Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 15.pdf/536

 Woman and the Law in Babylonia and Assyria. In the eye of the law matrimony among the Babylonians was a legal contract, the forms of which had to be strictly observed. The ceremony itself was in part religious, in part civil; no marriage was legally valid with out a written contract duly signed and at tested. In later days more stress was laid on the legal and civil aspect of the cere monial than on the religious; the reverse was the original view. A fragment of Sumerian manuscript thus describes the religious cere mony : Those who officiated first placed their hands and feet against the hands and feet of the bridegroom; then the bride laid neck and head alongside of his; (why these postures we know not). Then the man spoke and said: "Silver and gold shall fill thy lap; thou art my wife and I am thy husband. Like the fruit of an orchard will I give thee children." Next sandals were bound on the feet of the young people and a latchet was handed to them wherewith to untie the shoes; then the bride's father handed over a purse of gold and silver, symbolic of the dowry. Here is an account of another wedding: The men being assembled in one room, the women in another, the groom's father arises and makes the offer of his son's hand, the bride's father accepts it, and informs the com pany the amount of dowry he will give; the bride then enters, attended by her friends and the women of both families. She is placed by the side of the groom; his father takes her hand and places it palm to palm on his son's hand and ties them together with a thread of wool (symbolic of the band that links husband to wife); then he invokes the double of Nebo and of Merodach and of the king, and prays them to grant long years of happiness to the young people. Next the assembled friends add their blessings, pray ers and congratulations; after that come feasting, banqueting, amusements, until the shades of evening fall, when the bride is con ducted to her husband's home amid the wait ings of the women and the delighted gazings

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of the crowd outside. Only a freeman could use the symbol of the thread or invoke the attendance of the gods. In the time of Nebuchadnezzar the cere mony had dwindled down to a simple joining together of the bride and groom. The join ing of hands, or the bridegroom's taking the bride by the hand, is one of the most impor tant marriage ceremonies among all IndoEuropean peoples. The same custom occurs among some of the peoples of Malacca; among others the little finger of the right hand of the man is joined to the left hand of the woman. When there was a religious ceremony the scribe who had to draw up the formal mar riage contract attended it, saw that every thing proceeded regularly, and when it was over began his clerical work. The terms of the contract were generally very simple and clear. For example: "Iddina has spoken to Soulai, saying give thy daughter Bilitsounon in marriage to my son Zamamanadin. Sou lai has consented and has given his daugh ter Bilitsounon one maneh of silver and three servants—Latoubaronon, Illasillabitiniz and Taslimon—as well as a set of furniture and a field of eight canes, as a dowry from Bilit sounon to Zamamanadin. He has given to Zamamanadin a guarantee of the maneh of silver, which he will pay by-and-by, his ser vant Nanakishirat, who is worth two-thirds of a maneh, and he adds nothing for the se curity of the other third still due; when he pays the maneh of silver Nanakishirat will be restored to him." After the contract was written the witnesses placed their nail marks or seals on the tablets. At one time it was customary to state in the marriage settlements that the bride was spotless: for instance, we read: "Ana-a-uzni is the daughter of Lalimat. Lalimat has given her a dowry and has offered her in marriage to Bel-sunnu, the son of Astisan. • Ana-a-uzni is pure; no one has anything against her."