Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-09-17
Strangest People In the World

From morning till night and from one
Years end to- the other II Is work
work. work. and their work Is man
lual labor OF the heaviest and MIST
itiring kind This would not bc so bad
lif men shared their lot. but that IL
altogether out of the question. There
Is little variety In their ton except
ling that which Is necessarily brought
about by the seasons. They have
next to no recresitiOns or special
|amusements to brighten up their dull
lives"
The Ainu women have one way OF
getting even with their husbands. II
| an Ainu takes il into his head to Hog
or spank his wife for no better reason
than that he is out Of sorts she will
not dare to strike him. But she Will
swear at him. He cannot punish her
for this, as he fears being cursed.
| II the man Is exceedingly roush she
will probably call him "shunuma ush.
which means NANCY deer. A young
man she will call "tontOnepper,
which means a little hairy thing. ana
then wild boar and lastly bald patea.
A middle-aged man sho will call no
lkuyuk," Il man.eating bear.
Although the women are treated as
Ichattels. they are not married that
way. Some OF these girls often have
/ n long and romantic courtship. There
lis nothing an Ainu girl enjoys so
much as having half n dozen strings
tied to her bow at one time. But IT
she has any decided preference ana
she thinks he Is bashful about making
his feelings known. she may help him
along by proposing to him.
The Ainu considers marriage to be
social and family arrangement which
affects the parties Immediately con-
cerned more than any one else. Hence.
though the parents OF young woman
Tor man desire them to marry into any
particular family or not to ally them
selves with some specified party. the
young people may. after hearing the
wishes Of the parents and relatives
expressed, marry whom they please
Both the young man and the bride or
either Of them have final word IN
the matter. In short. the young peo
Iplc do their own counting and WOO
ling, and no one grumbIes at the ar
arrangement
Where the young man proposes ne
asks his father and mother to call up
| on the parents OF the girl he mas
Ibeen counting. The marriage cere
mony is simple: it Is feast rather
than a wedding. service. As soon az
the bride and bridegroom and guests
arrive the bridegroom's father con-
graduates himself his wife and MS
son on the choice he has MADE. But
the girls father does not neglect MS
part by saying how proud ne IL.
Then they each give the bridegroom
, some of their treasures as hetriooms.
and the women give the bride Few
trinkets. The ceremony Is finished
with dancing and singing.
! While the guests amuse themselves
the bride and her mother pound the
millet and make the cakes and se1
1.-THE wine ready. Most OF the girls
marry when they are Is or II. Thougn
fairly pretty when young. hard work
! and unkind treatment make them age
rapidly.
| The Ainu thinks 1t foolish to bathe'
Nheir garments are made from the elm
fiber. The Lark is peeled of the
trees in the early spring. When
Ienoush barA has been taken OF! 1t is
soaked and the fbers are divided INTO
threads and wound up into balls ioi
|use. These garments are rough ana
of a dirty brown color. The women
Iare fond Of fancy work. and when
they have time decorate their nus
hands clothes and their own with
elaborate designs. Their nuts contain
hardly any furniture or clothing. II
lis easy to get admission to these
homes. for the Anus are hospitabie
Deop!e.- Chicago Tribune.