The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1905-10-04
THE MOTHER IN-LAW
HER STRANGE POSITION AMONG MANY
OF THE WORLDS PEOPLES.

OF THE WORLDS PEOPLES.
Races Where She Is Neither Permit
ted TO speak Ia Nor Look pom the
Husband of Her DnuKhter-Theories
About This Queer Custom.
Among the Arawaks Of South Ameri.
ca it Is unlawful for young mum to
see the face Of his mother law. II
they live in the same house II partition
must be set up between them. If they
go In the same boat she has to step In
first, so as to keep her back turned OH
him. Rochefort says: Among the Ca.
ribs all the women talk with whom
they will. but the husband dare not
converse with his wife's relatives ex
cept ON extraordinary occasions"
In many parts Of Australia II woman
Will not look ut her daughters husband
at all hazards She hides whenever he
comes near her, going out of her way
to avoid him, and IL II IL impossible she
hides her face with her cloak. She
would not mention his name for any-
thing In the world. The Kafiir woman
hides behind bush and holds n shield
to her face. She would fur rather
speak to stranger than TO her son In.
law.
Franklin, who gave much time to the
studies of the North American Indian,
assures us Ii Is considered extremely
improper for a woman To speak to her
son-ln-law, and when she has any I'm
portant communication to make 1t Is
considered proper for her to turn her
back on him and speak by means of u
third person. The same law holds good
among the Sioux and Dakotas and If
violated the offender II punished by
having his garments torn from his
back and thrown away. With the Oma
has neither the father nor mother has
anything to do with the son In law
nor he with them. They Will not look
at one another or speak his name.
In his travels to Timbuetoo Caillies
narrates that from the moment of be.
trothal the lover is careful not to see
the father and mother of the bride.
They avoid each other NIL the time. lie
says, II tried In vain to discover the
origin of the whimsical custom, but
the only answer | could obtain was. 1T
Is our way"
This custom extends beyond the re-
lations IL the lover IL of different
camp he avoids all the Inhabitants of
the women's camp, except II few init
mate friends whom he Is permitted to
visit. A little tent is generally set up
for the son-in law, and when he IL
Obliged to cross the camp he covers his
fncc. This custom exists among In
dian tribes and extends fur beyond
In the tribes of New South Wales the
young mun, when counting girl
avoids her mother rs much as he can
and grows more distant after he Is
married. With some Victorian tribes
the estrangement Is even greater the
mother and aunt as we'll may not look
ut the young man nor speak to him
from betrothal to death. When they
speak before each other they have TO
use turn language Under no con.
dition would the young nun dare to
speak to his wlfcs mother.
Maclean, who studied this custom
among the Zuus OF Africa. says q
daughter In law must cut herself of
from her husbands relatives She Is
not allowed even TO pronounce their
names mentally. This statement shows
that IN some countries the girl must
ignore her husbands relatives ms much
as he does her mother but this IL less
frequent.
In Asia among the Mongois and the
Calmucks II woman dare not speak to
her fatherin-l aw nor sit down In his
presence Uallas In an interesting
work on the Ostiaks of Siberia declares
that n young married woman avoids
her fatherin-lnw whenever she can,
especially during the early years of her
married life. In the meanwhile the
husband Is not expected To see any
thing of his mother Fin law IL he
meets ner by chance he hides.
In China, after the wedding day. a
man never sees the face of his daugh-
ter-in-law. a similar custom exists In
Borneo and the Fiji islands
Some people consider II absolutely
criminal for II young man even to give
stray glance to his mother In law,
however good looking she is They
say TINT they must not look on her
lest they go mad. II IL the fashion
with some tribes In central Africa to
sit with bent knees In their presence
and not to put their feet out. A Kongo
proverb states; My mother law IL
angry with me, but what do | carer
We do not eat from the same dish"
Some men will speak to their mothers
by marriage, but will not call them
by name This is true OF the people
of the Torres strait
Many more instances might be men
toned, but these are enough to show
that the position OF the mother in law
among mary peoples is strange. The
cause for II Is not positively known.
Sir John Lubbock feels that Its origin
lies In capture where man really
seized his wife This aroused the in
dignation of the girls parents who re
scented his doings by treating him with
great scorn. Gradually this capture
was only make believe, but the moth
er-in-law still shows her disapproval
by having nothing to do with her
daughters husband. Professor r. II.
Taylor says II Is an act OF cutting
When young man comes into fam
lily he Is ignored; he is nj least not con.
sidered one of them Both eXplana- |
lions may be true In part but they do |
not tell the whole story. 1t Is more |
likely that feeling of rivalry and |
Jealousy is at the bottom OF II all
Chicago Tribune.
The mirage can be seen nearly every |
day in the plains of lower Egypt and
also to a limited extent In the plains