41 Kill herself (p. [181]).--Suicide was not uncommon on the Lower Congo. Both men and women committed it for much the same reason as folk do in England.
42 Oily-face (p. [183]).--A lightish skin (not the colour of a half-caste or an albino’s skin) and an oily face were signs of beauty, hence the proverb: “The toad has an oily face where his father’s sister is,” i. e. A person is always beautiful to his own family.
43 Girl’s father of no importance (p. [187]).--On the Lower Congo there is mother-right but no father-right. The children belong to the mother’s family and not to the father. He has no rights over them, nor does he arrange for the marriage of his daughters, and he receives a very small share only of the marriage money paid for his daughters.
44 Rest claimed by the uncle (p. [188]).--(See also note [43].) The uncle was the head of his sisters’ families and the guardian of their children, i. e. of his nieces and nephews. His eldest sister’s eldest son was his heir. He helped his nephews when starting in life, and assisted each in paying the marriage money for his first wife, and arranged for the marriage of his nieces.
He claimed the great bulk of the marriage money for this reason: Suppose he received £3 for his niece, and after five years she died, her husband would come to the uncle and say, “I gave you £3 for the loan of your niece, and she is now dead. I want my money back, and as you have had the use of it for five years I expect 20s. interest on top.” Now probably the uncle would not be able to pay this relatively large sum, and in lieu of it would give another woman as a wife to the man. In another five years, we will say, the second wife dies, and the husband goes to the uncle and says, “The second woman you let me have is dead, and as you have had the use of my money for ten years I want it returned with 40s. interest.” (Sometimes they demand the equivalent of 80s. to 100s. interest.)
The uncle cannot meet so large a demand, so he gives another--the third--woman, and should she die the husband has no further claim either for the capital sum, interest, or another woman. Should the husband die, then his heir has the same claim on the uncle up to three women, or the money with interest; and if the uncle dies, then his heir who receives his property is responsible for the claims of the husband or of his heir up to three women or the money. (See [note 54].) As the uncle took the greater risks, it was only right that he should take most of the money. Whatever the father received was his absolutely, without any risks.
45 Girl received little presents (p. [188]).--After a man has paid a part or the whole of the marriage money, he will make presents of cloth, fish, meat and trinkets to his betrothed. Should the negotiations for her be broken off, he will put an exorbitant value on those presents, and complicate matters by his demands. An unbetrothed girl would not receive presents from a young man without the consent of her family, and if she did do so without such consent, and the young man applied to the family for her hand in marriage and was refused, he would demand all his presents back, or in lieu of them a most extortionate price. Hence no girl would accept a present from a man unless she knew that her uncle and her family regarded his suit with favour. There are, of course, untractable nieces on the Congo as there are unreasonable daughters in Europe.
46 Girl’s mother agreed (p. [188]).--Every wise young man would by various presents gain the goodwill of his future mother-in-law, otherwise she could, under different pretexts, cause the marriage to be postponed, and make herself very disagreeable and objectionable when she could no longer hinder it.
47 Sign of the cross (p. [199]).--In the latter part of the fifteenth century the Portuguese Roman Catholics were present in San Salvador, and during the next half-century they became predominant in the local, political, and religious life of the people. They introduced many superstitions, images, relics and rites. In the early eighties we saw Romish images used as fetishes, relics and the cross used as charms, and baptismal rites practised as a superstitious ceremony. The mark of the cross enters largely into the catalogue of the witch-doctor’s stock-in-trade.
48 I swear by my mother (p. [205]).--In the Congo language there is no lack of oath phrases. And these may be divided into four classes--