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never makes a bargain without consulting his wife, and if she does not approve, it is rejected."1 Among the Point Barrow Eskimo "the women appear to stand on a footing of perfect equality with the men both in the family and in the community. The wife is the constant and trusted companion of the man in everything except the hunt, and her opinion is sought in every bargain or other important undertaking." 2 In Greenland, also, though the woman is considered much inferior. to the man, she is in no way oppressed, and her husband consults with her on important matters.*

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Among the nomadic Tangutans the women's rights in the household seemed to Prejevalsky to be equal to those of the men. Of the Todas of India it is said that their women "hold a position in the family quite unlike what is ordinarily witnessed among Oriental nations. They are treated with respect, and are permitted a remarkable amount of freedom.” 6 Among the Kandhs women "are uniformly

treated with respect; the mothers of families generally with much honour. Nothing is done either in public or in private affairs without consulting them, and they generally exert upon the councils of their tribes a powerful influence." A wife may quit her husband at any time, except within a year of her marriage, or when she expects offspring, or within a year after the birth of a child, though, when she quits him, he has a right to reclaim immediately from her father the whole sum paid for her. Among the peasants of the North-Western Provinces of India the wife is an influential personage in the household, not a mere drudge. Little is done without her knowledge and advice. If she is badly wronged the tribal council will protect. her, and on the whole her position is, perhaps, not worse than that of her sisters in a similar grade of life in other parts of the world. Among the Káttis the men are much under the authority of their wives. Among the Bheels women "have much influence in the society," and married men have always had the credit of allowing their wives to domineer over them.10 "A Kol or Ho," says Dr. Hayes, "makes a regular companion

1 Seemann, Narrative of the Voyage of "Herald," ii. 66.

2 Murdoch, Ethnological Results of the Point Barrow Expedition,' in Ann. Rep. Bur. Ethn. ix. 413.

Nansen, First Crossing of Greenland, ii. 312.

+ Nordenskiöld, Den andra Dicksonska expeditionen till Grönland, p. 509. 5 Prejevalsky, Mongolia, ii. 121.

VOL. I

6 Marshall, A Phrenologist amongst the Todas, p. 43.

7 Macpherson, Memorials of Service in India, pp. 69, 132 sq.

8 Crooke, North-Western Provinces of India, p. 230 sq.

Rowney, Wild Tribes of India,

P. 47.
10 Malcolm, Memoir of Central India,
ii. 180. Rowney, op. cit. p. 38.

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of his wife. She is consulted in all difficulties, and receives the fullest consideration due to her sex"; 1 and Colonel Dalton adds, “As a rule, in no country in the world are wives better treated.' " 2 The Garos are "kind husbands, and their conduct generally towards the weaker sex is marked by consideration and respect." 3 The Bódo and Dhimáls " use their wives and daughters well, treating them with confidence and kindness.” 4 The Santal "treats the female members of his family with respect."5 Among the Kukis women are generally held in consideration; "their advice is taken, and they have much influence." Mr. Colquhoun observes that among the IndoChinese races equality of the sexes prevails, and prevailed long before Buddhism took any hold upon the country.7

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Among the Nicobarese "the position of women is, and always has been, in no way inferior to that of the other sex. They take their full share in the formation of public opinion, discuss publicly with the men matters of general interest to the village, and their opinions receive due attention before a decision is arrived at. In fact, they are consulted on every matter, and the henpecked husband is of no extraordinary rarity in the Nicobars."s Mr. Crawfurd thinks that in the Malay Archipelago "the lot of women may, on the whole, be considered as more fortunate than in any other country of the East"; they associate with the men "in all respects on terms of such equality as surprise us in such a condition of society."9 In Bali they are on a perfect equality with the men.10 The Dyak shows great respect for his wife, and always asks her opinion; 11 he regards her "not as a slave, but as a companion." 12 Among the Bataks the married women often have a great influence over their families.13 In Serang they have in all matters equal rights with the men, and are, consequently, treated well.11 The women of Sulu "have the reputation of ruling their

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lords, and possess much weight in the government by the influence they exert over their husbands." 1

In Melanesia the women generally have to work hard, supplying the place of slaves; 2 but at least in various islands their condition is otherwise fairly good. In the Western islands of Torres Straits" the women appear to have had a good deal to say on most questions and were by no means downtrodden or ill-used." In some parts of New Guinea their position is described as one of high esteem. "They have a large voice in domestic affairs, and occasionally lord it over their masters"; and their influence is felt not only in domestic matters, but also in affairs of state. In Erromanga, of the New Hebrides, although the women did all of the hard plantation work, they were on the whole well treated by their husbands. The same is said to be the case in the Solomon Islands;7 in the eastern part of New Georgia they do not even seem to do much work.8 In Micronesia the position of woman is decidedly good. In the Marianne Group "the wife is absolute mistress in her house, the husband not daring to dispose of anything without her consent "; nay, the men are said to be actually governed by their wives, "the women assuming those prerogatives which in most other countries are invested in the other In the Pelew Islands the women are in every respect sex." 9 the equals of the men; the oldest man, or Obokul, of a family can do nothing without taking advice with its oldest female members.10 In the Caroline Group the weaker sex "enjoys a perfect equality in public estimation with the other." 11 Among the Mortlock Islanders the wife is quite independent of her husband.12 In the Kingsmill Islands very great consideration is awarded to the women: "they seem to have exclusive control over the house," whilst all the hard labour is performed by the

1 Wilkes, op. cit. v. 343.

2 Nieboer, op. cit. p. 392 sqq. WaitzGerland, op. cit. vi. 626.

3 Haddon, in Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits, v. 229.

Ratzel, op. cit. i. 274.

