de carga (pack 

 mule)." 



Four young men, each 17 to 19 years of age, 

 who were asked, "What are the obligations of a 

 man to his wife?", gave the following replies: 



Love and defend her. 



Work hard to keep her from suffering want. 

 See that she has what she needs to live on. 

 Protect her at all times. 



"My husband gives me what I need," said a farm 

 woman. "If I go to the village and see a piece of 

 cloth there I like and I tell my husband, 'Dito, 

 there, in Sebastiao's store is a pretty piece of 

 cloth,' he'll say, 'Go and get the piece you like.' 

 He's been good to me. I even have a silk dress. 

 I have a coat and so does my daughter; not just 

 a cheap coat but one of good wool." 



A wife is expected to look after the house and 

 children of hei- husband, to help him in the fields 

 when he asks her, to afford her husband sexual 

 satisfaction and otherwise contribute to his con- 

 venience and comfort. Several young men who 

 were asked, "What are the obligations of a wife 

 to her husband?", gave the following replies: 



To take care of her husband's house and live at peace 



with him. 

 Not to do anything which her husband does not liko. 

 To help her husband and to love him. 

 To do what her husband asks her to do. 

 To take care of the house and keep her husband's 



clothes in good order. 

 Not to play around with other men. 



The husband is especially charged with the ob- 

 ligation of seeing that his wife lives up to what 

 is expected of her. "If a woman runs after an- 

 other man," said a farmer, "you can be sure her 

 husband is no good." "If a woman treats her 



