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Title: The History of Human Marriage Third Edition Author: Edward Westermarck Release Date: April 28, 2019 [eBook #59386] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF HUMAN MARRIAGE*** E-text prepared by Turgut Dincer, Les Galloway, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by HathiTrust Digital Library (https://www.hathitrust.org/) Note: Images of the original pages are available through HathiTrust Digital Library. See https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo1.ark:/13960/t2d79wm16;view=1up;seq=9 THE HISTORY OF HUMAN MARRIAGE THE HISTORY OF HUMAN MARRIAGE BY EDWARD WESTERMARCK LECTURER ON SOCIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FINLAND, HELSINGFORS London MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1901 All rights reserved Richard Clay and Sons, Limited London and Bungay. First Edition, 1891. Second Edition, 1894. Third Edition, 1901. INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY ALFRED R. WALLACE Having read the proofs of Mr. Westermarck’s book I am asked by the publishers to say a few words by way of introducing the work to English readers. This I have great pleasure in doing, because I have seldom read a more thorough or a more philosophic discussion of some of the most difficult, and at the same time interesting problems of anthropology. The origin and development of human marriage have been discussed by such eminent writers as Darwin, Spencer, Morgan, Lubbock, and many others. On some of the more important questions involved in it all these writers are in general accord, and this agreement has led to their opinions being widely accepted as if they were well-established conclusions of science. But on several of these points Mr. Westermarck has arrived at different, and sometimes diametrically opposite, conclusions, and he has done so after a most complete and painstaking investigation of all the available facts. With such an array of authority on the one side and a hitherto unknown student on the other, it will certainly be thought that all the probabilities are against the latter. Yet I venture to anticipate that the verdict of independent thinkers will, on most of these disputed points, be in favour of the new comer who has so boldly challenged the conclusions of some of our most esteemed writers. Even those whose views are here opposed, will, I think, acknowledge that Mr. Westermarck is a careful investigator and an acute reasoner, and that his arguments as well as his conclusions are worthy of the most careful consideration. I would also call attention to his ingenious and philosophical explanation of the repugnance to marriage between near relatives which is so very general both among savage and civilised man, and as to the causes of which there has been great diversity of opinion; and to his valuable suggestions on the general question of sexual selection, in which he furnishes an original argument against Darwin’s views on the point, differing somewhat from my own though in general harmony with it. Every reader of the work will admire its clearness of style, and the wonderful command of what is to the author a foreign language. v vi PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION I need scarcely say how fully I appreciate the honour of being introduced to English readers by Mr. Alfred R. Wallace. I am also greatly obliged for his kindness in reading the proofs, and in giving me the benefit of his advice with regard to various parts of the subject. It is difficult for me to acknowledge sufficiently my obligations to Mr. James Sime for his assistance in preparing this book for the press. The work, as originally written, naturally contained a good many foreign modes of expression. Mr. Sime has been indefatigable in helping me to improve the form of the text; and, in our discussions on the main lines of the argument, he has made several important suggestions. I am sincerely obliged for the invaluable aid he has given me. My cordial thanks are due to Mr. Charles J. Cooke, British Vice-Consul at Helsingfors, who most kindly aided me in writing the first part of the book in a tongue which is not my own. I am indebted also to Dr. E.B. Tylor, Professor G. Croom Robertson, Mr. James Sully, and Dr. W. C. Coupland for much encouraging interest; to Mr. Joseph Jacobs for the readiness with which he has placed at my disposal some results of his own researches; and to several gentlemen in different parts of the world who have been so good as to respond to my inquiries as to their personal observation of various classes of phenomena connected with marriage among savage tribes. The information I have received from them is acknowledged in the passages in which it is used. A list of authorities is given at the end of the book—between the text and the index, and it may be well to add that the references in the notes have been carefully verified. E. W. London, May, 1891. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION In this new edition of my book I have made no essential changes, but here and there the argument has been strengthened by the addition of facts which have come to my knowledge since the appearance of the first edition. The most important of these new facts will be found in the second chapter. I take this opportunity of expressing my warm appreciation of the thorough way in which the ideas set forth in this book have been discussed by many critics in England and elsewhere. Translations of the work have appeared, or are about to appear, in German, Swedish, French, Italian, and Russian. E. W. London, January, 1894. PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION I much regret that the demand for a new edition of this book should come at a time when circumstances prevent me from undertaking such a revision of the work as I feel to be required. Since the appearance of the Second Edition many important facts bearing upon the subject have been brought to light, new theories have been advanced, and old theories, supported by fresh arguments, have been revived. To all this, however, I can do no justice, as I am at present being engaged in anthropological research in Morocco. This edition is, in consequence, a mere reprint of the second. But I purpose, after my return to Europe, to issue an Appendix, in which the book will be brought more up to date and some criticism will be replied to. E. W. Mogador (Morocco), August, 1901. vii viii ix CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ON THE METHOD OF INVESTIGATION History of human civilization a part of Sociology, p. 1.