Page:The sexual life of savages in north-western Melanesia.djvu/142

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Now that we have grasped the principles of cross-cousin marriage, a brief account must be given of the steps and ceremonies by which it is brought about. The initiative is always taken by the brother, who, on behalf of his son, asks his sister for the hand of her daughter in marriage. A man has a definite right to make such a request; as the natives say: "Is he not the kadala (maternal uncle) of the girl? Are his sister and her child not his real veyola (maternal kindred)? Has he not raised the urigubu (annual harvest contribution) for the household?"

The request may be made when the son is born, if his sister has a daughter, or perhaps a granddaughter (daughter's daughter), who will not be too old to become the wife of the new-born infant later on. The disparity of age should never exceed two or three years.

Or the boy's father may wait, and if within ten years or so a girl is born to his sister, he may requisition her as a future daughter-in-law. His sister is not allowed to refuse his application. Soon after the preliminary agreement has been concluded, the man has to take a vaygu'a (valuable), a polished axe-blade or shell ornament, and give it to his sister's husband, the father {tama) of the infant bride. "This is the katupwoyna kapo'ula for your child," he says, and adds that it is given "so that she may Rh