The Malays of Sumalda have generally adopted a third kind of marriage, which they call the free. In this the families approach each other on an equal level. A small sum, about twelve dollars, is paid to the girl’s parents, and an agreement is made that all property shall be common between husband and wife, and if a divorce takes place it shall be fairly divided. The actual ceremony of marriage is simple: a feast is given, the couple join their hands, and some one pronounces them man and wife.
Where the female is an article of sale, little of what we call courtship can be expected. It is opposed to the manners of the country, which impose strict separation of the sexes in youth; and, besides, when a man pays the price of his wife, he considers he is entitled to possession, without any question as to her predilections. But traces of courtship may be met with. On the very few occasions when young people are allowed to meet, such as public festivals, a degree of respect is shown to women contrasting very favorably with the observances of more civilized communities, and mutual attachments sometimes spring from these associations. The festivals are enlivened by dances and songs. The former have been described as licentious, but an English traveler says he has often seen more immodest displays in a ball-room in his native country. The songs are extempore, and love is the constant theme.
Polygamy is permitted, but only a few chiefs have more than one wife. To be a second one is considered far below the dignity of a respectable woman, and a man would demand a divorce for his daughter if her husband was about to take an additional companion.
Marsden, the traveler already mentioned, says that in the country parts of Sumatra chastity is general; but the merit is lost when he adds that interest causes the parents to be watchful of their daughters, because the selling price of a virgin is far above that of a woman who has been defiled. If a case of seduction occurs, the seducer can be forced to marry the girl and pay her original price, or else give her parents the sum which they would lose by her error.
Regular prostitution is rare. In the bazars of the towns some women of this class may be found, and in the sea-ports profligacy abounds, troops of professional courtesans parading the streets. No one would estimate the morality of a country from the spectacles exhibited in maritime cities. As a general rule, the Sumatran is content to marry, and is faithful to his wife. This may proceed from temperament rather than morality, as their ideas on the latter are not very rigid. This is shown by their opinion of incest, which they regard as an infraction of conventional law, sometimes punishing it by a fine, and at other times confirming the marriage, unless it occurs within the first degree of relationship.
BORNEO.
Notwithstanding the attention which has been drawn to the island of Borneo within the last few years, it is yet but little known to the general reader. The investigations of Sir James Brooke and others have enabled us to discern many of its social features. Most of the inhabitants of Borneo are in a state of barbarism. Some wander naked in the forest, and subsist on the spontaneous productions of the earth; others cultivate the soil, dwell in villages, and trade with their neighbors. The river communities are more advanced than those who live inland, and the inhabitants of sea-ports are more educated and more profligate than any. These have been farther debased by the abominable system of piracy, which, until recently, was their occupation.
Among the Sea Dyaks, or dwellers on the coast, there is no social law to govern sexual intercourse before marriage, nor is the authority of parents recognized in the matter. The Dyak girl selects a husband for herself, and, while she remains single, incurs no disgrace by cohabiting with as many as she pleases. After marriage she is subject to more stringent rules, for, as a man is allowed only one wife, he requires her to be faithful, or in default punishes her with a severe whipping. If he is incontinent he incurs a similar penalty. Cases of adultery are not frequent, though they sometimes occur in time of war.
The ceremony of marriage is as simple as possible. The consent of the woman is first obtained, then the bride and bridegroom meet and give a feast, which completes the contract.
If a girl becomes pregnant, the father of the child must marry her, and this is a common way of securing a husband. A man and woman live together for a time, and separate if there is no prospect of a family. During this probation constancy is not considered indispensable. The fear of not becoming the father of a family, a misfortune greatly dreaded by the Dyaks, favors the loose intercourse of unmarried people. In some tribes the duties of hospitality require that if a chief is traveling he shall be furnished with a pro tempore female companion at every place where he sleeps.