Page:The sexual life of savages in north-western Melanesia.djvu/114



institution of marriage in the Trobriands, which is the theme of this and the following chapter, does not present on its surface any of those sensational features which would endear it to the "survival" monger, the "origin" hunter, and the dealer in "culture contacts." The natives of our Archipelago order their marriages as simply and sensibly as if they were modern European agnostics, without fuss, or ceremony, or waste of time and substance. The matrimonial knot, once tied, is firm and exclusive, at least in the ideal of tribal law, morality, and custom. As usual, however, ordinary human frailties play some havoc with the ideal. The Trobriand marriage customs again are sadly lacking in any such interesting relaxations as jus primæ noctis, wife lending, wife exchange, or obligatory prostitution. The personal relations between the two partners, while most illuminating as an example of the matrilineal type of marriage, do not present any of those "savage" features, so lurid, and at the same time so attractive to the antiquarian.

If, however, we dig beneath the surface and lay bare the deeper aspects of this institution, we shall find ourselves face to face with certain facts of considerable importance and of a somewhat unusual type. We shall see that marriage imposes a permanent economic obligation Rh