—Early history based on ethnography, p. 2.—Errors in method, pp. 2, et seq.— How we can from ethnographical facts acquire information regarding the early history of mankind, pp. 3-6.—Dr. Tylor’s ‘method of investigating the development of institutions,’ pp. 4, et seq.—The causes of social phenomena, p. 5.—What we know about the antiquity of the human race, pp. 5, et seq.—Social survivals, p. 6.—‘Human marriage,’ ibid. CHAPTER I THE ORIGIN OF MARRIAGE Tales of the origin of marriage, pp. 8, et seq.—The subject regarded from a scientific point of view, p. 9.—Parental care among Invertebrata, ibid.—The relations of the sexes and parental care among Fishes, p. 10.—Among Reptiles, ibid.—Among Birds, pp. 10, et seq.—Among the lower Mammals, p. 12.—Among the Quadrumana, pp. 12-14.—Among savage and barbarous races of men, pp. 14-17.—The father’s place in the family, pp. 15-19.—Definition of the word marriage, pp. 19, et seq.—Marriage a product of natural selection, pp. 20, et seq.—Marriage rooted in family rather than family in marriage, pp. 22-24. CHAPTER II A HUMAN PAIRING SEASON IN PRIMITIVE TIMES Hypotheses as to the periodicity in the sexual life of animals, p. 25.—Every month or season of the year the pairing season of one or another mammalian species, pp. 25, et seq.—The rut not dependent upon any general physiological law, but adapted to the requirement of each species separately, pp. 26, et seq.—Wild species without a definite pairing season, p. 27.—Rutting season among the man-like apes, ibid.—Among our earliest human or half-human progenitors, p. 28.—Periodical increase of the sexual instinct among existing savages, pp. 28-31.—Among civilized peoples, pp. 31-33.— The increase of the sexual instinct at the end of spring or in the beginning of summer, probably a survival of an ancient pairing season, pp. 34, et seq.—The winter maximum of conceptions, pp. 35-37.—Why man is not limited to a particular period of the year in which to court the female, pp. 37, et seq.— Domestic animals without a definite pairing season, p. 38. CHAPTER III THE ANTIQUITY OF HUMAN MARRIAGE Marriage a necessary requirement for the existence of the human race, p. 39.—The hypothesis that the maternal uncle was the guardian of the children, pp. 39-41.—The father the head of the family, p. 41.—The hypothesis that all the men of the tribe indiscriminately were their guardians, pp. 41, et seq.—Man originally not a gregarious animal, pp. 42, et seq.—The solitary life of the man-like apes, ibid.—Savage peoples living in families rather than in tribes, pp. 43-47.—Insufficient food supply a hindrance to a true gregarious manner of living, pp. 47-49.—The gregariousness and sociability of man sprang in the main from progressive intellectual and material civilization, pp. 49, et seq. CHAPTER IV A CRITICISM OF THE HYPOTHESIS OF PROMISCUITY The hypothesis of promiscuity, pp. 51, et seq.—The evidence adduced in support of it, p. 52.—Notices of savage nations said to live promiscuously, pp. 52-55.—Some of the facts adduced, no instances of real promiscuity, pp. 55-57.—Most of the statements obviously erroneous, pp. 57-59.—The accuracy of the others doubtful, pp. 59, et seq.—Even if correct, they cannot afford any evidence for promiscuity having prevailed in primitive times, pp. 60, et seq.—The free cohabitation of the sexes before marriage, in some parts of the world, given as evidence of ancient promiscuity, p. 61.—Sexual intercourse out of wedlock rare, and unchastity on the part of the woman looked upon as a disgrace, among many uncivilized peoples, pp. 61-66.—The wantonness of savages in several cases due chiefly to the influence of civilization, pp. 66-70.—It is quite different from promiscuity, pp. 70, et seq.—Customs interpreted as acts of expiation for individual marriage, p. 72.—Religious prostitution, ibid.—Jus primae noctis accorded to the wedding-guests or to the friends of the bridegroom, pp. 72-76.—The practice of lending wives to visitors, pp. 73-75.—Jus primae noctis granted to a chief, lord, or priest, pp. 76-80.—Courtesans held in greater estimation than women married to a single husband, pp. 80, et seq. CHAPTER V A CRITICISM OF THE HYPOTHESIS OF PROMISCUITY (Continued) The ‘classificatory system of relationship,’ pp. 82-84.—‘Marriage in a group’ and the ‘consanguine family,’ pp. 84, et seq.—Mr. Morgan’s assumption that the ‘classificatory system’ is a system of blood ties, p. 85.—Terms for relationships borrowed from the children’s lips, pp. 85-87.—Other terms, pp. 87-89.—Mr. Morgan’s assumption not consistent with the facts he has himself stated, p. 89.—The terms for relationships originally terms of address, ibid.—The names given chiefly with reference to sex and age, as also to the external, or social, relationship in which the speaker stands to the person whom he addresses, pp. 90-95.—No inference regarding early marriage customs to be drawn from the terms for relationships, pp. 95, et seq.—The system of ‘kinship through females only,’ p. 96.—Supposed to be due to uncertain paternity, pp. 96, et seq.—A list of peoples among whom this system does not prevail, pp. 98-104.—The inference that ‘kinship through females only’ everywhere preceded the rise of ‘kinship through males’ inadmissible from Mr. McLennan’s point of view, p. 105.—The maternal system does not presuppose former uncertainty as to fathers, ibid.—The father’s participation in parentage not discovered as soon as the mother’s, though now universally recognized, pp. 105-107.—Once discovered, it was often exaggerated, p. 106.—The denomination of children and the rules of succession, in the first place, not dependent on ideas of consanguinity, p. 107.