CHAPTER XXV

THE SUBJECTION OF CHILDREN

FROM the modes of conduct which affect the life or bodily welfare of a fellow-creature we shall pass to those relating to personal freedom. In its absolute form the right of liberty may be granted to a perfect being, but has no existence on earth. Ever since the conduct of men became subject to moral censure, the right of doing what they pleased was eo ipso denied them; and in resisting wrong men have not only in various ways interfered with the liberty of their fellow-creatures, but have considered such interference to be their right or even their duty. As to the question what conduct is wrong opinions have differed, and so also as to the proper means of interference ; but with neither of these questions are we concerned at present. Nor shall I deal with the subject of political liberty, nor with such restrictions as people lay on their own freedom by contract. I shall only consider facts bearing upon that state of subjection to which large classes of individuals are doomed by custom or law, on account of their birth or other circumstances beyond their own control-the subjection of children, wives, and slaves to their parents, husbands, or masters.

Among the lower races every family has its head, who exercises more or less authority over its members. In some instances where the maternal system of descent prevails, a man's children are in the power of the head of

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their mother's family or of their maternal uncle;1 but this is by no means the rule even among peoples who reckon kinship through females only. The facts which have been adduced as examples of the so-called "motherright" in most instances imply, chiefly, that children are named after their mothers, not after their fathers, and that property and rank descend exclusively in the female line;" and this is certainly very different from a denial of paternal rights. Among those Australian tribes which have the system of maternal descent, the father is distinctly said to be the master of his children. In Melanesia, where the clan of the children is determined by that of the mother, she is, to quote Dr. Codrington, "in no way the head of the family. The house of the family is the father's, the garden is his, the rule and government are his.” 5 As regards the Iroquois-among whom, at the death of a man, his property is divided between his brothers, sisters, and mother's brothers, whilst the property of a woman is transmitted to her children and sisters we are told that the mother superintends the children, but that the word of the father is law and must be obeyed by the whole household. Among the Mpongwe, who reckon kinship through the mother, the father has by law unrestricted power over his children. And in Madagascar, where children generally follow the condition of the mother, the commands of a father or an ancestor are, among the tribes, "held as most sacredly binding upon his descendants." 10 Whatever might have been the case in earlier times, it is a fact beyond dispute that among the great bulk of existing savages children are in the power of

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all

5 Codrington, Melanesians, p. 34. 6 Westermarck, op. cit. p. 110. 7 Seaver, Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, p. 165.

8 Hübbe-Schleiden, Ethiopien, PP151, 153.

Westermarck, op. cit. p. 103. 10 Sibree, The Great African Island,

p. 326.

their father, though he may to some extent have to share his authority with the mother.

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The extent of the father's power, however, is subject to great variations. Among some savage peoples, as we have seen, he may destroy his new-born child; among others infanticide is prohibited by custom. Among some he may sell his children,' among others such a right is expressly denied him. Frequently he gives away his daughter in marriage without consulting her wishes; but in other cases her own consent is required, or she is allowed to choose her husband herself. Marriage by purchase does not imply that "a girl is sold by her father in the same manner, and with the same authority, with which he would dispose of a cow." It seems that the paternal authority is always in some degree limited by public opinion. Among the Káfirs of the Hindu-Kush, for instance, though the head of the house is described as an autocrat in his own family, the son, backed by public opinion, may, and does, openly quarrel with and threaten his father in cases when the father's actions have been of a particularly gross character."

The essence of dependence lies in obedience and submission. To judge from what is said about children's behaviour towards their parents, the authority of the father must among some savages be practically very slight.

The South American Charruas " ne défendent rien à leurs enfans, et ceux-ci n'ont aucun respect pour leurs pères." Among the Brazilian Indians, according to von Martius, respect and obedience on the part of children towards their parents are un

known. Among the Tarahumares of Mexico "the children grow up entirely independent, and if angry a boy may even strike his father." We are told that among the Aleuts parents "scarcely ever enjoy so much authority as to compel their own children to shew them the least obedience, or to go a single step in their service"; but this does not seem to hold good of all of their tribes. Of the Kamchadales Steller states that the children insult their parents with all sorts of bad talk, stand in no fear of them, obey them in nothing, and are consequently never commanded to do anything, nor punished.5

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Other savages, again, are by no means deficient in filial piety.R

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Among various Eskimo and North American Indian tribes 8 children are described as very obedient to their parents. Parry says of the Eskimo of Winter Island and Igloolik that disobedience is scarcely ever known, and that "a word or even a look from a parent is enough. The Potawatomis hold the violation of the advice and directions of their parents one of the most atrocious crimes.10 In Tonga "filial duty is a most important duty and appears to be universally felt." One of the chief duties which the Ainos taught their children was obedience to parents.12 Among the Central Asiatic Turks a son, whilst young, behaves as if he were his father's slave.18 Among the

1 von Martius, in Jour. Roy. Geo. Soc. ii. 199. Cf. Southey, History of Brazil, iii. 387 (Guaycurus).

