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diff --git a/31500.txt b/31500.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..65d117b --- /dev/null +++ b/31500.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8093 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Position of Woman in Primitive Society, by +C. Gasquoine Hartley + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Position of Woman in Primitive Society + A Study of the Matriarchy + +Author: C. Gasquoine Hartley + +Release Date: March 4, 2010 [EBook #31500] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POSITION OF WOMAN *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, Irma Spehar and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + +THE POSITION OF WOMAN IN PRIMITIVE SOCIETY + + +BY THE SAME AUTHOR + +THE TRUTH ABOUT WOMAN + +_BOOKS ON ART_ + + A RECORD OF SPANISH PAINTING + THE PRADO (Spanish Series) + EL GRECO " + VELAZQUEZ " + PICTURES IN THE TATE GALLERY + +_BOOKS ON SPAIN_ + + MOORISH CITIES IN SPAIN + THINGS SEEN IN SPAIN + SPAIN REVISITED: A SUMMER HOLIDAY IN GALICIA + SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (Mediaeval Towns' Series) + CATHEDRALS OF SOUTHERN AND EASTERN SPAIN + + + + + THE + POSITION OF WOMAN + IN PRIMITIVE SOCIETY + + A + STUDY OF THE MATRIARCHY + + + BY + C. GASQUOINE HARTLEY + (MRS. WALTER M. GALLICHAN) + AUTHOR OF "THE TRUTH ABOUT WOMAN." + + + LONDON + EVELEIGH NASH + 1914 + + + + +DEDICATION + +TO ALL WOMEN + + + "Be not ashamed, women, your privilege includes the rest.... + You are the gates of the body, you are the gates of the soul.... + And I say it is as great to be a woman as to be a man. + And I say there is nothing greater than the mother of men." + + WALT WHITMAN. + + _7 Carlton Terrace, + Child's Hill._ + 1914. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +PART I + +THE PRIMITIVE FAMILY + +CHAP. PAGE + +I INTRODUCTORY 11 + +II AN EXPOSITION OF BACHOFEN'S THEORY OF THE MATRIARCHATE 26 + +III DIFFICULTIES AND OBJECTIONS: AN ATTEMPT TO RECONCILE + MOTHER-RIGHT WITH THE PATRIARCHAL THEORY 45 + +IV DEVELOPMENT IN THE PATRIARCHAL FAMILY AND THE RISE + OF MOTHER-POWER 67 + + +PART II + +THE MOTHER AGE CIVILISATION + +V THE MATRIARCHAL FAMILY AMONG THE AMERICAN INDIANS 95 + +VI THE MATERNAL FAMILY AMONG THE KHASIS 132 + +VII FURTHER EXAMPLES OF THE MATERNAL FAMILY 147 + +VIII MOTHER-RIGHT CUSTOMS AND THE TRANSITION TO FATHER-RIGHT 166 + +IX WOMEN AND PRIMITIVE INDUSTRY 192 + +X TRACES OF MOTHER-RIGHT CUSTOMS IN ANCIENT AND MODERN + CIVILISATION 209 + +XI THE SURVIVALS OF MOTHER-RIGHT IN FOLK-LORE, IN HEROIC + LEGENDS, AND IN FAIRY STORIES 235 + +XII CONCLUDING REMARKS 253 + + + + +PART I + +THE PRIMITIVE FAMILY + + + + +CHAPTER I + +INTRODUCTORY + + +The twentieth century is the age of Woman; some day, it may be that it +will be looked back upon as the golden age, the dawn, some say, of +feminine civilisation. We cannot estimate as yet; and no man can tell +what forces these new conditions may not release in the soul of woman. +The modern change is that the will of woman is asserting itself. Women +are looking for a satisfactory life, which is to be determined from +within themselves, not from without by others. The result is a +discontent that may well prove to be the seed or spring of further +changes in a society which has yet to find its normal organisation. +Yes, women are finding themselves, and men are discovering what women +mean. + +In the present time we are passing through a difficult period of +transition. There are conditions of change that have to be met, the +outcome of which it is very difficult to appreciate. A transformation +in the thought and conduct of women, for which the term "revolution" +is not too strong, is taking place around us; doubtless many +experimental phases will be tried before we reach a new position of +equilibrium. + +This must be. There can be no life without movement. + +The expression, "a transition period," is, of course, only relative. +We often say: This or that is a sign of the present era; and, nine +times out of ten, the thing we believe to be new is in reality as old +as the world itself. In one sense the whole of history is a vast +transition. No period stands alone; the present is in every age merely +the shifting point at which the past and the future meet. All things +move onwards. But the movement sometimes takes the form of a cataract, +at others of an even and almost imperceptible current. This is really +another way of saying that the usually slow and gradual course of +change is, at certain stages, interrupted by a more or less prolonged +period of revolution. The process of growth, from being gradual and +imperceptible, becomes violent and conscious. + +There can be little doubt that what is called the "Woman's Movement," +with its disintegrating influences on social opinion and practice, is +bringing vast and momentous changes in women's attitude towards the +universe and towards themselves. A great motive and an enlarging +ideal, a quickening of the woman's spirit, a stirring dream of a new +order--these are what we have gained. We are carried on, though as yet +we know not whither, and there is, of necessity, a little stumbling of +our feet as we seek for a way. Hence the fear, always tending to arise +in periods of social reconstruction, which is felt by many to-day as +women pass out far beyond the established boundaries