LAWS OF MARRIAGE. 33 



to be observed all over Australia, and in several island groups in the Pacific 

 Ocean. 



A chief who has been married under the law of betrothal, is not permitted 

 to marry another woman for a long time ; and should he do so without obtaining 

 the consent of his wife, there would be constant quarrelling, as the first wife is 

 always superior in authority to the others, and is naturally jealous of a rival. 



A man can divorce his wife for serious misconduct, and can even put her to 

 death ; but in every case the charge against her must fii-st be laid before the 

 chiefs of his own and his wife's tribes, and their consent to her punishment 

 obtained. If the wife has children, however, she cannot be divorced. Should a 

 betrothed woman be found after marriage to have been unfaithful, her husband 

 must divorce her. Her relations then remove her and her child to her own 

 tribe, and compel the father of the child to marry her, unless he be a relative. 

 In that case she must remain unmarried. If a husband is unfaithful, his wife 

 cannot divorce him. She may make a complaint to the chief, who can punish 

 the man by sending him away from his tribe for two or three moons ; and the 

 guilty woman is very severely punished by her relatives. 



The courtship of those who have not been betrothed to each other when 

 young is regulated by very strict laws. Korroborses, and great meetings of the 

 tribes, are the chief opportunities for selecting wives ; as there the young people 

 of various and distant tribes have an opportunity of seeing one another. A 

 married man or a widower can speak to a married woman or to a widow, but 

 they are not allowed to go beyond the boundaries of the camp together at 

 any time, unless they are accompanied by another married person. Unmarried 

 adults of both sexes are kept strictly apart from those of another tribe, and 

 are always under the eyes of their parents or guardians. The young women are 

 not permitted to leave the neighbourhood of their wuums at any time, unless 

 accompanied by a near relative. As there can be thus no personal commimication 

 between marriageable persons outside of the limits of consanguinity, a mutual 

 friend, called a gnapunda, ' match maker,' is employed to carry messages, but 

 this can only be done with the approval of the parents or guardians of both 

 parties. 



When a man falls in love with a young woman, he does not always consult 

 her wishes, or procure her consent to marriage, but makes his proposal to the 

 father through her uncle or cousin. If the father approve, he informs the suitor 

 that he may marry his daughter ; and to this decision she must submit, whether 