2 Lumholtz, Unknown Mexico, p. 275.

Georgi, Russia, iii. 212.

4 Veniaminof, quoted by Petroff, 'Report on Alaska,' in Tenth Census of the United States, pp. 155, 158. Steller, Beschreibung von dem Lande Kamtschatka, p. 353. Cf. Georgi, op. cit. iii. 158.

Im Thurn, Among the Indians of Guiana, p. 213. Schwaner, Borneo, i. 162 (Malays of the Barito River in Borneo). Worcester, Philippine Islands, p. 481. Lewin, Hill Tracts of Chittagong, p. 102 (Kukis). Vámbéry, Türkenvolk, p. 268 (Kara-Kirghiz). Macpherson, Memorials of Service in India, p. 67; Hunter, Annals of Rural Bengal, iii. 72 (Kandhs). Granville and Roth, in Jour. Anthr. Inst. xxviii. 109 (Jekris of the Warri District of the Niger Coast Protectorate). Stuhlmann,

Mit Emin Pascha ins Herz von Afrika, p. 801 (Latuka).

7 Hall, Arctic Researches, p. 568. Boas, Central Eskimo,' in Ann. Rep. Bur. Ethn. vi. 566. Murdoch, Ethnol. Results of the Point Barrow Expedition,' ibid. ix. 417. Turner, Ethnology of the Ungava District,' ibid. xi. 191 (Koksoagmyut).

8 Turner, in Ann. Rep. Bur. Ethn. xi. 269 (Hudson Bay Indians). Heriot, Travels through the Canadas, p. 530. Harmon, Journal of Voyages, p. 347 (Indians on the east side of the Rocky Mountains).

Ossetes "the authority of the head of the family, whether grandfather, father, stepfather, uncle, or elder brother, is submitted to unconditionally; the young men never sit in his presence, nor speak with a loud voice, nor contradict him." 1 Among the Barea and Kunáma "a father and a mother are respected to the utmost degree. A son never dares to contradict his parents nor oppose their commands, however unjust they be. The mother particularly is much beloved and tenderly cared for at her old age."2 Among the Mandingoes children "have a great veneration for their parents," and "would feel extreme reluctance to disobey their father." 3 Of the

Bachapins, a Bechuana tribe, it is said that " filial obedience is strenuously enforced." 4 Among the Kafirs "any one who should fail in respect for his father, or show any neglect of him, would draw on himself the contempt of the whole horde; there have been even instances in which want of filial duty has been punished with infamy and banishment." 5

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The period during which the paternal authority lasts varies. The daughter is in her father's power till she marries, and as a rule no longer; but in some instances. his authority over her continues even after her marriage." This, we have reason to believe, is particularly the case when the husband, on marrying, does not take his wife to his own home, but goes himself to live with her in the house or community of her father. A father's authority over his son frequently comes to an end as the young man

1 von Haxthausen, Transcaucasia, p. 414 sq.

2 Munzinger, Ostafrikanische Studien, P. 474.

3 Caillié, Travels through Central Africa, i. 352 sq.

Burchell, Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa, ii. 557.

Lichtenstein, Travels in Southern Africa, i. 265. Alberti, De Kaffers aan de Zuidkust van Afrika, p. 116 sqq. Shooter, Kafirs of Natal, p. 98. See, e.g., Leuschner, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 17 (Bakwiri); Fama Madenba, ibid. p. 65 (natives of the Sansanding States); Nicole, ibid. p. 100 (Diakité); Lang, ibid. p. 224 (Washambala); Kraft, ibid. p. 286

(Wapokomo); Marx, ibid. P. 349 (Amahlubi); Sorge, ibid. p. 404 (Nissan Islanders of the Bismarck Archipelago). 7 See, e.g., Beverley, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 206. What is said, ibid. p. 31, concerning the Banaka and Bapuku does not seem to agree with the statement p. 30, that the husband is the head of his household and the possessor of his wives.

8 Cf. Mazzarella, La condizione giuridica del marito nella famiglia matriarcale, passim; infra, on the Subjection of Wives. The point in question, like the whole subject of the father's authority among the lower races, requires much further investigation.