The Greeks of the Homeric age frequently had concubines, who lived in the same house as the man’s family, and were regarded half as wives.[2651] Polygyny, in the fullest sense of the term, appears to be ascribed to Priam, but to no one else.[2652] At a later period a kind of concubinage seems to have been recognized in Greece by law, and scarcely proscribed by public opinion;[2653] and bigamy was practised by the tyrants in some of the Greek colonies.[2654] The Romans were more strictly monogamous. Among them, concubinage was always well distinguished from legal marriage, and, according to Rossbach, was much less common in early times than subsequently.[2655]
Among the Teutons, at the beginning of their history, we come across plurality of wives in the West,[2656] and especially in the North. The Scandinavian kings indulged in polygyny,[2657] and it does not seem to have been restricted to them only.[2658] Nor was it unknown to the pagan Russians.[2659] In the Finnish poems, though polygyny is not mentioned, there are passages which seem to indicate that it was not entirely unheard of among the Finns of early times.[2660]
Even in the Christian world open polygyny has occasionally been permitted, or at least tolerated. It was frequently practised by the Merovingian kings, and one law of Charles the Great seems to imply that it was not unknown even among priests.[2661] Soon after the Peace of Westphalia, bigamy was allowed in some German States where the population had been largely reduced during the Thirty Years’ War. And in modern Europe polygyny, as Mr. Spencer remarks, long survived in the custom which permitted princes to have many mistresses; “polygyny in this qualified form remaining a tolerated privilege of royalty down to late times.”[2662] Moreover, St. Augustin said expressly that he did not condemn polygyny;[2663] and Luther allowed Philip the Magnanimous of Hessen, for political reasons, to marry two women. Indeed, he openly declared that, as Christ is silent about polygyny, he could not forbid the taking of more than one wife.[2664] The Mormons, as all the world knows, regard polygyny as a divine institution.
Among many savage peoples polygyny is developed to an extraordinary extent. In Unyoro, according to Emin Pasha, it would be absolutely improper for even a small chief to have fewer than ten or fifteen wives, and poor men have three or four each.[2665] Serpa Pinto tells us of a minister in the Barôze, who at the time of his visit to that country had more than seventy wives.[2666] In Fiji, the chiefs had from twenty to a hundred wives;[2667] and, among all of the North American tribes visited by Mr. Catlin, “it is no uncommon thing to find a chief with six, eight, or ten, and some with twelve or fourteen wives in his lodge.”[2668] The King of Loango is said to have seven thousand wives.[2669]
It is a more noteworthy fact that among not a few uncivilized peoples, polygyny is almost unknown, or even prohibited. The Wyandots, according to Heriot, restricted themselves to one wife;[2670] and, among the Iroquois, polygyny was not permitted, nor did it ever become a practice.[2671] It is said that, among the Californian Kinkla and Yurok, no man has more than one wife.[2672] The Karok do not allow bigamy even to the chief; and, though a man may own as many women for slaves as he can purchase, he brings obloquy upon himself if he cohabits with more than one.[2673] Nor does polygyny occur among the Simas, the Coco-Maricopas, and several other tribes on the banks of the Gila and the Colorado;[2674] nor among the Moquis in New Mexico, and certain nations who inhabit the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.[2675] And, in several tribes of South America, the men are stated to have but one wife.[2676]
The Guanches of the Canary Islands, except the inhabitants of Lancerote, lived in monogamy;[2677] and the same is the case with the Quissama tribe in Angola, the Touaregs, and the Beni-Mzab.[2678] Among all the Moorish tribes in the Western Sahara, Vincent did not meet a single man who had a plurality of wives.[2679]
In Asia we find many instances of strictly monogamous peoples. The Veddahs in Ceylon are so rigorous in this respect that infidelity never seems to occur among them.[2680] In the Andaman Islands, according to Mr. E. H. Man, “bigamy, polygamy, polyandry, and divorce are unknown;”[2681] and the Nicobar Islanders—at least those on the most northern island, Car Nicobar—“have but one wife, and look upon unchastity as a very deadly sin.”[2682] Among the Koch and Old Kukis, polygyny and concubinage are forbidden;[2683] whilst, among the Pádams, Mikris, and Munda Kols, a man, though not expressly forbidden to have many wives, is blamed if he has more than one.[2684] The Badagas of the Neilgherry Hills, the Nagas of Upper Assam, the Kisáns, and Meches confine themselves to one consort at the same time;[2685] and so do the Mrús and Toungtha, who do not consider it right for a master to take advantage of his position even with regard to the female slaves in his house.[2686] Among the Santals, says Mr. E. G. Man, a woman reigns alone in her husband’s wigwam, “as there is seldom, if ever, a second wife or concubine to divide his affections—polygamy, although not exactly prohibited, being not very popular with the tribe.”[2687] Among the Karens of Burma,[2688] and certain tribes of Indo-China, the Malay Peninsula, and the Indian Archipelago, polygyny is said either to be forbidden[2689] or unknown.[2690] The Igorrotes of Luzon are so strictly monogamous, that, in case of adultery, the guilty party can be compelled to leave the hut and the family for ever.[2691] The Hill Dyaks marry but one wife, and a chief who once broke through this custom lost all his influence; adultery is entirely unknown among them.[2692] The Alfura of Minahassa were formerly monogamists, and the occasional occurrence of polygyny in later times, according to Dr. Hickson, was a degeneration from the old customs, brought about perhaps by Mohammedan influence.[2693]
In Santa Christina or Tauata (Marquesas Islands), monogamy is said to be the exclusive form of marriage.[2694] Among the Papuans of Dorey, not only is polygyny forbidden, but concubinage and adultery are unknown.[2695] In Australia, Mr. Curr has discovered some truly monogamous tribes. In the Eucla tribe, “none of the men have more than one wife;”[2696] among the Karawalla and Tunberri tribes, dwelling on the Lower Diamantina, polygyny is not allowed;[2697] and in the Birria tribe, “the possession of more than one wife is absolutely forbidden, or was so before the coming of the whites.”[2698]
In certain American tribes the chiefs alone are permitted to have a plurality of wives.[2699] A similar exclusive privilege seems to have been granted to the nobility in ancient Peru.[2700] Among the Ainos of Yessy, according to v. Siebold only the chief of the village, and, in some places, the wealthier men are allowed to have more than one wife.[2701]
Even where polygyny is permitted by custom or law, it is by no means so generally practised as is often supposed. Almost everywhere it is confined to the smaller part of the people, the vast majority being monogamous. We are told that, in the New Hebrides, “all the men are polygamists, generally having three or four wives apiece;”[2702] that among certain Kafir tribes, “the average number of wives to each married man amongst the common people is about three;”[2703] that, among the Masai, a poor man has generally two wives.[2704] But there is sufficient evidence that such peoples form exceptions to an almost universal rule.