—Several reasons for naming children after the mother rather than after the father, apart from any consideration of relationship, ibid.—The tie between a mother and child much stronger than that which binds a child to the father, pp. 107, et seq.—Polygyny, p. 108.—Husband living with the wife’s family, pp. 109, et seq.—The rules of succession influenced by local connections and by the family name, pp. 110-112.—No general coincidence of what we consider moral and immoral habits with the prevalence of the male and female line among existing savages, p. 112.—Occasional coincidence of the paternal system with uncertainty as to fathers, ibid.—Avowed recognition of kinship in the female line only does not show an unconsciousness of male kinship, pp. 112, et seq.—The prevalence of the female line would not xi xii xiii presuppose general promiscuity, even if, in some cases, it were dependent on uncertain paternity, p. 113.—The groups of social phenomena adduced as evidence for the hypothesis of promiscuity no evidence, ibid. CHAPTER VI A CRITICISM OF THE HYPOTHESIS OF PROMISCUITY (Concluded) Promiscuous intercourse between the sexes tends to a pathological condition unfavourable to fecundity, p. 115.—The practice of polyandry does not afford evidence in an opposite direction, pp. 115-117.—The jealousy of man and other mammalian species the strongest argument against ancient promiscuity, p. 117.—Jealousy among existing peoples, pp. 117-121.—Punishments inflicted for adultery, pp. 121, 122, 130.—Man’s requirement of virginity from his bride, pp. 123, et seq.—A wife considered to belong to her husband, not during his lifetime only, but after his death, pp. 124-130.—Widows killed, pp. 125, et seq.—Duties towards deceased husbands, pp. 126, et seq.—Widows forbidden to marry again, pp. 127, et seq.—Prohibition of speedy remarriage, pp. 128-130.— The practice of lending or prostituting wives no evidence for the absence of jealousy, pp. 130, et seq.—Contact with a ‘higher culture’ misleading natural instincts, pp. 131, et seq.—No reason to suppose that the feeling of jealousy ever was restrained by conditions which made it necessary for a man to share his wife with other men, pp. 132, et seq.—The hypothesis of promiscuity essentially unscientific, p. 133. CHAPTER VII MARRIAGE AND CELIBACY Voluntary abstinence unheard of in a state of nature, p. 134.—Celibacy rare among savage and barbarous races, pp. 134-136.—Savage views on celibacy, pp. 136, et seq.—Savages marry early in life, pp. 137-139.—Celibacy rare among several civilized races, pp. 139- 143.—Celibacy caused by the practice of purchasing wives, and by polygyny, pp. 143-145.—Celibacy in Europe, and its causes, pp. 145-150.—Sexual relations considered impure, pp. 151, et seq.—Religious celibacy, pp. 152-155.—Hypothesis as to the origin of the notion of sexual uncleanness and of sexual bashfulness, pp. 155, et seq. CHAPTER VIII THE COURTSHIP OF MAN Males active, females comparatively passive, in courtship, pp. 157, et seq.—Courtship by women among certain peoples, pp. 158, et seq.—Courtship by proxy, p. 159.—Fighting for females among the lower animals, ibid.—Among men, pp. 159-163.—Making love, p. 163.—Fights by women for the possession of men, p. 164.—Female coquetry, ibid. CHAPTER IX MEANS OF ATTRACTION Savage predilection for ornaments, pp. 165, et seq.—For self-mutilation, pp. 166, et seq.—For dressing the hair, p. 167.—For showy colours and paint, p. 168.—For tattooing, pp. 168, et seq.—Practices supposed to have a religious origin, pp. 169-172.—Mr. Frazer’s theory as regards the origin of tattooing, &c., pp. 170, et seq.—Other theories, p. 172.—Men and women began to ornament, mutilate, paint, and tattoo themselves, chiefly in order to make themselves attractive to the opposite sex, pp. 172-182.— Savage women less decorated than savage men, pp. 182-185.—Opinions as to the origin of dress, p. 186.—Nakedness and want of modesty among many savage peoples, pp. 186-189.—Ornamental ‘garments’ among savages, pp. 189-192.—Covering a means of attraction, pp. 192-200, 211, et seq.—Practices serving a similar end, pp. 201-206.—Circumcision, ibid.—Different ideas of modesty, pp. 206-208—The power of custom and the feeling of shame, pp. 208-211. CHAPTER X THE LIBERTY OF CHOICE Females ‘engaged’ in infancy, pp. 213, et seq.—The right of giving a girl in marriage, pp. 214, et seq.—Considerable liberty of selection allowed to women among the lower races, pp. 215-221.—It was even greater in primitive times, pp. 221, et seq.—Bride-stealing and elopement, p. 223.—The position of sons among uncivilized peoples, pp. 223-225.—Paternal authority based on ancestor worship, in the ancient and Eastern World, pp. 225-235.—The patria potestas of the Aryan races, pp. 229-235.—The decline of the patria potestas, pp. 235-239. CHAPTER XI SEXUAL SELECTION AMONG ANIMALS Mr. Darwin’s theory of ‘Sexual Selection,’ pp. 240, et seq.—Contradiction between the theories of natural and sexual selection, pp. 241, et seq.—The colours of flowers, pp. 242, et seq.—Mr. Wallace’s theory of the sexual colours of animals, p. 243.—The sexual colours make it easier for the sexes to find each other, pp. 243, et seq.—They occur exactly in those species whose habits and manner of living make these colours most visible, pp. 244, et seq.—The odours of flowers, p. 246.—Sexual odours and sounds among animals, pp. 246, et seq.—The sexual colours, odours, and sounds of animals complementary to each other in the way that is best suited to make the animals easily discoverable, pp. 247-249.—The untenableness of Mr. Darwin’s theory, p. 249.—The secondary sexual characters due to natural selection, pp. 249, et seq.—Mr. Wallace’s views, p. 250.—Animal ‘ornaments,’ pp. 250, et seq.—Further arguments against Mr. Darwin’s theory, p. 251.—The variability of the secondary sexual characters, pp. 251. et seq.—Their stability in wild species, p. 252. CHAPTER XII THE SEXUAL SELECTION OF MAN: TYPICAL BEAUTY Female selection among animals and the indifference of the males, p. 253.—Woman more particular in her choice than man, pp. 253, et seq.