prescribed for +their sex. + +Whoever reflects soberly on the past history of women will not be +surprised at their present movement towards emancipation. Women are +reclaiming a position that is theirs by natural right--a position +which once they held. It may be all very well for those who accept the +authority and headship of the man as the foundation of the family and +of society, to be filled with bewildered fear at what seems to them to +be a quite new assertion of rights on the part of the mothers of the +race. But has the family at all stages of growth been founded on the +authority of the father? Our decision on this question will affect our +outlook on the whole question of Woman's Rights and the relationships +of the two sexes. There are civilisations, older and, as I believe, +wiser than ours that have accepted the predominant position of the +mother as the great central fact on which the family has been +established. + +The view that the family, much as it existed among the Hebrew +patriarchs, and as it exists to-day, was primeval and universal is +very deeply rooted. This is not surprising. To reverse the gaze of men +from themselves is no easy task. The predominance of the male over the +female, of the man over the woman and of the father over the mother, +has been accepted, almost without question, in a civilisation built up +on the recognition of male values and male standards of opinion. Thus +the institutions, habits, prejudices, and superstitions of the +patriarchal authority rest like an incubus upon us. The women of +to-day carry the dead load upon their backs, and literally stagger +beneath the accumulating burden of the ages. + +The "Woman's Movement" is pressing us forward towards a recasting of +the patriarchal view of the relative position and duties of the two +sexes. It must be regarded as an extremely great and comprehensive +movement affecting the whole of life. From this wider standpoint, the +fight for the parliamentary suffrage is but as the vestibule to +progress; the possession of the vote being no more than a necessary +condition for attaining far larger and more fundamental ends. + +It is, however, very necessary to remark that the recognition of this +imposes a great responsibility upon women. For one thing the practical +difficulties of the present must be faced. It is far from easy to +readjust existing conditions to meet the new demands. Present social +and economic conditions are to a great extent chaotic. We cannot +safely cast aside, in any haste for reform, those laws, customs and +opinions which it has been the slow task of our civilisation to +establish, not for men only, but for women. We women have to work out +many questions far more thoroughly than hitherto we have done. We owe +this to our movement and to the world of men. It will serve nothing to +pull down, unless we are ready also to build up. Freedom can be +granted only to the self-disciplined. + + "Thou that does know the Self and the not-Self, expert in + every work: endowed with self-restraint and perfect + same-sightedness towards every creature free from the sense + of I and my--thy power and energy are equal to my own, and + thou hast practised the most severe discipline."[1] + + * * * * * + + [1] The _Mahabharata_. The Great God thus addresses Shakti, + when he asks her to describe the duties of women. I quote + from a pamphlet by Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy: _Sati: A + Vindication of the Hindu Woman_. + +This little book is an attempt to establish the position of the mother +in the family. It sets out to investigate those early states of +society, when, through the widespread prevalence of descent through +the mother, the survival of the family clan and, in some cases, the +property rights were dependent on women and not on men. I start from +the belief that the mother was at one period the dominant partner in +the sexual relationships. This does not, however, at all necessarily +involve "rule by women." We must be very clear here. What I claim is +this. The system by which the family was built up and grouped around +the mother conferred special rights on women. The form of marriage +favourable to this influence was that by which the husband entered the +wife's family and clan, and lived there as a "consort-guest." The wife +and mother was director in the home, the owner of the meagre property, +the distributor of food, and the controller of the children.[2] Hence +arises what is known as mother-right. + + [2] McGee: "The Beginning of Marriage," _American + Anthropologist_, Vol. IV, p. 378. + +I am prompted to this inquiry by two reasons: in the first place, the +origin of the maternal-system and the subsequent association of the +mother and the father appear to me to afford evidence of the working +of a natural law of the two sexes, which, both for social and other +reasons, is of great interest in the present stage of women's history. +The establishing of the mother's position is of great importance. If +we can prove that women have exercised unquestioned and direct +authority in the past history of human societies, we shall be in a +position to answer those who to-day wish to set limits to women's +activities. Then, in the second place, I am compelled to doubt certain +conclusions, both of those who accept mother-right, and also of the +greater number who now deny its occurrence. If I am