565 



so on. (^9) Although the balance seems to be always in favour 

 of the girl's family — in the sense that they get more — there 

 is no doubt that this system differs strongly from marriage 

 by purchase pure and simple, and that one should speak of 

 bride-price, etc., only in a qualified sense. Under this aspect, 

 marriage in the Mailu (and other coastal tribes east and west) 

 acquires a much wider social significance than it would other- 

 wise possess. It is essentially connected with, and regulates, 

 the gifts of pigs at the big annual and funeral feasts, and 

 thus enters as an essential component into an institution which 

 governs half the public life of the natives. The two aspects 

 of marriage — individual and public — will be described 

 separately. 



Marriage in its Individual Aspect ; Marriage Ceremonies. 

 — Referring to what has been said above concerning the pre- 

 nuptial relations, it may be stated that there are two formis 

 of marriage in the Mailu — marriage by early betrothal, and 

 marriage evolving from a preconjugal intrigue fUi'iii relation- 

 ship). I was not able to ascertain whether the natives dis- 

 tinguish sharply between these two forms by special names 

 and differences in the ceremonial. (40) At any rate, there is 



(39) The subject is discussed under the next sub-heading. 



(^0) As stated in a previous footnote, there was a sharp dis- 

 tinction between the two forms in the Motu, Koifa, Sinangholo. 

 The Mdo-hcni form (marriage by betrothal) could be contracted 

 only by a girl who had no previous sexual experiences (called in 

 Motu, JRdmi hehou; ''having her grass petticoats unparted"). A 

 girl who has previously had Siharis (lovers) could contract only 

 the Herdhe form of marriage. The Mdo-hetii marriage was carried 

 out with more preliminaries and much more ceremonial. The 

 girl was promised when fairly young-; in the Sinnu(]h6lo tribes, 

 further inland from the Ligo district, quite small girls might be 

 betrothed when not more than three to five years old. The 

 decision in, and the formalities of, the betrothal were mainly 

 left to the care of the older generation, this being obviously 

 necessary in the case of very young girls. But with the elder 

 girls, consent seems usually to be essential. The final, and most 

 important, part of this form of marriage is the presentation of 

 gifts of food and native valuables. These are presented by all 

 the boy's relations in amounts proportional to the closeness of 

 their relationship. The Herdhe form of marriage, called also 

 Headdva-hendo — marriage by stealing — is certainly the lesis 

 decorous form, though it was the more frequent before the white 

 man's advent. It derives its second name from the circumstance 

 that a girl thus wedded had usually been previously promised to 

 another boy. Hence also the difficulties often attending such 

 marriages. The preliminary ceremonies of betrothal and exchange 

 of gifts are absent, and only the final one of bridal price takes 

 place. It is identical with that which occurs in the Mdo-heni 

 marriages. (This short outline is a very much abridged account 

 of the excellent information obtained on this subject from a 

 committee consisting of Ahuia, a Koita man, a Motu of Gdhagdha, 

 and several Sinaugholo men. It will be published in full in 

 another place.) 