—Female appreciation of manly strength and courage, pp. 255, et seq.—Men attracted by healthy women, p. 256.—The connection between love and beauty not peculiar to the civilized mind, p. 257.—Different notions of personal beauty, pp. 257, et seq.—Mr. Spencer’s theory of ‘facial perfection,’ pp. 258, et seq.—Men find beauty in the full development of the visible characteristics belonging to the human organism in general, p. 259.—Of those peculiar to the sex, pp. 259, et seq.—Of those peculiar to the race, pp. 261-264.—The connection between love and beauty due to natural selection, pp. 265, 273, et seq.— Individual deviations from the national type less considerable among savages than among civilized men, pp. 265, et seq.—Racial peculiarities in some way connected with the external circumstances in which the various races live, pp. 266-271.—Acclimatization, xiv xv pp. 268-270.—Professor Weismann’s theory of heredity applied to the origin of the human races, pp. 271-273.—Physical beauty the outward manifestation of physical perfection, pp. 273, et seq.—Rejection of Mr. Darwin’s opinion on the connection between love and beauty, pp. 274, et seq.—Rejection of his theory as to the origin of the human races, pp. 275, et seq.—The hairlessness of man, pp. 276, et seq.—The influence of sexual selection on the physical aspect of mankind, p. 277. CHAPTER XIII THE LAW OF SIMILARITY Instinctive aversion among animals to pairing with individuals belonging to another species, pp. 278-280.—Infertility of first crosses and of hybrids, pp. 279, et seq.—‘The Law of Similarity,’ p. 280.—Bestiality, pp. 280, et seq.—The various human races said to have an instinctive aversion to intermingling, pp. 281, et seq.—Intermixture of races, pp. 282, et seq.—Its effects on fertility, pp. 283-288.—Rejection of M. Broca’s theory as to the infertility of the connections of Europeans with Australian women, pp. 284-287. —The doctrine of the unity of mankind independent of the degree of fertility of first crosses, and of mongrels, pp. 288, et seq. CHAPTER XIV PROHIBITION OF MARRIAGE BETWEEN KINDRED The horror of incest almost universally characteristic of mankind, p. 290.—Intercourse between parents and children, pp. 290, et seq.— Between brother and sister, pp. 291-294.—Between half-brother and half-sister, pp. 294, et seq.—Between uncle and niece, and aunt and nephew, pp. 295, et seq.—Between first cousins, pp. 296, et seq.—The prohibited degrees among peoples unaffected by modern civilization more numerous, as a rule, than in advanced communities, pp. 297-309.—Prohibition of marriage between relatives by alliance, pp. 309, et seq.—Early hypotheses as to the origin of the prohibitions of marriage between near kin, p. 310.— Criticism of Mr. McLennan’s hypothesis as to the origin of exogamy, pp. 311-314.—Criticism of Mr. Spencer’s views, pp. 314, et seq.—Of Sir John Lubbock’s, p. 316.—Of Professor Kohler’s, pp. 316, et seq.—Of Mr. Morgan’s, &c., pp. 318, et seq.—The prohibition of incest founded not on experience, but on instinct, p. 319. CHAPTER XV PROHIBITION OF MARRIAGE BETWEEN KINDRED (Concluded) No innate aversion to marriage with near relations, p. 320.—Innate aversion to sexual intercourse between persons living very closely together from early youth, pp. 320-330.—Local exogamy, pp. 321-323.—Connection between the prohibited degrees and the more or less close living together, pp. 324-329.—Connection between the ‘classificatory system of relationship’ and exogamy, p. 329.— The one-sidedness of prohibitions due in part directly to local relationships, in part to the influence of names, pp. 330, et seq.—The prohibitions of marriage between relations by alliance and by adoption due to an association of ideas, p. 331.—The prohibitions on the ground of ‘spiritual relationship’ due to the same cause, ibid.—Endogamy seldom occurs in very small communities, p. 332.— Marriage between half-brothers and half-sisters not contrary to the principle here laid down, ibid.—Incestuous unions due to pride of birth, to necessity, to extreme isolation, and to vitiated instincts, p. 333.—Incest among the lower animals, p. 334.—The effects of cross- and self-fertilization among plants, p. 335.—Evil effects of close interbreeding among animals, pp. 335-337.—A certain amount of differentiation favourable for the fertilisation or union of two organisms, pp. 337, et seq.—Difficulty of adducing direct evidence for the evil effects of consanguineous marriages among men, pp. 338, et seq.—Close intermarrying among the Veddahs, pp. 339, et seq.—The effects of marriage between first cousins, pp. 340-343.—The experience of isolated communities does not prove consanguineous marriages to be harmless, pp. 343-345.—The bad consequences of self-fertilization and close interbreeding may almost fail to appear under favourable conditions of life, pp. 345, et seq.—Consanguineous marriages more injurious in savage regions than in civilized society, p. 346.—Tendency of endogamous peoples to die out, pp. 346-350.—Peoples who ascribe evil results to close intermarriage, pp. 350-352.—The horror of incest due to natural selection, pp. 352, et seq.— Exogamy arose when single families united in small hordes, p. 353.—Love excited by contrasts, pp. 353-355. CHAPTER XVI SEXUAL SELECTION AS INFLUENCED BY AFFECTION AND SYMPATHY, AND BY CALCULATION The compound character of love, p. 356.—Conjugal affection, at the lower stages of civilization, less intense than parental love, pp. 356-358.—Conjugal affection among savages, pp. 358, et seq.—Among primitive men, pp. 359, et seq.—Mutual love as the motive which leads to marriage, pp. 360, et seq.—Sexual love has developed in proportion as altruism has increased, ibid.—Sexual love among the Eastern nations, ibid.—Sexual selection determined by intellectual, emotional, and moral qualities, p. 362.—Sexual selection influenced by sympathy, pp. 362-376.—By age, p. 362.—By the degree of cultivation, pp. 362, et seq.—Racial and national endogamy, pp. 363-365.—Tribal- communal- and clan-endogamy, pp. 365-368.—The origin of castes and classes, pp. 368, et seq.—Want of sympathy between different classes, pp. 369, et seq.