THE PIGMIES. K> 



"land, ( l ) who are described as so degraded. I have found the 

 " same habits as among the Negritos of Mariveles; I have witnessed 

 " the same veneration for old men. the same love for children, the 

 " same respect for the dead. Among this tribe, which is fast dying 

 '■' out, the old customs have preserved an unabated influence. These 

 " customs are simple indeed, and the procedure elementary, but 

 " they do exist. It must not be supposed that a Mamanua can act 

 " as he likes in his own hut without having an account to give to 

 " anyone." 



" An unfaithful wife may be killed by her husband, but not 

 " unless the adultery be proved, in which case the relations of the 

 " guilty woman assent to "her death. Otherwise he would be con- 

 " sidered as a common murderer and liable to be condemned to 

 " death by the chief of the tribe, on the complaint of the relations 

 " of the victim." 



" Adultery, however, like other offences or crimes, is exceedingly 

 " rare among the Negritos of these regions. The young girls are 

 " very modest in their demeanour. The slightest suspicion on that 

 " score would be an obstacle to their finding a husband." 



" A Negrito does not buy his wife, he simply makes a small 

 " present to his future father-in-law, who generally gives his 

 " daughter a dowry equivalent to what he has thus received." 



" Private property is well recognised and can be transmitted by 

 '"' sale or inheritance. Every field is the incontestable property of 

 'the one who has cleared it, or his heirs. At the death of the 

 " father, should the mother still be alive, the estate is divided in 

 ; ' two, one-half going to the latter, the other half to the children, 

 " between whom it is divided in equal shares." 



" If the children are grown up, the widow continues to live in 

 ' ; the hut of her late husband, but should they be very young, she 

 " removes with them to the abode of her parents." 



" All disputes are settled by tne chief of the tribe and his deci- 

 " sions are always scrupulously obeyed. He has, however, but 

 " seldom to interfere." 



( i ) Banna " land" ; ha possessive prefix. (Montano.) 



