Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-17
WIVESASINVESTMENTS
WHERE WOMEN ARE CONSIDERED
PROPERTY OF MASTERS.
Treatment Husbands Give Their Help
meets in Certain Countries of
the Orient.
From the Chicago Tribune.


orient, where women are thought good in
vestments. With primitive people they are
considered the absolute property of their
masters. She is a household furnishings
thing of beauty to delight him; and Der wits
are meant to please him alone. In some
countries men feel that She Is necessary
evil. they must have her to work for them
and to keep their places clean. In fact,
when they are asked why they are anxious
10 obtain wives their one reply is that they
may get water, wood and food, and carry
whatever they possess. There are many
ceremonies that prove this notion-such as
the bride preparing meal for her husband.
Strangely enough these men will protect
their women Outlines as carefully will
more civilized men. and people wrongly infer
that affection, is the cause OF it. But the
student of social conditions knows better.
These men will guard their wives when they
have no feeling for them. They consider
them as they would all property they would
barter or plumber. The women do most
of their work; they build the houses. cook
the food. spin and weave the family clothes,
care for the children and help in the Held.
IL return for this labor they and the chill
dren are usually not permitted 10 eat with
the father. When he returns from the
hunt he gives the game to his wife, and
when she has cooked it he eats his fill and
usually not burdened with the care of fee d.
ing his family. Besides for her beauty and
economic value. wife Is priced as sub
ject She gives her high-handed lord a
chance to show his authority-a, privilege
primitive men enjoy with all others. Their
husbands feel If they can't rule a nation or
a tribe there is comfort IN ruling u Wife
Women Must Obey.
They will dictate and Their women must
obey; they will rule, and their women must
yield. They will make the laws and their
women must submit to them. Let the
women violate them and they will be met
with displeasure, usually in the shape Of
a sound fiogging. Their part is 20 look
after the household, to relieve their hus-
bands Of all responsibility, and, best of all,
to be their slaves
An Arab sheik spoke wisely when he said
to an Englishman,. "How can a man be
contented with one wife? 1t is absurd and
ridiculous. What is he to do when she
becomes old? When she is young, If love-
ly. he might be satisfied with her, but even
the young must grow old and the beautiful
must fade The man does not fade like the
woman, therefore he remains young for
many years. Nature has arranged that
men shall have young wives to replace the
DID, and does not the prophet allow 1t
He continues to say that there is a mark
ed advantage in having many wives, for
one carries the wood. another the water.
third grinds the corn, and the youngest, his
favorite. does not do much. He does not
forget to add that 'if they neglect their
tasks they get taste of this shaking
long and tolerably thick stick.
Most of these men are critical about their
women's looks. They expect them to be
good looking. Women of Morocco are al
ways married for their beauty. They are
wonderfully beautiful when young, but
they fade long before they are old. Their
hair is long and wavy and their eyes are
L
tractfve of manner possessing an ease and
grace that are delightful. For all this, they
are sad, knowing all too well that their
husbands will have no use for them as soon
as their beauty fades.
Circassia and Georgia.
The Circassian women are also wooed for
their good looks. They are well known for
their well-shaped features and hands. and
| feet that might serve any sculptor for
models rival to the Circassian is the
| Georgian beauty of the Caucasus noun
| tains. When young their beauty is so mark
| ed that words cannot do it justice. Their
| features are regular, offset by clear, liquid
| eyes and long dark hair. Their manner is
I no less charming, being characterized by a
|, natural fascination.
| These girls have less to fear. for they re-
| tain their beauty and ease of manner, and
| if their husbands grow weary of them they
| The Samoans fond of music, and be-
sides wanting good-looking women, they
expect them to sing and play.
Much as these men demand good looks
from their women it is far more important
that they shall work. That women shall
work is not merely an ideal of this century,
for in savagery men feel that they shall
hunt and rest and their wives do the hard
work. Laziness gets "a woman in trouble
sooner than any other shortening. This
is especially true of the Fijan women. who
virtually their husbands slaves. They
have not the right to say whom they would
marry, after they are married to say
what they will and what they will not do.
Fiji and Tonga.
The father settles the first question, the
husband the second. The sutton shows he
tolerates his bride by giving her small
gift Not to be too hard on her, he allows
| her a holiday for four days, and then he
| sets ner to work catching fish, He keeps
her busy at this occupation until their hut
| is built, and then she gets to work. Her
ability in housekeeping is tested by cooking
| the fish she has caught in the stream, and
| If her lord is displeased with her efforts
he teaches her how to do better.
The women of the Tonga Friendly Islands
resemble the Fijians in appearance, and al
though they do most of the hard work
their burdens and their tasks are lighter.
They make great efforts to please their
husbands, who are known for their beauty.
Their physique gives them the appearance
of belonging to a superior race, and their
clear. light brown colored skin. curly hair
and expression of good humor mark them
as handsome. These men are so self-satfS-
fed that they do not bother much with
their women. and when their wives fail in
their expectation they treated with in
difference.
Women throughout India are treated with
little regard and those of the lower castles
must work hard. This is especially true Of
the Kols They are good looking when
young, but their husbands expect so much
work of them that they often wear out a
dozen wives. They are worn and haggard
long before they reach middle age.