The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-07-23
WHERE WOMAN RULES.
SUMATRA ISLAND IS A PLACE WHERE
WIVES RUN THINGS.

She Never Leaves Her Home
A country where the women own TIT
houses and lands, where gold and silvel
are common as flowers in the spring
where everybody is happy and nobody
does wrong, is the burden of the story
that W. j. Shaw brings from far off SD
matra.
W. J. Shaw is one of the men VII,
modelled things in this country when il
was young and pliable. He came from
New York in 1e49, and was about the
first man to hang out a lawyers sign il
San Francisco. He won the cases thai
settled the validity Of settlers titles and
resulted in the Van Ness ordinance, and
he served as state senator IN 1854, when
itwas more OF an honor to be a legislator
than it is now.
I'm all my years Of travel" he said,
81 never found happier people than
those who live in Sumatra, in the mid
die part of the island. The people all
over Sumatra are believers in the No
hammedan religion, but the peculiar
customs which make this particular peo-
pie unique and different from all others
are confined to one community.
at would not be correct to term this
branch of the SumatraS people a tribe,
! for they do not live in tribal relations az
all, although there is chief and under
| cmeftains. These rulers, however, are
not despots, and if 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 mans property to his chill
dren after his death. If man dies the
property he owns is given to his father
and mother The woman's property, on
the contrary, is given to the children.
Probably that is the custom that is re-
sponsible for the turning over of all the
wealth of the country to the women.
TREATMENT OF THE BOYS AND MEN.
1T 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 perfectly moral life. The
teachings Of Mohammedanism are fol-
lowed upon the question of divorce.
The husband has the right to divorce his
wife whenever he chooses, but must al
low her to retain the property in her pos
session. Divorces are not frequent
though, and believe that, in proportion
to the population, divorces in this part
Of Sumatra are not one in sixteen COM
10
1.-THE people are happy there-happy
as they can be. The children live at
home with their mother-the boys until
they are thirteen or fourteen, and the
girls until they marry.
when the daughter gets married she
does not leave her mothers house. An
addition is built on-a 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 communi-
ties where there are many children.
81 knew one of these communities
where there were mother and several
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 a compart-
ment house which is set aside as home |.
for them until they wish to marry The /
girl has the right to choose whom she /
will wed, privilege delegated to her in
few Mohammedan 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 money he gets
and there is plenty of money of Dutch
coinage there-he turns over to hissweet-
heart. She dresses herself and the chill
dren and shoulders all the petty family
cares.
He is bothered only to earn the
money to pay for the things they eat
and wear.
''To get things for them to eat need
not worry him much. The portion of
Sumatra in which these strange people
live is very fertile and productive. 1t is
a fine country, with beautiful mountains
and streams and magnificent scenery.
All sorts of fruits are grown, and in the
higher attitudes many of the grains.
DRESSES OF TIE WOMEN.
ITO find dresses for the family must
be a different matter, for ! never saw
such elegantly attired women as in these
They are very beautiful,
boasting the fairest and finest complex
ions and the brightest eyes.
Never in Christian countries do wo-
men dress as extrayagantly.
II remember that once the chief told
me he would have two pretty maidens
dress as they would on their marriage.
The two bright eyed girls were gone 1
some time, and came back wearing, one
a dress of gold and the other one of sill
yer. They had bracelets one above an
other from the hands and above their ,
elbows. At the elbows they wore pecu- /
liar bracelets, jointed to permit easily
moving the joint. In brief, their arms
we're armored with precious metal They
had necklaces Of gems and other costly /
and the cloth-of-gold and l
dresses were made loosely
fitting above the waist. and the skirts IN {
lounces. I
They are not an ignorant people, for
ne children are taught II their homes,
md many learn to read the Koran. They
observe the prophecies too, as Is appar
ut from the rule as 70 widows {
When wOman's husband dies she {