Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/406

 is known as the "redemption of a divorce" (teubōih taleuëʾ), and it usually costs double the amount of the jinamèë. Cases of such bought divorce are however rare and only to be met with among the lower classes.

The comparative rarity of the ṭalāq, the fact that the woman is mistress of the house (prumòh), the efforts of the men to obtain wives of social standing not inferior to their own, all this and much more besides testifies to the position of the woman in Achehnese society, a fairly high one for a Mohammedan country. This is indeed what we should expect to find in a country where the throne was occupied for more than half a century (1641–1699) by four successive female rulers. Even now there are instances of female government in the dependencies, and it is the rule rather than the exception to find the wives of ulèëbalangs and other chiefs exercising a very considerable influence on all their actions. It is very common for the wife of a chief to wield her husband's authority in his absence, and a case occurred not long ago on the East Coast, where a woman of the ruling class, with her hair hanging loose, took actual part in a civil war.

Great freedom of action, some knowledge of affairs (within the limits of the ordinary Achehnese horizon) and a sound understanding are to be met with even among women who do not belong to the ruling families.

The women are also the hereditary guardians of old-fashioned words and expressions, the meanings of proverbial sayings and so forth. When enquiring into such matters I have been often told by Achehnese that they must refer to their wives or mothers, and I can say that the latter seldom failed to supply the desired information.

Before proceeding to consider the relations of child to parent in Acheh, let us say a few words as to the birth of the child and the early days of his life.

At some time between the 4$nd$ and 6$th$ months of pregnancy, the