right, and the +importance of the maternal family has been unduly neglected and the +true explanation of its origin overlooked, I feel that, whatever +errors I may fall into, I am justified in undertaking this task. My +mistakes will be corrected by others with more knowledge than I can +claim; and if my theory of mother-right has any merit, it will be +established in more competent hands. The vast majority of +investigators on these questions are men. I am driven to believe that +sometimes they are mistaken in their interpretation of habits and +customs which arose among primitive societies in which the influence +of women was marked. In dealing with the family and its origin it has +been usual to consider the male side and to pass over the female +members. This has led, I am sure, to much error. + +The custom of tracing descent through the mother, either practised +consciously and completely, or only as a survival, occurs among many +primitive peoples in all parts of the world. Whether, however, it +existed universally and from all time, or whether only in certain +races, among whose institutions it remains or may still be traced, is +a much debated question. Not all barbarous tribes are in the stage of +mother-right; on the contrary many reckon descent through the father. +But even where the latter is the case, vestiges of the former system +are frequently to be found. There seems to be a common tendency to +discredit a system of relationship, which suggests even as a bare +possibility the mother, and not the father, being the head of the +family. Yet, I believe I can assign some, at least plausible, reasons +for believing that descent through women has been a stage, though not, +I think, the first stage, in social growth for all branches of the +human family. + +There can be little doubt of the importance of kinship and inheritance +being reckoned through the mother. If the children belong to her, and +if by marriage the husband enters her home, the greater influence, +based on the present possession of property, and the future hope of +the family rests on the female side. Such conditions must have +exercised strong influence on the position of the women members of the +primitive clan and the honour in which they were held. It cannot be +ignored. + +Of course, this does not prevent the hardships of savage life weighing +more heavily in many ways upon women than on the stronger men. In +primitive societies women have a position quite as full of anomalies +as they hold among civilised races. Among some tribes their position +is extremely good; among others it is undoubtedly bad, but, speaking +generally, it is much better than usually it is held to be.[3] +Obviously the causes must be sought in the environment and in social +organisation. The differences in the status and power of women, often +occurring in tribes at the same level of progress, would seem to be +dependent largely on economic conditions. The subject is full of +difficulties. Not only is the position of women thus variable, but our +knowledge of the matter is very defective. It is seldom, indeed, that +the question has been considered of sufficient importance to receive +accurate attention.[4] Not infrequently conflicting accounts are given +by different authorities, and even by the same writer. + + [3] Westermarck, "The Position of Women in Early + Civilisations," _Sociological Papers_, 1904. + + [4] For instance, Maine (_Early Law and Custom_), in speaking + of tribes who still trace their descent from a single + ancestress, says, "The outlines" (_i. e._ of the maternal + family) "may still be marked out, _if it be worth any one's + while to trace it_." + +I wish it to be understood that mother-right does not necessarily +imply mother-rule. This system may even be combined with the +patriarchal authority of the male. The unfortunate use of the term +_Matriarchate_ has led to much confusion. My own knowledge and study +of primitive customs and ancient civilisations have made it plain to +me that there has been a constant rise and fall of male and female +dominance, but, I believe, that, on the whole, the superiority of +women has been more frequent and more successful than that of men. + +It is this that I shall attempt to prove. + +The theory of mother-right has been subjected to so much criticism +that a re-examination of the position is very necessary. To show its +prevalence, to establish some leading points in its history, to make +out its connection with the patriarchal family, and to trace the +transition by which one system passed into the other, appear to me to +be matters primarily important. The limited compass of this little +book will prevent my substantiating my own views as I should wish, +with a full and systematic survey of all authentic accounts of the +peoples among whom mother-descent may be studied. I have considered, +however, that I could summarise the position in a comprehensive +picture, that will, I hope, suggest a point of view that seems to me +to have been very generally neglected. + +It is necessary to enter into such an inquiry with caution; the +difficulties before me are very great. Nothing would be easier than +from the mass of material available to pile up facts in furnishing a +picture of the high status of women among many tribes under the +favourable influence of mother-descent, that would unnerve any +upholders of the patriarchal