Page:Native Tribes of South-East Australia.djvu/258

232 Marriages occur in different ways. A girl, when a mere infant, may be promised to some suitable man. For instance, a young man may distinguish himself in some manner, as a fine dancer, or a successful hunter, or an expert fighting-man, or in some other manner. Some man having a daughter of that sub-class with which the young man may marry, and being pleased with him, may say to his father, "I have a daughter, and will give her to your son." Or he may say so to some man who is eminent in the tribe, and whose son is old enough to marry. Taking such a case as the latter as an instance, when the youth in question has been admitted to the privileges of manhood at the Dora ceremonies, and sufficient time has elapsed to allow his beard to have grown again, he will be allowed to take the girl for his wife. If he were to attempt to do so before, he would not be permitted, and the girl's father might say to him, "Go away! What are you thinking about—taking a wife without any hair on your face?"

The old men had usually several wives each, but always keeping to the "old original ones," or rather the old original ones keeping to them.

In these tribes not only were the children of brothers, or the children of sisters forbidden to marry, being too near to each other, but the children of a man and those of his sister were also forbidden to marry, for the same reason. But it sometimes happened that two persons in those relationships fell in love with each other, and ran away together. Such cases were always severely punished. In one instance the girl was taken away twice from the man, and both were very severely dealt with. They then went off again, and her Kummi (mother's brother) killed her. The man escaped and left his district for some years, or he would have been killed by his kindred.

It was permitted to the unmarried girls, if they wished to do so, to encamp away by themselves at a little distance, or they and some widows might make such a camp. It would face away from the main encampment, and its situation is a sign that the young women are there waiting for the young men to come and court them. The young men visit them, and a couple, a girl and a young man, will often