72 
FASCICULI M A LA TENSES 
the bride's parents or guardians, even should she have become another person's 
bondslave ; but when the parents refuse consent the girl not infrequently 
elopes, elopement being regarded as a form of marriage necessitating the 
legalizing ceremony, but hardly valid in itself. 
Chinese Families Settled at Biserat 
Name of Householder 
Birthplace 
Race of Wife 
Number of Children 
I, 
Chai ... ... 
South China 
Siamese 
2 . 
Lav ... ... 
South China 
Siamese 
3? 
3- 
Toac ... ... 
South China 
Siamese 
i £ 
+* 
Toh Woh. 
South China 
Siamese 
i 39 
5* 
Tuat ... ... 
South China 
Siamese 
i £ 
6. 
Hong ... 
South China 
Siamese 
a? 
7* 
Boon Pin ... ... 
South China 
Siamese 
Newly married 
8, 
Tun ... 
South China 
Siamese 
2? 
9* 
Ing Hong ... 
South China 
Unmarried 
- - 
to. 
Kau Siu ... ... 
South China 
Chinese 
No children 
11. 
Kin (Klh) Dam ... 
Pat an! 
Siamese 
i $> i 9 
12. 
Sing 
Patani 
Siamese 
2$ 
1 3- 
Eh Lai ... ... 
Patani State* 
Siamese 
The union of first cousins is not permitted, cousins being regarded as 
brothers or sisters ( suddra ), and uncles and aunts as mothers and fathers, so 
that if a Malay is asked what is the relationship between himself and his uncle 
he will frequently answer, £ He is my father * {Dia bapa s a bay a), and if further 
questioned as to what sort of a father, he says, 1 Bapa sud&ra that is £ brother- 
father.* 
Polygamy, in the sense of having more than one wife at a time, is 
extremely rare among the Malayo-Siamese peasantry, partly for economic 
reasons and partly because it is recognized that double unions lead to friction 
in the family. By law, an ordinary Malay may have three wives, while the 
Siamese is not restricted as to numbers ; but it is generally believed that a 
reigning raja may have as many as seven, without sinning against Mahom- 
medan tenets. It is not considered correct, however, that he should keep a 
