In Abyssinia there is no form of marriage, except what consists in a mutual consent to live together as long as they please each other. This connection is dissolved and renewed as often as the parties think proper. From the highest to the lowest rank, no distinction is made between legitimate and illegitimate children. The women, though Mohammedans, appear freely in public; and the master of a family considers it a point of civility to offer his wife or sister to a guest. The celebrated queen of Sheba is supposed to have been an Abyssinian; and the monarchs now claim descent from Menilek, who they say was her son by Solomon, king of the Jews.
In Caffraria, the bridal ceremonies are so simple as scarcely to deserve the name. When young people wish to live together, opposition from parents is almost an unheard-of circumstance. A feast is prepared to give publicity to the event, and they eat, drink, and dance, for days or weeks in succession, according to the wealth of the parties. If a Caffer girl marries during the lifetime of her father, she receives for dowry as many cattle as he can afford to give; but after his death, she is dependent on the generosity of her brothers. As a wife costs an ox, or two cows, it is rare for any but wealthy Caffers to have more than one. Twins are said to be more common than in any other country, and three children at a birth is a frequent occurrence.
An African dowry is sometimes furnished in a manner painful to think upon. When the sultan of Mandara married his daughter to an Arab sheik, “the nuptials were celebrated by a great slave hunt among the mountains, when, after a dreadful struggle, three thousand captives, by their tears and bondage, furnished out the materials of a magnificent marriage festival.”
In Dahomey, all the unmarried females, throughout the kingdom, are considered the property of the despotic sovereign. Once a year they are all brought before him; he selects the most engaging for himself, and sells the others at high prices to his subjects. No choice is allowed the purchaser. He pays twenty thousand cowries, and receives such a wife as the king pleases to appoint; being obliged to appear satisfied with the selection, whatever may be her aspect or condition. It is said that some have, in mockery, been presented with their own mothers. This brutal and bloody sovereign usually keeps as many as three thousand wives, who serve him in various capacities. No person is allowed to sit even on the floor in the royal presence, except his women; and they must kiss the ground whenever they receive or deliver a message from the king. These women are watched with the most savage jealousy.
Mr. M’Leod, who visited Dahomey in 1803, had his compassion much excited by the sudden disappearance of Sally Abson, daughter of the late English governor by a native female. This girl, who had been educated in the European manner, was accomplished, and had a most winning simplicity of manner. Mr. M’Leod could obtain no tidings of her for a long time. But at last an old domestic ventured to tell him that she had been carried off by an armed band, in the night-time, to be enrolled among the king’s women.
The king of Ashantee has three thousand three hundred and thirty-three wives; a mystical number, on which the prosperity of the nation is supposed to depend.
The king of Yarriba boasted to captain Clapperton, that his wives linked hand in hand would reach entirely across his kingdom. The first question asked by the chiefs was, how many wives the king of England had; and when told that he had but one, they would burst into loud peals of laughter, accompanied by expressions of surprise and pity.
These numerous queens are, however, in fact, nothing but servants, and valued only as an indication of power and wealth. Beside forming a military guard for the king, they labor in the fields, bring water, and carry heavy burdens on their heads, just like the wives of the poorest subject.
The pagan Africans are formally married but to one wife; but they take as many mistresses as they can maintain, and send them away when they please. The lawful wife, provided she has children, has authority over all the female members of the household, and her children enjoy privileges superior to the rest; but if she is so unfortunate as not to be a mother, she is not considered as the head of the establishment.
The women belonging to one household generally live very peaceably. Each one takes her turn in cooking and other domestic avocations; and the husband is expected to be equally kind, generous, and attentive to all.