view of the subordination of women. It is +just possible, on the other hand, to interpret these facts from a +fixed point of thought of the father's authority as the one support of +the family, and then to argue that, in spite of the mother's control +over her children and over property, she still remained the inferior +partner. I wish to do neither. It is my purpose to examine the +evidence, and so to discover to what extent the system of tracing +descent through the female side conferred any special claim for +consideration upon women. I shall try to avoid mistakes. I put forward +my own opinions with great diffidence. It is so easy, as I realise +full well, to interpret facts by the bias of one's own wishes. I know +that the habits and customs of primitive peoples that I have studied +closely are probably few in comparison with those I have missed; yet +to me they appear of such importance in the light they throw on the +whole question of the relationships of the two sexes, that it seems +well to bring them forward. + +Since my attention, now many years ago, was first directed to this +question, I have felt that a clear and concise account of the +mother-age was indispensable for women. Such an account, with a +criticism of the patriarchal theory, is here offered. Throughout I +have attempted to clear up and bring into uniformity the two opposing +theories of the origin of the human family. I have tried to gather the +facts, very numerous and falling into several classes, by which the +theory of the mother-age could be supported. And first it was +necessary to clear out of the way a body of opinion, the prevalence of +which has opposed an obstacle to the acceptance of the rights of +mothers in the family relationship. The whole question turns upon +which you start with; the man--the woman, or the woman--the man. + +Here it should be explained that this little book is an expansion of +the historical section which treats of "the Mother-age civilisation" +in my former book, _The Truth About Woman_. I wish to take this +opportunity of expressing my gratitude for the generous interest and +sympathy with which my work has been received. Such kindness is very +imperfectly repaid by an author's thanks; it is certainly the best +incentive to further work. + +This little volume was suggested to me by a review in one of the +Suffrage papers. The writer, after speaking of the interest to women +of the mother-age and the difficulty there was in gaining information +on the subject, said that "a small and cheaper book on the +matriarchate would be useful to women in all countries." I was +grateful for this suggestion. I at once felt that I wanted to write +such a book. For one thing, this particular section on the mother-age +in _The Truth About Woman_, and my belief in the favourable influence +of mother-descent on the status of women, has been much questioned. I +have been told that I "had quite deliberately gone back to our +uncivilised ancestors to 'fish up' the precedent of the matriarchate;" +that I "had allowed my prejudices to dictate my choice of material, +and had thus brought forward examples explanatory of my own opinions;" +that I "had fastened eagerly on these, without inquiring too carefully +about other facts having a contrary tendency." I was reminded of what +I well knew, that the matriarchate and promiscuity with which it is +usually connected were not universally accepted by anthropologists; +the tendency to-day being to discredit both as being among the early +phases of society. It was suggested that I "had unprofitably spent my +time on the historical section of my book, and had built up my theory +on a curiously uncertain foundation;" that I "had relied too much on +the certain working of mother-right, and had been by no means clear in +showing how, from such a position of power, women had sunk into +subservience to patriarchal rule." In fact, it has seemed to be the +opinion of my critics that I had allowed what I "would have liked to +have happened to affect my account of what did happen in the infancy +of man's social life." + +Now, I want to say quite frankly, that I feel much of this criticism +is just. The inquiry on the mother-age civilisation was only one small +section of my book on Woman. I realise that very much was hurried +over. There is on this subject of the origin of the family a +literature so extensive, and such a variety of opinions, that the +work of the student is far from easy. The whole question is too +extensive to allow anything like adequate treatment within the space +of a brief, and necessarily insufficient, summary. My earlier +investigation may well be objected to as not being in certain points +supported by sufficient proofs. I know this. It is not easy to +condense the marriage customs and social habits of many different +peoples into a few dozen pages. Of course, I selected my examples. But +this I may say; I chose those which had brought me to accept +mother-right. I was driven to this belief by my own study and reading +long before the time of writing my book. What I really tried to do was +to present to others the facts that had convinced me. But my stacks of +unused notes, collected for my own pleasure during many years of work, +are witness to how much I had to leave out. + +I know that many objections that have been raised to the theory of +mother-right were left unanswered. I