After a great deal
of apparently angry discussion, and the promise on the part
of the relatives of the man to pay more, it is arranged that
the marriage shall hold good, as is customary among the
first families of the tribe, for four days in the week, viz.:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; and, in compliance
with old-established custom, the marriage rites during the
three remaining days shall not be insisted on, during which
days the bride shall be perfectly free to act as she may think
proper, either by adhering to her husband and home, or by
enjoying her freedom and independence from all observation of
matrimonial obligations.[147]
We may understand also that the tolerance of loose conduct in
girls before marriage--a tolerance which amounts in many tribes to
approval--is due to the tribal recognition of the value of children,
and children born out of marriage are added to the family of the
mother. When, on the other hand, the conduct of the girl is strictly
watched, this is from a consideration that virgins command a higher
bride-price.
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