8o 
The Minor Tribes 
or uxorious, whilst the underlying idea, “ the more 
the merrier,” especially in lands where free service 
is unknown, seems to stifle envy and jealousy. 
Everywhere, moreover, amongst polygamists, the 
husband is strictly forbidden by popular opinion to 
show preference for a favourite wife ; if he do so, 
he is a bad man. 
But polygamy here has not rendered the women, 
as theoretically it should, a down-trodden moiety 
of society ; on the contrary, their position is com¬ 
paratively high. The marriage connection is not 
“ one of master and slave,” a link between freedom 
and serfdom ; the “ weaker vessel ” does not suffer 
from collision with the pot de fer; generally the 
fair but frail ones appear to be, as amongst the 
Israelites generally, the better halves. Despite the 
Okosunguu or cow-hide “ peacemaker,” they have 
conquered a considerable latitude of conducting 
their own affairs. When poor and slaveless and, 
naturally, when no longer young, they must work 
in the house and in the field, but this lot is not 
singular ; in journeys they carry the load, yet it is 
rarely heavier than the weapons borne by the man. 
On the other hand, after feeding their husbands, 
what remains out of the fruits of their labours is 
their own, wholly out of his reach—a boon not 
always granted by civilization. As in Unyamwezi, 
they guard their rights with a truly feminine 
touchiness and jealousy. There is always, in the 
