The Saint Paul globe., 1900-06-17
HUSBANDS IN JOB LOTS
CENTRAL AFRICAN WIVES MAY
HAVE ONE HUNDRED SPOUSES
II TREY DESIRE
WHERE POLYANDRY PREVAILS
Some Women Must Marry All the
Brothers of Family to
Avoid "a Terrible
Scandal.

The history of the Mormon movement
In this country, made still more familiar
by the publicity given the Roberts case
recently in congress, Is known to almost
every one, and the idea that man may
have a plurality of wives is as old as
the hills. The reverse of the shield how
ever, has not been presented to the eye
quite so much, that in which the woman
may possess many husbands.
In certain parts of Central Africa 1t is
not an uncommon occurrence for women
among the native tribes to have as many
as 100, and sometimes $50 husbands.
a traveller has related how a certain
Makoldo woman became immensely
wealthy, as wealth goes in that queer
country, by marrying herself to sultor
after suitor on condition that a certain
amount Of cattle was forthcoming. Thus,
the Cincinnati Enquirer says, she became
the possessor Of a vast herd, and was
raised almost to the rank Of a queen.
ONE WIFE FOR BROTHERS.
Among certain savages an extraordi-
nary custom prevails-that is, If the eld-
est brother Of a family wishes to marry
the ceremony has also to be gone through
by his other brothers. Thus, if there be
a family Of twelve brothers, and the eld-
est goes counting, the woman of his
choice must also OF necessity be chosen
by the other eleven, and after her mar
riage, is the woman wishes to add to her
stock Of husbands, there is nothing to
prevent her doing so.
Among the Afghans it is ordained by
law that should woman be left a widow
the eldest brother Of the dead man is to
become her husband, and the custom IS
so strongly insisted upon that any de-
parture from it is considered a scandal
and a disgrace upon the parties con-
cerned. The same law holds good among
the Thushwap Indians Of British Colum-
bia, the Somalis of East Africa, the Dam
avas of South Africa, the inhabitants of
the New Hebrides and others, which is
remarkable when we consider how far
apart these places are, and that the in
hab!taGts Of these several districts have,
in nine cases out of ten, never heard of
the others.
TWO HUSBANDS COMPULSORY.
In the Marquesas islands an extra
ordinary law is in vogue, as follows:
mo man may have more than one wife,
and no wife Of mature age less than two
husbands Neither is there any stpula-
ton that the woman shall not have as
many husbands as she likes, and there
have been cases where a woman has had
twenty or thirty husbands, though such
state Of affairs is rather the exception
than the rule
In the Sandwich Islands poIandry is
very common. There have been cases in
the islands where women have married
WidOwers and his sons Neither is there
any limit in that country to the number
of husbands a woman may have if she
90 11ffiGfeDt1U fascinating mn
erous Indian races pOlandry has been an
institution for ages, and among the
Cingalese exists a rather remarkable
custom that allows a husband to bring
home another man with him on approval
another husband for his wife.
A traveller in Ceylon some years ago
found one household presided over by a
woman who had thirty-five husbands, a
good many Of whom had been introduced
by the original husband, the others, in
turn being brought in to the tolerant
wife by the newcomers. OF course, to
our ideas such a state of affairs Is alb
hOrrent, but very little discord seemed
to be rife among this particular wife and
her. varied assortment of husbands The
custom of centuries has made any
ground for wonderment or objection non
existent.
THE PRACTICE IN THIBET
There is one most remarkable phase
IL polandry as practiced among the Th.-
betans; that is, that if any children be
born to the widow of a man whose
brother has married the woman again,
they are counted as the children of the
deceased. And no matter whether the
woman had ten husbands, her children
would still be considered the children
of her original husband. The reason for
this IS that the first husband is consid-
cred the head of the household, the fam
lily property being vested in him, and so
all the children are feigned to be his
The coming out" of a girl in the Bar
odezi tribe in Central Africa means a
good deal more than it does here
She is taken out in the middle of the
village, and all the men Of her tribe
are commanded to fall in line in
front OF her in full fighting dress She
is then blindfolded and a wand placed
in her hand. This being done the line
Of warriors become vast circle around
the girl, and she is sent all around the
living wall that hens her in with out
stretched wand and amid the profound
est silence. Whoever her wand touches
as she speeds around the circle is to be
her husband At every second step the
wand is to be thrust out, so that after
she has finished her tour she will find
herself possessed of a score or more of
stalwart husbands For she must marry
every one that her wand touches.