He must run away with her. Native marriage might
be brought about in various ways. If the young man was so
fortunate as to have an unmarried sister and to have a friend
who also had an unmarried sister they might arrange with the
girls to run off together or he might make his arrangements
with some eligible girl whom he fancied and who fancied him;
or a girl, if she fancied some young man might send him a
secret message asking, "Will you find me some food?" and this
was understood to be a proposal. But in every case it was
essential for success that the parents of the bride should be
utterly ignorant of what was about to transpire.[224]
Fison[225] is of the opinion that elopement in this case is caused
by the monopoly of women in the tribe by the older men. Even when the
assent of the parents has been secured, or when the match has been
arranged by the parents of the young people, it is in some cases
necessary to elope because of the reluctance of the men in general to
have a young woman appropriated:
If the woman was caught her female relatives gave her a good
beating.
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