40 THE SUBANU. 
together with the character and value of the articles composing it. 
They may consist of rice, palay, cloth, Chinese jars, articles of brass, 
weapons, gongs, and domestic animals. Maidens bring a better price 
than widows or divorced women. 
The father of the bride may condition his acceptance upon a period 
of personal service by the young man in the bride’s family, the length 
of such service to be fixed by the father of the young woman, subject 
to modification through conferences between the two families. 
A plurality of wives is permissible but not common, mostly for 
want of sufficient means for the marriage portion and to pay for the 
ceremony and the usual feast provided for relatives and friends. Other 
restrictions upon marriage arise from the observances of consanguinity 
and affinity. Kinship nearer than first cousins constitutes a bar and 
usually this degree of relationship is prohibitive. 
Step-relationship is usually a bar to marriage, although marriages — 
between step-daughters and own sons of the same family are sometimes 
permitted. A man may marry more than one daughter from the same 
family, and cases are known of his also marrying the mother of the 
daughters. 
A more extraordinary feature of the Subanu marriage customs is 
exhibited where a man marries his mother-in-law who is divorced or 
widowed, even while the daughter is living as his wife. ‘These exhibi- 
tions of variations from the normal customs of the people are controlled 
by personal or family considerations, present at the time, and are not 
generally followed or approved of. 
Violation of the marriage laws is punishable by fines paid to the 
timuai or headman of each Subanu settlement, and these laws are quite 
rigidly enforced through public sentiment and good faith. 
Neither a pregnant woman nor her husband will go down the house 
steps and turn back before reaching the ground. A pregnant woman 
must not remove a pot from the fire and then putit on again. Neither 
a pregnant woman nor her husband may tie anything about the neck 
before the birth of the child. Pregnant women are enjoined by the 
balian from covering their breasts during pregnancy. If during prég- 
nancy the husband ties or binds up things in the house where his wife 
remains, such action may result in fastening the child to the mother 
and destroy its life. Some few days before the birth of the child the 
father must refrain from all excitement in order not to attract the 
attention of evil spirits. Any difficulty attending birth is ascribed to 
the intervention of evil spirits. A short time before the birth of the 
child the mother is placed in a little house by herself; this house is 
calied gosina and is temporarily erected for the purpose. After child- 
birth the mother submits to a baking process by lying close to a hot 
fire, exposing alternately the stomach and the buttocks, until the womb 
is said to dry up and there is no more discharge. During the pains of 
