The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1894-11-29
ther duties. as need may arise or occasion re-

|
About o'clock the local fishing boats re.
| turn and the women then swarm to the shore
| to procure their share of the days CATCH after
! which they are at liberty TO pursue theii
pleasure or perform their domestic duties.
Each head woman is elected by the voice oi
| her division aud has authority over all the
| females in her varaDgi, and also over the boys
| up to the age of seven, when they are quail
| fed to enter a community of men. She can
call together those under her whenever public
services require it.
The attiris are conducted in much the same
manner, except that their work consists of
boat building, carpentry. fishing, and other
male occupations. For eight months of the
year. however, their ranks are very thin and
feeble, for wo-thirds Of the male population
are absent during that time, and those who re-
main mostly persons too old, too young, or
in some other way untitled for the peTious and
rugged labor of the sea- But even when all
are home the females are largely preponder-
ant ontnumbering the males by fully third.
One duty of the attiri is to turn out at the
alarm of fire. This alarm is sounded from a
cOuch shell with a bit broken off at the apex.
Three shriil blasts is the FIRE signal, and judg-
ing from the single one given as a sample,
the man must be exceedingly deaf or very far
from town whose ears failed to catch the
sound.
The relations of the sexes at Minecoy are
peculiar, TO say the least. In the first place,
they are homogeneous, which for a people of
their religion Is strange, to begin with. Then,
the woman is at the head OF the house, and
not the man; indeed, that individual counts
for very little. The house belongs to the
woman and all that is in il. Practically the
men belong to the women. and SO satisfactory
proves the result of the arrangement that he
is quite content in his secondary position. The
product OF his labor goes into the family stock
and increases the family substance.
But most startling discovery was that
when man marres instead of giving his
name TO his wife. with US, he takes her
name and drops his own entirely. Thus il
Benjamin Smith marries Angelina Brown, he
becomes Benjamin Brown, or, if we may unsex
him for moment for illustration, Mrs. Ange-
lima Brown. and all his property passes into
the Brown family. So that fsmily's hopes
for tho perpetnation of their name and for
tunes are centered in the daughters, not the
sons, aud the dowery business is also quite
reversed. Here is q hint for women's right
ers which, if they can carry out, will enanci-
pate them at single blow.
The greatest marrying month of the Mini
covites is May, shortly after the return of
the feet with their candies of rice, their
silks aud their silver ornaments which they
bring from Bengal and other trading ports,
as presents for wives already made, wed
ding gifts for brides to be. In 1892 there
were 53 marriages OIL the island, 81 of which
took place in the golden month of May. No
marriage is performed without the girls con.
sent. To make sure that this is voluntarily
given the Kazi (priest) sends two mukris
(sextons) to obtain the true sentiments of the
girl so that she shall not be forced into hate
ful alliance.
The Minicovite women, having firm hand
the domestic strings. use every effort to
keep the family together. This they believe
to be the foundation stone Of true economy.
You may see grandmothers, mothers, and
daughters. with their three generations of
male counter parts all living peacefully together
under the same roof and eating from the COM
mon dish.
Should the members of the Brown house
hold grow rather too numerous for their
quarters, the males of the Brown family are
set TO work to put mp a new house near by, in
which the eldest daughter. say the married
Angelina, is installed and the new branch be-
comes distinguished from the old by being
called the Browu-Smiths.
Although mile long the township is not
very broad, extending not over 300 yards in
land at it's broadest. It is very compact, well
laid out, and scrupulously neat, the divisions
into yarangi and attiris doubtless inducing
fine rivalry as to which shall be the greatest
credit TO the town.
The Minicoy houses are fairly large stone
and mortar, matched buildings and connected
with them we'll ultivated gardens. The
whole premises is inclosed Within dry stone
wall or else fence made OF plated cocoanut-
palm leaves. Ali around the houses are deep,
shady verandas from the rafters of which
hang the swinging cots in which the inmates
sleep. Thick cotton musketo netting gives
all the privacy the inmates desire and also
prevents them from being devoured ia their
slumbers by blood thirsty musketos. which
for size and ferecty beat anything / ever saw,
not excepting their brethren in New Jersey.
The wealth of family is indicated by the
carvings of the pillars of their verandas, and
by certein brackets and corDices on the walls.
In the garden and suspended from dry tree
branches, one end of which had been thrust
into the ground we noticed a number of pecu-
liar vessels formed of cocoanut shells. These
contained the family supply of palm juice
toddy, an unfermented sweet liquor from