6 Pitcairn, Two Years among the Savages of New Guinea, p. 61. Cf. Bink, in Bulletin Soc. d'Anthrop. de Paris, xi. 392; Hagen, Unter den Papua's, pp. 226, 243.

Robertson, Erromanga, p. 397. 7 Parkinson, Zur Ethnographie der nordwestlichen Salomo Inseln, p. 4.

8 Somerville, Ethnogr. Notes in New Georgia,' in Jour. Anthr. Inst. xxvi. 405 sq.

9 Moore, Marriage Customs, p. 187. Waitz, op. cit. v. pt. i. p. 107 sq.

10 Kubary, Die socialen Einrichtungen der Pelauer, p. 38 sq. Cf. Idem,

Die Palau-Inseln,' in Journal des Museum Godeffroy, iv. 43; Keate, Account of the Pelew Islands, p. 331. Hale, op. cit. p. 73.

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12 Kubary, Die Bewohner der Mortlock Inseln,' in Mittheilungen der Geograph. Gesellsch. in Hamburg, 1878-9, P. 261.

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men. Among the Line Islanders "no difference is made in the sexes; a woman can vote and speak as well as a man, and in general the women decide the question, unless it is one of war against another island." 2 In many Polynesian islands, also, their position is by no means bad.3 In Tonga "women have considerable respect shown to them on account of their sex, independent of the rank they might otherwise hold as nobles"; they are not subjected to hard labour or any very menial work, and their status in society is not inferior to that of men. In Samoa they "are held in much consideration, treated with great attention, and not suffered to do anything but what rightfully belongs to them." In the valley of Typee, in the Marquesas Group, the women are allowed every possible indulgence, the religious restrictions of the taboo alone excepted; they are exempt from toil, and "nowhere are they more sensible of their power." 7 Rochon wrote of the Malagasy :-"Man here never commands as a despot; nor does the woman ever obey as a slave. The balance of power inclines even in favour of the women.' "8 At the present day, in Madagascar, the woman "is not scorned as essentially inferior to man,' but enters into her husband's cares and joys, and shares his life, much in the same way as a wife does amongst ourselves.9

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Turning, finally, to the African continent, we find that among the Negro races the woman, though often heavily burdened and more or less subservient to her husband, is by no means without influence.10 we become more closely acquainted with family conditions," Herr Büttner observes, "we notice that there, as elsewhere, husbands are under petticoat government, and those most of all who like to pose before the outer world as masters of their house. The women, including the aunts, have on all occasions, important and unimportant alike, a weighty

1 Wilkes, op. cit. v. 91.

2 Tutuila, in Jour. Polynesian Soc. i. 269.

3 See Waitz-Gerland, op. cit. vi. 120 sqq.

Mariner, Natives of the Tonga Islands, ii. 97.

5 Erskine, Cruise among the Islands of the Western Pacific, p. 158.

Wilkes, op. cit. ii. 148. Cf. WaitzGerland, op. cit. vi. 121.

7 Melville, Typee, p. 299.

8 Rochon, Voyage to Madagascar,' in Pinkerton, Collection of Voyages and

Travels, xvi. 747. Cf. Waitz, op. cit. ii. 438.

9 Little, Madagascar, p. 63.

10 Waitz, op. cit. ii. 117. Ratzel, op. cit. ii. 332. Buchner, Kamerun, p. 32 sq. Möller, Pagels, and Gleerup, op. cit. i. 171 (Lukungu). Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 29 (Banaka and Bapuku). Lang, ibid. p. 225 (Washambala). Burrows, Land of the Pigmies, p. 62 (Niam-Niam). Chanler, Through Jungle and Desert, p. 485 (Wakamba).

word to contribute." 1 The Monbuttu women, according to Dr. Schweinfurth, exhibit towards their husbands the highest degree of independence; "the position in the household occupied by the men was illustrated by the reply which would be made if they were solicited to sell anything as a curiosity, 'Oh, ask my wife it is hers."2 Among the Momvus. "the women are on a footing of equality with the men, and go hunting with them, and accompany them to the wars, taking their part in the combat." 3 Among the Madi or Moru tribe of Central Africa “ women are treated with respect and politeness by the men, who always show them preference, resigning to their use the best places, and paying them such like courtesies." The women associate with the men on equal terms, being consulted and honoured; and any insult to a woman is revenged, nay is frequently the cause of war. In a Hottentot's house the woman is the supreme ruler, and the husband has nothing at all to say. "While in public the men take the prominent part, at home they have not so much power even as to take a mouthful of sour milk out of the tub, without the wife's permission. If a man ever should try to do it, his nearest female relations will put a fine on him, consisting in cows and sheep, which is to be added to the stock of the wife."5 Among the peoples of Berber race the women exercise considerable influence over the men. Among the Guanches of the Canary Islands they were much respected. Among the Touareg "la femme est l'égale de l'homme, si même, par certains côtés, elle n'est dans une condition meilleure." 7 Among the Beni Amer a husband undertakes nothing before consulting his wife, on whose goodwill he largely depends. Of the Aulâd Solîmân, an Arab tribe in the Sahara, Dr. Nachtigal observes that it was curious to see how powerless those much feared robbers and cut-throats were in their own houses." Both in the Sahara 10 and in the East 11 the Bedouin women

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