The New York herald., 1922-10-01


and Circes of the most abandoned sort.
The common belief is that morality as the
word is defined with us doesn't exist
among the women of the islands; but this
is far from the truth. A Polynesian woman
is capable of making a cheerful helpmate,
a patient and loving mother and a wife as
faithful any in the world. She is more
likely than not to be all of these things
provided that two conditions are fulfilled:
Her husband must keep his side of the
bargain and there must be children in the
house.
In thickly populated places and in the
complexities of civilized society we often
lose sight of these two essentials to a
happy marriage but the island woman
never does. She lives in a primitive So
ciety. in thinly populated lands where
everything is known; where gossip runs
from island to island with mysterious
telepathic speed.
| If her husband exchanges so much as a
word with possible rival she is sure to
hear of it. just as she is sure to hear of
his indiscretions, and she repays her hus-
band in kind. If the years pass without
| III ih6ia6 nO HldtleT now
her husband may have been, to expect her
to be so is the most extravagant of hopes
1t must be remembered that she is the
product Of centuries of savage life and
that she has been untouched by the con-
ventionalities of a competitive and popu-
lous society. Her point of view, in other
words, is that of wholly normal human
being. Being unrefined, and not at all
, lady in the Victorian sense, the girl of the
islands, when she arrives at marriage
able age. dreams of romantic love like the
young girls of every land, but she thinks
of babies even more She wants them and
means to have them at any cost. Her
yearning for children of her own is as
| instructive and wholesome as breathing
There is no place in the world that |
nave seen where babies are welcomed as
they are among the islanders of the Pa
cific, all kinds and conditions of babies
And this love of children for the chill
dren's sake gives rise to peculiar differ
ence between their way of looking at one
world prevalent problem and our own way
| With us straying daughter returning
sorrowfully to her father may face her
| family with some assurance of forgiveness
if she does not bring with her a small
living token of her mistake In Poly
| nesia it is just the other way around She
is certain of forgiveness and a warm well
come if she does bring the baby When
ever the chance arises, the islanders COM
pete for the joy of adopting a child No
baby in need. however unattractive it may
| be, will fail to have the offer of a dozen
| homes
| During a two years residence among
the islands of the eastern Pacific. | was
continually making comparisons between
Polynesian ideas of propriety and our
own, and | was surprised to find that in
many respects theirs are more rigid
For example it would never occur to a
| POlynesian wife that her husband might
be amusing himself in a harmless fiirta-
ton with another woman Harmless ffirta-
tions are the rather dubious product of
the highest civilization and are inconceiv-
able to the primitive mind Where there
| is smoke. the Polynesian woman believes
the fire is always to be found Platonic
! friendship between the sexes is equally
inconceivable and the explanation of it's
principles would meet with incredulous
/ laughter. AS another sidelight on the sub
! ject of proprety. l must mention the
! fact that the island woman feels no par
ticular animus toward an erring husband
Her anger is concentrated upon the other
woman, and the only satisfactory punish
ment is administered with a stick When
that is over. the household may settle