—Class- and caste-endogamy, pp. 370-373.—The decline of national- and class-endogamy in modern society, pp. 373, et seq.—Religion a bar to intermarriage, pp. 374-376.—The increase of mixed marriages, p. 376.—Desire for offspring, pp. 376-378.—Appreciation of female fecundity, p. 378.—Sexual selection influenced by the desire for offspring, pp. 378, et seq.—The causes of this desire, pp. 379, et seq.—With the progress of civilization this desire has become less intense, p. 381.—A wife chosen because of her ability as a labourer, pp. 381, et seq.—A husband chosen because of his ability to protect and provide for a wife and offspring, p. 382.—Wife-purchase and husband-purchase in modern society, ibid. CHAPTER XVII MARRIAGE BY CAPTURE AND MARRIAGE BY PURCHASE Marriage by capture as a reality or as a symbol among uncivilized races, pp. 383-386.—Among peoples of the Aryan race, pp. 386, et seq.—No evidence that marriage by capture has prevailed among every race, p. 387.—Marriage with capture, p. 388.—Marriage by capture and exogamy, pp. 388, et seq.—The origin of marriage by capture, p. 389.—Marriage by capture once the normal, never the exclusive form of contracting marriage, ibid.—Marriage by exchange, p. 390.—Wives obtained by service, pp. 390-392.—Wives obtained by actual purchase, pp. 392-394.—Marriage on credit, p. 394.—Marriage by purchase among civilized races, pp. 394-397. —Lower peoples among whom marriage by purchase does not exist, pp. 397-399.—Marriage by purchase a more recent stage than marriage by capture, pp. 399-401.—Barter a comparatively late invention of man, pp. 400, et seq.—Transition from marriage by capture to marriage by purchase, p. 401.—The bride-price a compensation for the loss sustained in giving up the girl, p. 402.— Bargain about women, ibid.—Savage views on marriage by purchase, ibid. CHAPTER XVIII xvi xvii xviii THE DECAY OF MARRIAGE BY PURCHASE. THE MARRIAGE PORTION The decay of marriage by purchase among civilized peoples, pp. 403-405.—Marriage by purchase transformed into a symbol, pp. 405, et seq.—Arbitrary presents and sham sale, p. 405.—Return gift, pp. 405, et seq.—The purchase-sum transformed into the morning gift and the dotal portion, pp. 406-408.—The decay of marriage by purchase among uncivilized races, pp. 408-410.—The marriage portion does not in every case spring from a previous purchase, p. 411.—It serves different ends, ibid.—The marriage portion as a settlement for the wife, pp. 411-414.—The marriage portion among uncivilized races, pp. 414, et seq.—Fathers bound by law or custom to portion their daughters, pp. 415, et seq.—Husband purchase, p. 416. CHAPTER XIX MARRIAGE CEREMONIES AND RITES Peoples who have no marriage ceremony, pp. 417, et seq.—The rise of marriage ceremonies, pp. 418-421.—When the mode of contracting a marriage altered, the earlier mode, from having been a reality, survived as a ceremony, p. 418.—Wedding feasts, pp. 418, et seq.—Ceremonies symbolizing the relation between husband and wile, pp. 419-421.—Religious ceremonies connected with marriage among uncivilized nations, pp. 421-424.—Assistance of a priest, pp. 422, et seq.—Omens and ‘lucky days,’ pp. 423, et seq.—Religious marriage ceremonies among civilized nations, pp. 424-428.—Civil marriage, pp. 428, et seq.—The validity of marriage, pp. 429, et seq. CHAPTER XX THE FORMS OF HUMAN MARRIAGE Polygyny permitted by many civilized nations and the bulk of savage tribes, pp. 431-435.—Among many savage peoples developed to an extraordinary extent, pp. 434, et seq.—Among not a few uncivilized peoples almost unknown, or even prohibited, pp. 435-437.— Among certain peoples permitted only to the chief men, pp. 437, et seq.—Almost everywhere confined to the smaller part of the people, pp. 438-442.—Modified in a monogamous direction through the higher position granted to one of the wives, generally the first married, pp. 443-448.—Through the preference given to the favourite wife as regards sexual intercourse, pp. 448, et seq.— Bigamy the most common form of polygyny, p. 450.—The occurrence of polyandry, pp. 450-455.—Polyandry nowhere the exclusive form of marriage, pp. 455-457.—Modified in directions towards monogamy, pp. 457, et seq.—The first husband the chief husband, ibid.—Monogamy the most common form of human marriage, p. 459. CHAPTER XXI THE FORMS OF HUMAN MARRIAGE (Continued) The proportion between the sexes varies among different peoples, pp. 460-464.—Causes to which the disparity in the numbers of the sexes is due, pp. 465-482.—The higher mortality of men, dependent upon war, &c., pp. 465, et seq.—The higher mortality of women, dependent upon female infanticide, &c., p. 466.—Disproportion between the sexes at birth, pp. 466-469.—Hypotheses as to the causes which determine the sex of the offspring, pp. 469-476.—The law of Hofacker and Sadler, pp. 469, et seq.—Dr. Düsing’s hypothesis, pp. 470-476.—Polyandry dependent upon an excess of male births, pp. 472-474.—Coincidence of polyandry with poverty of material resources, pp. 474-476.—Mixture of race produces an excess of female births, pp. 476-480.—Unions between related individuals or, generally, between individuals who are very like each other, produce a comparatively great number of male offspring, pp. 480-482.—The form of marriage influenced by the numerical proportion between the sexes, pp. 482, et seq.— Several reasons why a man may desire to possess more than one wife, pp. 483-492.—Monogamy requires from him periodical continence, pp. 483-485.—He is attracted by female youth and beauty, pp. 485, et seq.—At the lower stages of civilization women become old sooner than in more advanced communities, pp. 486-488.—Man’s taste for variety, p. 488.—Man’s desire for offspring, pp. 488-491.—Women generally less prolific among savage than among civilized nations, pp. 490, et seq.—A man’s fortune increased by a multitude of wives through their labour, pp. 491, et seq.—A man’s authority increased by a multitude of wives, p. 492.—Hindrances to polygyny, pp. 493-503.—The difficulty in maintaining a plurality of wives, p. 493.—The necessity of paying the purchase-sum or of serving for a wife, pp. 493, et seq.