Frequently parents arrange matches for their children while they are
still very young, but in the majority of cases the matter is left until
after the age of puberty when the wishes of the young people are taken
into consideration. The youth or his father having chosen a suitable
girl takes or sends a spear, knife, or other acceptable present to her
father. If this offering is accepted it indicates approval of the match,
and soon thereafter a feast is prepared to which friends of both
families are invited. At this feast the price to be paid for the girl
and the time of marriage are agreed upon, and at least partial payment
is made. As is the case with the neighboring tribes, a part of the value
of this gift is returned. Following the agreement the boy enters the
service of his fiancee's father and for a year or more lives as a member
of the family. Even after the marriage a considerable amount of service
is expected from him at the time of planting, harvesting, or building.
The marriage ceremony proper follows a feast, and consists of the young
couple feeding each other with rice and drinking from a common cup.
Should anything occur to prevent the marriage, after the payment for the
girl has been made, the gifts must be returned or service equal to their
value must be rendered.
Unfaithfulness on the part of the woman seems to be the one cause for a
separation and this is uncommon, for unless her admirer purchases her
for a sum equal to the amount her husband spent in obtaining her, the
divorced woman remains as a slave in the home of her former husband.
Polygamy is permitted and is quite common, but a man may not take a
second wife until a child has been born to the first. In addition to his
wives a man may have as many concubines as he can afford to purchase.
It is said to be a grave offense for a man to embrace a married woman,
or even to touch the breasts, elbows, or heels of any woman he does not
intend to marry. An unmarried woman who permits such familiarities is
considered as good as married. Despite this assertion, the writer knows
of several cases where young people openly lived together without being
considered married, and later the parents arranged marriages between
these girls and other suitors.
According to several informants, incest is punished by the sacrifice of
the guilty parties. They are tied to a tree with their hands drawn
backward around the trunks and are then speared to death. This seems to
be the one and only occasion when human sacrifice is practiced by
members of this tribe.