Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-06-13
WITH MANY HUSBANDS.
THE PRACTICE OF POLYANDRY xN
 AFRICA
How the Practice was Forced Upon the Tribes-rhe Woman with but One Maie Compnnion Looked upon With
 scora-The Freedom Existing Between

Vr1Des-The woman with but One
 Haie Companion Looked upon With
 scorn-The Freedom Existing Between
 the Two sexes.
 Many polyandrous as we'll as polyga- nous communities exist in Africa, but although much has been written of na- tives who have plurality of wives, little has lccn said of women who have several husbands apiece. It Is only recently in fact, that much has been learned of this peculiar phase of African life The req son i5 that the tribes which practice polya;atisy are for the most part those that avc preyed upon py stronger peoples, and sS taey bury themselves away from the caravan routes in the depths of for ests. and have therefore been less fre- quently met by explorers than othcr na- tives.
 It does not seem so very strange after all tta the practice of poiyandry, almost forced upon some unfortunate poe 3:o by renia @iiahlo circumstances, has become an established custom, This is the way 1t usually originates. Some little tribe, attacked by enemies or Slave stealers, loses n half and sometimes nearly all of its women, who, the favo1ite spells of war or tho slave chase, are dragged away into captivity. The tribe has no rela- tions with its neighbors that enable it soon to restore the due proportion of the sexes, ana, as Q result, the women who are left to them become the property of all the men. The custom, thus originat- ing in violence, becomes in time one of the tribal institutions.
 The numerous tribes that practice polyandry are almost invariably agricul- l tural and unwarlikc communities. 1t is remarkable how soon the custom comes to be regarded as praiseworthy. It sur prisos even many native Africans to visit these villages and find there that only those women who are free to all men are worthy of respect. The woman who, through choice of restraint, has only a single male companiOn,i is looked upon as reprahensible person, fit object for scorn and taunts. The children in these vil- lages are taught to call every man father 1 and every woman mother, and as the little ones arc regarded as common prop i erty, it is sometimes ditf1cul. after a few years to tell even who their mothers are. i The statement of some dictionaries that 'polyandry is legallzed only in Tibet" seems to be far from the fact.
 These communities are scattered all around Central Africa. They are found on both sides of Lake Tangayika, and are particularly common in the regions west of the big lakes that have been partly desolated by Arab slave dealers. They have been described only by recent travellers III central A1rlca, ana the 1ul- lest account of them is. given in the writings of Jerome Becker. Force of circumstances seems invariably to have driven these tribes into the practice which, in most cases, has become a set tied law of society among them. None of the powerful and warlike tribes prac- tises polyandry, though they arc all poly gamists.
 All explorers agree that among the polygamous African law regards adultery as no tritiing offence. and punishes it se- verely. It is a remarkable fact, however, that before marriage both sexes have the utmost freedom. Among the most re- cent travellers, Emin Pasha among the Unyoro, Thompson among the Nasal and Becker among the tribes of Tangan- yil1a, all report that as far as the young people are concerned there Is license without srestraint. No young man who
 takes one of these girls for his wife has any sentiment of jealousy for what is
 passed and gone. The girls who have the
 largest circle of admirers in their days
 of freedom are most sought after as
 wives, aud the fact that a young lady has
 had many amours only proclaims hel
 merits. But marriage brings it's invio
 lable duties. ana as rule strict fidelity | is demanded of the wife-N Y Sun