—Polygyny practised chiefly by the principal men of the people, pp. 494, et seq.—Polygyny a violation of the feelings of women, pp. 495-500.—Marrying sisters, pp. 499, et seq.—Coincidence of monogamy with a higher status of women, pp. 500-502.—The form of marriage influenced by the quality of the passion which unites the sexes, p. 502.—The absorbing passion for one, pp. 502, et seq.—The causes of polyandry, pp. 503, et seq.—The chief immediate cause a numerical disproportion between the sexes, p. 504. CHAPTER XXII THE FORMS OF HUMAN MARRIAGE (Concluded) Monogamy more prevalent at the lowest stages of civilization than at somewhat higher stages, pp. 505-508.—Polygyny favoured by social differentiation, pp. 505, et seq.—The very lowest races either strictly monogamous, or but little addicted to polygyny, pp. 506, et seq.—Polygyny adopted under the influence of a higher civilization, pp. 507, et seq.—Monogamy prevails among the man- like apes, p. 508.—Civilization in its higher forms leads to monogamy, pp. 508, et seq.—Will monogamy be the only recognized form of marriage in the future? pp. 509, et seq.—Criticism of Mr. McLennan’s theory as to the general prevalence of polyandry in early times, pp. 510-515—The Levirate affords no evidence for this theory, pp. 510-514.—Polyandry always an exception in the human race, pp. 514, et seq.—It presupposes an abnormally feeble disposition to jealousy, p. 515.—It seems to presuppose a certain amount of civilization, pp. 515, et seq.—Polyandry an expression of fraternal benevolence, p. 516.—The origin of the group- marriage of the Toda type, ibid. CHAPTER XXIII THE DURATION OF HUMAN MARRIAGE The time during which marriage lasts varies, p. 517.—Peoples among whom separation is said to be unknown, ibid.—Human marriage, as a general rule, not necessarily contracted for life, pp. 518-520.—Divorce dependent upon the husband’s decision, pp. 520, et seq.—Divorce among a great many peoples exceptional, pp. 521-523.—A man permitted to divorce his wife only under certain conditions, pp. 523-526.—Marriage dissolved by the wife, pp. 526-529.—The causes by which the duration of human marriage is influenced, pp. 529-535.—The duration of marriage among primitive men, p. 535.—The development of the duration of human marriage, pp. 535, et seq. CHAPTER XXIV xix xx SUMMARY PP. 537-550. Authorities Quoted pp. 551-580 Index pp. 581-644 THE HISTORY OF HUMAN MARRIAGE INTRODUCTION ON THE METHOD OF INVESTIGATION It is in the firm conviction that the history of human civilization should be made an object of as scientific a treatment as the history of organic nature that I write this book. Like the phenomena of physical and psychical life those of social life should be classified into certain groups, and each group investigated with regard to its origin and development. Only when treated in this way can history lay claim to the rank and honour of a science in the highest sense of the term, as forming an important part of Sociology the youngest of the principal branches of learning. Descriptive historiography has no higher object than that of offering materials to this science. It can, however, but very inadequately fulfil this task. The written evidences of history do not reach far into antiquity. They give us information about times when the scale of civilization was already comparatively high—but scarcely anything more. As to the origin and early development of social institutions, they leave us entirely in the dark. The sociologist cannot rest content with this. But the information which historical documents are unable to afford him, may be, to a great extent, obtained from ethnography. The admirable works of Dr. Tylor, Sir John Lubbock, and Mr. Herbert Spencer have already made us familiar with the idea of a history of primitive civilization, based on ethnographical grounds. This new manner of treating history has, since the publication of their writings on the subject, gained adherents day by day. Immeasurable expanses have thus been opened to our knowledge, and many important results have been reached. But it must, on the other hand, be admitted that the scientific value of the conclusions drawn from ethnographical facts has not always been adequate to the labour, thought, and acumen bestowed on them. The various investigators have, in many important questions, come to results so widely different, that the possibility of thus getting any information about the past might easily be doubted. These differences, however, seem to me to be due, not to the material, but to the manner of treating it. “The chief sources of information regarding the early history of civil society,” says Mr. McLennan, “are, first, the study of races in their primitive condition; and, second, the study of the symbols employed by advanced nations in the constitution or exercise of civil rights.”1 Yet nothing has been more fatal to the Science of Society than the habit of inferring, without sufficient reasons, from the prevalence of a custom or institution among some savage peoples, that this custom, this institution is a relic of a stage of development that the whole human race once went through. Thus the assumption that primitive men lived in tribes or hordes, all the men of which had promiscuous intercourse with all the women, where no individual marriage existed, and the children were the common property of the tribe, is founded, in the first place, on the statements of some travellers and ancient writers as to peoples among whom this custom is said actually to prevail, or to have prevailed. Dr. Post has gone still further in his book, ‘Die Geschlechtsgenossenschaft der Urzeit und die Entstehung der Ehe.’ Without adducing any satisfactory reason for his opinion, he considers it probable that “monogamous marriage originally emerged everywhere from pure communism in women, through the intermediate stages of limited communism in women, polyandry, and polygyny.”2 Mr. Lewis H. Morgan, in his ‘Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family,’ has suggested no fewer than fifteen normal stages in the evolution of marriage and the family, assuming the existence and general prevalence of a series of customs and institutions “which must of necessity have preceded a knowledge of marriage between single pairs, and of the family itself, in the modern sense of the term.”3 According to him, one of the first stages in this series is the intermarriage of brothers and sisters, as evidence of which he adduces, besides other facts, the historical statements that one of the Herods was married to his sister, and Cleopatra was married to her brother.4 Again, in the study of symbols, or survivals, the sociologists have by no means always been so careful as the matter requires. True enough that “wherever we discover symbolical forms, we are justified in inferring that in the past life of the people employing them, there were corresponding realities.”5 But all depends upon our rightly interpreting these symbols, and not putting into them a foreign meaning. The worst is, however, that many customs have been looked upon as survivals that probably are not so. Thus, for instance, I think that Mr. McLennan is mistaken in considering the system of the Levirate, under which, at a man’s death, his wife or wives pass to his brother, as a test of the former presence of polyandry, the brothers of a family having a common wife. Similar conclusions being of common occurrence in modern Sociology, it is not surprising that different writers dissent so frequently from each other. This should be a strong reason for every conscientious investigator first of all putting to himself the question: how can we from ethnographical facts acquire information regarding the early history of mankind? 1 2 3 I do not think that this question can be correctly answered in more than one way. We have first to find out the causes of the social phenomena; then, from the prevalence of the causes, we may infer the prevalence of the phenomena themselves, if the former must be assumed to have operated without being checked by other causes. If, then, historical researches based on ethnography are to be crowned with success, the first condition is that there shall be a rich material. It is only by comparing a large number of facts that we may hope to find the cause or causes on which a social phenomenon is dependent. And a rich material is all the more indispensable, as the trustworthiness of ethnographical statements is not always beyond dispute. Without a thorough knowledge of a people it is impossible to give an exact account of its habits and customs, and therefore it often happens that the statements of a traveller cannot, as regards trustworthiness, come up to the evidences of history. As the sociologist is in many cases unable to distinguish falsehood from truth, he must be prepared to admit the inaccuracy of some of the statements he quotes. What is wanting in quality must be made up for in quantity; and he who does not give himself the trouble to read through a voluminous literature of ethnography should never enter into speculations on the origin and early development of human civilization. Often, no doubt, it is extremely difficult to make out the causes of social phenomena. There are, for instance, among savage peoples many customs which it seems almost impossible to explain. Still, the statistical ‘method of investigating the development of institutions,’ admirably set forth in the paper which Dr. Tylor recently read before ‘The Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland,’6 will throw light upon many mysterious points. Dr. Tylor has there shown that causal relations among social facts may be discovered by way of tabulation and classification. The particular rules of the different peoples are to be scheduled out into tables, so as to indicate the “adhesions,” or relations of coexistence of each custom, showing which peoples have the same custom, and what other customs accompany it or lie apart from it. If, then, starting with any two customs, the number of their “adhesions” is found to be much greater than the number of times they would coexist according to the ordinary law of chance-distribution—which number is calculated from the total number of peoples classified and the number of occurrences of each custom—we may infer that there is some causal connection between the two customs. Further on, I shall mention some few of the inferences Dr. Tylor has already drawn by means of this method. The causes on which social phenomena are dependent fall within the domain of different sciences—Biology, Psychology, or Sociology. The reader will find that I put particular stress upon the psychological causes, which have often been deplorably overlooked, or only imperfectly touched upon. And more especially do I believe that the mere instincts have played a very important part in the origin of social institutions and rules. We could not, however, by following the method of investigation here set forth, form any idea of the earlier stages of human development, unless we had some previous knowledge of the antiquity of mankind. Otherwise we should, of course, be quite ignorant whether the causes in question operated or not in the past. Fortunately, in this respect also, modern science has come to results which scarcely admit any longer of being considered as mere hypotheses. It teaches us, to quote Sir John Lubbock, “that man was at first a mere savage, and that the course of history has on the whole been a progress towards civilization, though at times—and at some times for centuries—some races have been stationary, or even have retrograded;”7 that, however, all savage nations now existing are raised high above primitive men; and that the first beings worthy to be called men, were probably the gradually transformed descendants of some ape-like ancestor. We may, further, take for granted that all the physical and psychical qualities that man, in his present state, has in common with his nearest relatives among the lower animals, also occurred at the earlier stages of human civilization. These conclusions open to us a rich source of new knowledge. Finally, as to social survivals, I agree, certainly, with Mr. McLennan that they are of great importance