The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-01

fees are replaced by mutilaticns, more
or less voluntary. Polynesian women
cut gashes on their faces and bodies to
show their grief, and yet II is no uncom-
mon sight at Noukahiva TO see
creature thus branded with the marks
Of recent bereavement making merry
with foreign sailors.
1t IS a fact that can not be gainsaid.
according to this writer. that practically
all laws, whether spread upon the
statute books Of advanced peoples or
handed down by traditions and customs
among the heathen-an laws governing
domestic relations give the male person
a decided advantage. One reason for this
no doubt lies in the fact that the male
person. under Almost every government,
makes the laws
In many OF the redskin tribes Of North
America second marriages are not toler-
ated until after a, long delay. but even
where such regulations exist the widow
er may remarry much sooner than the
widow. There are exceptions. Among
the Omaha Indians the husband may
not remarry until after a season OF
mourning extending over q period of
| seven years unless he buy MS freedom
from the dead wife's people. The price
OF such release is usually POM
Akin TO Levirate
| The natives of the Himalayan Bhootan
are sometimes homogeneous, sometimes
| polygamous. and these variations natu-
rally affect widowhood- Among the
homogeneous and polygamous the widow
can marry only after a delay of three
years. OF course. in the poIyandrous
household there can hardly be such a
thing an wtdowheod. Generally speak
ing, however. in such state Of society
| the woman marries brothers, but if she
do not, then upon the death OF one or
her husbands his eldest brother sue
| eeeds TO his share of the wife and his
! marital rights This custom. though
less refined. is akin 10 the old Jewish
ievirate. which commanded 81 man to
marry his brothers widow. And under
the law the first issue OF such marriage
| was considered the son and heir of ire
brother
With the passing OF the Hebrew com
uonwealth the levirate, being no longer
compulsory, fell into disuse: AT the same
time II IS an interesting fact, which II.
Letourneau points out. that the ustom
is widely spread even unto this day.
especially among peoples whose code is
q crude Jumb:e of traditions. In Melane-
STA. New Caledonia, the brother-in-lay-,
whether already married or not must
take the widow 90 wife. It was also
practiced. and is yet 70 limited extent
/ among the aborigines of the Western
Hemisphere, especially the Chippewas
In Nicaragua the widow of an Indian be-
longs to the brother, or. II there be nc
brother. to the nearest male relative.
The Code of Mann.
The code of Manu-, going a STEP
farther. imposes the Ievirate duty even
upon the brother of a bethothed man
who dies. This is far from shocking tc
even the modern civilized sense The
Prince OF Wales had an elder BROTHER
who was betrothed to his present wife
then Princess OF Teck. The elder brother
died, and it IS scarcely going TOO far t0
say that public opinion in England de-
marded that the heir to the present kins
espouse his brothers fancee- All this
happened less than fifteen years ago
Nj. Letourneau does not view the levi
rate law as particularly harsh, and he
calls attention TO the fact that it Is
not the uncivilized people alone who
make the widows portion a hard one
| Sacrificed on Husbands PyTe-
India is not altogether a ba-barous
country. yet every well-informed person
knows of the sacrificing OF woman upon
1.-The funeral pyre of her husband. with
in compare lively recent times this has