The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-14

number if he can support them ana |
that when he goes to heaven part or i
his bliss will consist of numerous and |
beautiful houris. He has also the right |
to as many concubines and female
slaves as he wishes to take, and, as a
rule, his number is only limited by his
means. Datto Utto is said to have
about sixty women in his harem, the
sultan of Sulu has the unlucky number
of thirteen, and the sultan of Minda-
mao, whose women / photographed at
Cottabato has at least ten. Each or
the head Moros has two or more wives,
although many of the lower classes, on
grounds of economy and peace in the
family, restrict themselves to but one.
Some, 1 am told, vary their number
of wives with the times of the seasons.
All that a Mohammedan has to do to
get rid of wife is to say: i divorce
you! 1 divorce you! l divorce you!
three times, and the woman is divorc-
! ed and must return to her parents.
| This is so convenient that some PERSIAN
husbands are said to take on an extra
lot of wives at harvest time, using them
| to gather the grain and divorcing them
when the crops are all IN.
| HAREMS OF AMERICANS.
| / suppose we may now consider these
Mohammedans as part of our national
brotherhood, and we should, therefore,
know something of their customs as to
the family relation. They differ in many
ways from the Mohammedans of the
| Mediterranean, but they believe in the
/ Koran and are fanatics in the exercise
| of it's preceptS. They do not pray so
much nor SO often as their brothers OF
Turkey and Armenia, but they believe
", =, ant
customs as regards their harems, not
being so exclusive as to their women.
! AS / said, the women do not hide their
faces from the men,. They go out un-
veile.. upon the streets, and in their
rude huts there are no wOmens quar-
tiers.
The Moros, however, are as strict as
the Turks as to their females in that
they allow them to be touched only by
the male members of the family to
, which they belong. The man who rubs
, against or lays his hand on a woman
outside his own family is subject to q
| fine of 50, and if the woman so touched
he a married woman the fine is $105
, The woman who is SO insulted must
, complain at once to the authorities, fol-
. If she allows the mater to rest over
> night the Moro law provides that she
must pay half the fine.
The husband has also the right tt
him he can kill her. Divorces are otter
brought about by the mutual consent
of both parties, and, Notwithstanding
all the laws are in favor of the husband
( the wife sometimes rules.
e HOW THE MOROS MARRY.
III 1 have spent considerable time IL
f trying to ascertain just what the mar
. riage customs of the Moros are. There
is nothing concerning them in the book.
and my information has been gathered
from talks win their leading mer
through interpreters, and also from {
German lady who has lived among
: them for many years. / find that thu
manageable age ranges from II to liz
and that girl is a very old maid indeed
at 20.
. When the Moro maiden reaches IL sh,
begins to bang her hair, shave her eye
brows and blacken her teeth. She ha'
e her teeth filed into the most approved
o shape of Moro beauty, rubbing them of
/ square at the bottom and cutting
hollow groove in their front so that the.
stand out like miniature scoop shovels
: Then she uses the black tooth wash
= boiling some ripe cocoanut milk ant
: dropping piece of red-hot iron into it
= The milk and iron form an oxide which
= gives the teeth the appearance of hav
!. ing been painted with black carriag
: varnish. One coloring lasts for montl
= or SO, when new wash is required.
e THEY BUY THEIR WIVES.
+ About this time the young men @
e the village, yes, and the old men too
s for a Mohammedan is seldom too o. t
r marry, cast their eyes upon the CIR
V She carries about her matrimonial sig
a with her, showing 1t in her black teet
e whenever she opens her mouth. If sh
is at all looking she has not ion
to wait. One of the boys falls in low
with her at sight,. and tells his parent
he wants her as q wife.
). Then comes the question of the pric,
) for marriage is always matter {
l, bargain and sale. The parents of tn
y would-be groom call upon those of tn
d girl and announce that their son ha
l. fallen in love with her. There is cour
a CT. during which the two families dis
d cuss the situation, while they che
&c the betel nuts which the party of tn
l. groom have brought with them for til
IS purpose. The price to be paid for tn
Is girl is suggested, and then the counc
y breaks up. The brides family usual
II takes three days to consider the props
l. stion, and at the end of this time til
is contract is made
. TEN-DOLLAR BRIDES.
The price varies according to tt
wealth of the people, and also accord
ing to the education and beauty of til
girl If she is pretty and can read IL
n Koran she brings more than she otf
e erwise would. AS a rule, however, tt
. average price is $40 in silver, a watt
buffalo worth about s15 and 500 piece
!, of rice cake. worth cent each. OF tt
- cash 81 goes to the girl and the rest
> her parents.
= The other supplies are to be used f,
: the wedding feast, which is thus pa
for by the groom. For this occasion IL
N buffalo is killed, cut into small piec.
"a and stewed. The rice cakes are the
spread out, and the friends of the tv
families begin in the morning and e;
: away until all is consumed. The on
re drinks are coffee and tea, for. accordir
1t to the Koran, the Mohammedans do n
use anything Intoxicating.
THE CEREMONY.
lg
v. The marriage ceremony is perform,
"a by the Mohammedan priest. It TAX
:. place in the house of the bride. II
:, couple to be married standing while Il
- priest repeats a long prayer from Il
Koran over them. AT the close of th