to Sociology. But we must be extremely careful not to regard as rudiments customs which may be more satisfactorily explained otherwise. It is only by strictly keeping to these principles that we may hope to derive information touching the early history of man. In doing so, the student will be on his guard against rash conclusions. Considering that he has to make out the primary sources of social phenomena before writing their history, he will avoid assuming a custom to be primitive, only because, at the first glance, it appears so; he will avoid making rules of exceptions, and constructing the history of human development on the immediate ground of isolated facts. It is true that the critical sociologist, on account of the deficiency of our knowledge, very often has to be content with hypotheses and doubtful presumptions. At any rate, the interests of science are better looked to, if we readily acknowledge our ignorance, than if we pass off vague guesses as established truths. It is one of the simplest of all social institutions the history of which forms the subject of this book. Indeed, next to the family consisting of mother and offspring only, marriage is probably the simplest. I shall not, however, treat this subject in all its aspects, but confine myself to human marriage, though before dealing with it I must, of course, touch upon the sexual relations of the lower animals also. The expression “human marriage” will probably be regarded by most people as an improper tautology. But, as we shall see, marriage, in the natural history sense of the term, does not belong exclusively to our own species. No more 4 5 6 fundamental difference between man and other animals should be implied in sociological than in biological and psychological terminology. Arbitrary classifications do science much injury. I shall examine human marriage from its different sides, giving, in accordance with my method, an historical account of each separately. The reader may find much that will outrage his feelings, and, possibly, hurt his sense of modesty; but the concealment of truth is the only indecorum known to science. To keep anything secret within its cold and passionless expanses, would be the same as to throw a cloth round a naked statue. 7 CHAPTER I THE ORIGIN OF MARRIAGE From remote antiquity we are told of kings and rulers who instituted marriage amongst their subjects. We read in ‘Mahâbhârata,’ the Indian poem, that formerly “women were unconfined, and roved about at their pleasure, independent. Though in their youthful innocence, they went astray from their husbands, they were guilty of no offence; for such was the rule in early times.” But Swêtakêtu, son of the Rishi Uddâlaka, could not bear this custom, and established the rule that thenceforward wives should remain faithful to their husbands and husbands to their wives.8 The Chinese annals recount that, “in the beginning, men differed in nothing from other animals in their way of life. As they wandered up and down in the woods, and women were in common, it happened that children never knew their fathers, but only their mothers.” The Emperor Fou-hi abolished, however, this indiscriminate intercourse of the sexes and instituted marriage.9 Again, the ancient Egyptians are stated to be indebted to Menes for this institution,10 and the Greeks to Kekrops. Originally, it is said, they had no idea of conjugal union; they gratified their desires promiscuously, and the children that sprang from these irregular connections always bore the mother’s name. But Kekrops showed the Athenians the inconvenience to society from such an abuse, and established the laws and rules of marriage.11 The remote Laplanders, also, sing about Njavvis and Attjis, who instituted marriage, and bound their wives by sacred oaths.12 Popular imagination prefers the clear and concrete; it does not recognize any abstract laws that rule the universe. Nothing exists without a cause, but this cause is not sought in an agglomeration of external or internal forces; it is taken to be simple and palpable, a personal being, a god or a king. Is it not natural, then, that marriage, which plays such an important part in the life of the individual, as well as in that of the people, should be ascribed to a wise and powerful ruler, or to direct divine intervention? With notions of this kind science has nothing to do. If we want to find out the origin of marriage, we have to strike into another path, the only one which can lead to the truth, but a path which is open to him alone who regards organic nature as one continued chain, the last and most perfect link of which is man. For we can no more stop within the limits of our own species, when trying to find the root of our psychical and social life, than we can understand the physical condition of the human race without taking into consideration that of the lower animals. I must, therefore, beg the reader to follow me into a domain which many may consider out of the way, but which we must, of necessity, explore in order to discover what we seek. It is obvious that the preservation of the progeny of the lowest animals depends mainly upon chance. In the great sub-kingdom of the Invertebrata, even the mothers are exempted from nearly all anxiety as regards their offspring. In the highest order, the Insects, the eggs are hatched by the heat of the sun, and the mother, in most cases, does not even see her young. Her care is generally limited to seeking out an appropriate place for laying the eggs, and to fastening them to some proper object and covering them, if this be necessary for their preservation. Again, to the male’s share nothing falls but the function of propagation.13 In the lowest classes of the Vertebrata, parental care is likewise almost unheard of. In the immense majority of species, young fishes are hatched without the assistance of their parents, and have, from the outset, to help themselves. Many Teleostei form, however, an exception; and, curiously enough, it is the male on which, in these cases, the parental duty generally devolves. In some instances he constructs a nest, and jealously guards the...