262 S. E. Peal — Communal Barracks of Primitive Races. [No. 3, 



Traces of the " bachelors' barracks," young men's clubs, and 

 fetich houses tabu to •women, are, I believe, found all across Africa, 

 both among Bechuanas and Caffres, and the Bakalai of the Gaboon. 



Thus we appear to have in the case of the Massai, at least one 

 instance in Africa, of organized sexual promiscuity as a social phase 

 preceding marriage. Hitherto we have seen, this feature among 

 more settled races, in this instance it is seen among semi-nomad ics, 

 where from the nature of the surroundings, in past times, the develop- 

 ment of " marriage " appears to have been retarded by the ample 

 supplies of food due to a pastoral life. 



In strong contrast to this, we find among the Australian races, 

 who are truly nomadic, and where food is procured "with difficulty, that 

 the possession of a wife (i. e., female slave) is of the utmost importance 

 socially and early marriage the rule. A man's wealth is measured by 

 the number of his " lubras." Yet strange to say these races who have 

 no settled villages or permanent buildings, exhibit the two social 

 features so conspicuous in those having bachelors' barrack, i. e , com- 

 plete sexual liberty among juveniles in the clan or horde, and isola- 

 tion of the young men from the married families. 



It has been urged by MacLennan in his " Primitive Marriage" 

 pp. 85, 86 and 87, and by Peschel in his " Paces of Man," pp. 223, 224 and 

 5, that the cause of exogamy has been due to the horror of consanguinity, 

 and that it is among rude and savage races " that a horror of incest^is 

 developed most strongly." Apparently the fact has been unknown, 

 or overlooked, that it is precisely among such races that we see the 

 most complete, most unlimited, and socially recognized sexual liberty 

 permitted within the tribe or clan until marriage, whether it is endog- 

 amic or exogamic ; that the " communal barracks " are in fact in 

 many cases directly due to this fact, and hence are universally tabu to 

 the married woman whether a captive or not. It is precisely in con- 

 sequence of the sexual license attached to these barracks, that they 

 are tabu. So that this " horror of incest " is really a fiction. It is 

 much to be regretted that the want of a little more practical knowledge 

 of savages and semi-civilized races, has caused MacLennan, Peschel 

 and others, to make such a serious mistake as to suppose that exogamy 

 and wife capture, were due to a " horror of consanguinity," a " terror 

 of such alliances," and that (MacLennan, 1. c. p. 232), " It is precisely 

 nations in the most primitive stage which have the greatest abhorrence 

 of incestuous marriage," and hence practice wife stealing so as to 

 avoid it. This view of the savages' morality is necessarily ludicrous 

 to all who understand the " communal barracks," and the sexual orgies 

 so common among races having this institution, and wherein they are 



