Page:The sexual life of savages in north-western Melanesia.djvu/176

Rh rivalries and hatreds among them. Bokuyoba, the oldest wife, who, as has been said, enjoyed a privileged position among them, is undoubtedly popular and liked by them all. She is also supposed to keep an eye on their morals, a somewhat invidious task which always falls to the oldest wife. It will be remembered that Pitaviyaka, the first wife of Kouta'uya, one of the chiefs of Sinaketa, actually discovered an act of adultery among her colleagues, a discovery which, as we have seen, ended so tragically in the suicide of the guilty one. In Omarakana, however, the first wife is less of a Mrs. Grundy.

Scandal reports many breaches of marital fidelity among To'uluwa's wives, especially and naturally on the part of the youngest ones. The point on which village gossip centres its most eager and malicious interest is the fact that several of the most prominent sons of the chief himself are among the adulterers. Of course, this relation has not the same incestuous flavour as it would possess for us, since the bodily tie between father and son is not recognized; but it is bad enough to scandalize the natives, or rather to arouse their interest by its piquancy. Ilaka'ise, the youngest wife, a girl of not more than twenty-five and, with her tall figure, soft and well-developed contour, and shapely face, a model of Melanesian beauty, has a permanent intrigue with Yobukwa'u. He is the third son of To'uluwa and Kadamwasila, and one of the finest-looking, best-mannered, and really most satisfactory fellows of my acquaintance. As the reader may remember, he has recently married a girl who is not his equal either in character or in personal charm Rh