Polygamy and Divorce
As might be expected among the Negritos, a man may marry as many wives as he can buy. His inability to provide the necessary things for her purchase argues against his ability to provide food for her. Hence it is only the well-to-do that can afford the luxury of more than one wife. Visually this practice is confined to the capitán or head man of the tribe, and even he seldom has more than two wives, but one case was noticed in the village of Tagiltil, where one man had seven. At Cabayan the capitán had two wives, a curly-haired one, and a straight-haired one, the latter the daughter of Filipinos who had taken up their abode with the Negritos. (See [Pl. LV].) Polygamy is allowed throughout the Negrito territory. It is not uncommon for a man to marry sisters or a widow and her daughter. Marriage between blood relatives is prohibited.
Divorce is not very common with the Negritos in Zambales. There seems to be a sentiment against it. If a man is powerful enough he may divorce his wife, but if he does so for any other reason than desertion or unfaithfulness her relatives are likely to make a personal matter of it and cause trouble. A man and his wife may separate by mutual agreement and that of their families. In such a case whatever property they may have is divided equally, but the mother takes the children.
A more frequent occurrence than that, however, is the desertion of her husband by a woman who has found some one of greater attractions elsewhere, probably in another rancheria, but even these cases are rare. If it is possible to reach the offender the new husband will have to pay up, otherwise it is necessary for the woman’s parents to pay back to the injured husband all that he has paid for her. But if the offender is caught and is found to be unable to pay the necessary price the penalty is death. In any event the husband’s interests are guarded. Ile can either recover on his investment or get revenge.