The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1891-08-08

Customs That Differ from Those Of
Any Other Christian or Mohamme-
dan People-The Wife Is the
Property Holder She
Never Leaves Her

HOmes
A country where the women own
the houses and lands, where gold
and silver are common as flowers in
the spring. where everybody is hap
py and nobody does wrong, is the
burden of the story that w. J. Shaw
brings from far off Sumatra.
w. J. Shaw is one of the men who
modelled things in this country when
it was young and pliablc. He came
from New York in l849, and was
about the first man to hang out a
lawyers sign in San Francisco. He
won the cases that settled the valid
| ity of settlers titles and resulted in
the Van Ness ordinance, and he
served as Il state senator in 1854,
when il was more Of an honor to be
a legislator than it is now.
''In all my years Of travel he
said, Il never found a happier peo-
pie than those who live in Sunatra,
in the middle part of the island.
The people all over Sumatra are be-
levers in the Mohammedan religion
but the peculiar customs which
make this particular people unique
and different from all others are con
fined to one community.
ut would not be correct to term
this branch of the Sumatra people
tribe, for they do not live in tribal
relations at all, although there is a
chief and under chieftains. These
rulers, however are not despots. and
if the the people do not like the
way in which they manage things.
they dispose Of them very shortly
and put other men in their places.
although men are the ostensible
chieftains, the women are the real
rulers. The customs of the country
forbid the giving of a mans proper
ty to his children after his death. If
a man dies the property he owns is
given to his father and mother.
The woman's property, on the con-
trary, is given to the children.
Probably that is tho custom that is
responsible for the turning over of
all the wealth of the country to the
women.
TREATMENT OF THE BOYS AND MEN. 4
ut is the constant aim of the men
to enrich their wives. Each man
has but one wife, and each wife one
husband, and they live q perfectly
moral life. The teachings of Mo
hommedanism are followed upon the
question of divorce. The husband
has the right to divorce his wife
whenever he chooses, but must allow
her to retain the property in her pos
session. Divorces are not frequent,
though, and believe that, in pro-
portion to the population, divorces
in this part of Sumatra are not one
in sixteen compated to the number
in California.
"The people are happy there-hap-
Ply as they can be. The children
live at home with their mother-the
boys until they are thirteen or four
teen, and the girls until they marry.
when the daughter gets married
she does not leave her mothers
house. An addition is built on
new roof, as they call it-and the
newly married girl makes her home
there, and brings up her children.
This custom, of course, results in
forming quite large communities
where there are many children.
II knew one of these communities
| where there were a mother and sew
eral daughters living with their
children. The original house had
grown with each marriage until it
spread over a large piece of ground.
"When the boys get old enough to
leave home they are taken to COM
partment house which is set aside as
a home for them until they wish TO
marry. The girl has the right to
choose whom she will wed, privi-
lege delegated to her in few Moham-
medan countries.
"Once married, the husband for
the rest of his life is his wife's lover.
He lives apart from her and visits
his home only in the evening to chat|
with her and the children All the
l. 81
money he gets-and there is plenty
OF money OF Dutch coinage there
ne turns over to his sweetheart.
one dresses herself and the children
ana shoulders all the petty family
cares.
lie IS bothered only to earn the
money TO pay for the things they
eat ana wear.
10 get things for them to eat
need not worry him much. The
portlon oil Snmatra 10 which these