dismissed much too lightly the +patriarchal theory of the origin of the family, which during late +years has gained such advocacy. I failed to carry my inquiry far +enough back. I accepted with too little caution an early period of +promiscuous sexual relationships. I did not make clear the stages in +the advance of the family to the clan and the tribe; nor examine with +sufficient care the later transition period in which mother-right gave +place to father-right. + +I have been sent back to examine again my own position. And to do +this, it was necessary first to take up the question from the +position of those whose views are in opposition to my own. I have made +a much more extensive study of those authorities who, rejecting +mother-right, accept a modification of the patriarchal theory as the +origin of the family. This has led to some considerable recasting of +my views. Not at all, however, to a change in my belief in +mother-right, which, indeed, has now been strengthened, and, as I +trust, built up on surer foundations. + +By a fortunate chance, I was advised to read Mr. Andrew Lang's _Social +Origins_,[5] which work includes Mr. Atkinson's _Primal Law_. I am +greatly indebted to the assistance I have gained from these writers. +It is, perhaps, curious that a very careful study of the patriarchal +family as it is presented by Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Lang, has brought me +to a conclusion fundamentally at variance from what might have been +expected. I have gained invaluable support for my own belief in +mother-right, and have found fresh proofs from the method of +difference. I have cleared up many points that previously puzzled me. +I am able now to accept the patriarchal theory, without at all shaking +my faith in a subsequent period of mother-descent and mother-power. + + [5] This book was mentioned to me in a letter from Mr. H. G. + Wells. + +The discussion on this question is now half a century old. Yet in +spite of the opposition of many investigators, and the support of +others, the main problems are still unsettled. What form did the +family take in its earliest stage? Did it start as a small group or +with the clan or horde? What were the earliest conditions of the +sexual relationships? Was promiscuity at one period the rule? Was the +foundation of the family based on the authority of the father, or of +the mother? If on that of the father, how is mother-kin and +mother-right to be explained? These are among the questions that must +be answered. Not till this is done, can we establish any theory of +mother-descent, or estimate its effect on the status of women. + +The whole subject is a very wide and complicated one. If I differ on +several important points from learned authorities, whose knowledge and +research far exceed my own, I do so only after great hesitation, and +because I must. The facts they have collected from their personal +knowledge of primitive peoples (facts which I have gratefully used) +often suggest quite opposite conclusions to my thoughts than to +theirs--the view-point is different, that is all. They were seeking +for one thing; I for another: they were men; I am a woman. It would be +foolishness for me to attempt any special pleadings for my own +opinions. How far I shall succeed, or fail, to make clear to others a +period of mother-right that is certain to me, I do not know. I offer +my little book with all humility, and yet without any apology. We may +read and learn and gather knowledge from many sources; but the +opinions of others we cannot take on credit; we must re-think them out +for ourselves, and make them our own. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +AN EXPOSITION OF BACHOFEN'S THEORY OF THE MATRIARCHATE + + +Fifty-three years ago in his great work, _Das Mutterrecht_,[6] the +Swiss writer, Bachofen, drew the attention of the world to the fact +that a system of kinship through mothers only prevailed among many +primitive peoples, while survivals of the custom could be widely, if +but faintly, traced among civilised races. Drawing his evidence from +the actual statements of old writers, but more from legends and the +mythologies of antiquity, he came to the conclusion that a system of +descent through women had, in all cases, preceded the rise of kinship +through males. Almost at the same time Dr. J. F. McLennan,[7] ignorant +of the work of Bachofen, came to the same opinion. This led to a +reconsideration of the patriarchal theory; and for a time it was +widely held that in the early stages of society a matriarchate +prevailed, in which women held the supreme power. Further support +came from Morgan, with his knowledge of the maternal family among +American aborigines, and he was followed by Professor Tylor, McGee, +and many other investigators. + + [6] _Das Mutterrecht_ was published in Stuttgart in 1861. + + [7] _Primitive Marriage_, published 1865. _Studies in Ancient + History_, which includes a reprint of _Primitive Marriage_; + 1st ed. 1876, 2nd ed. 1886. _The Patriarchal Theory_, a + criticism of this theory is based on the papers of Mr. + McLennan and edited by his brother. + +Obviously this gynaecocratic view, which placed woman in a new relation +to man, was unlikely to be permanently accepted. Thus a reaction to +the earlier theory of the patriarchal family has set in, especially in +recent years. Many writers, while acknowledging the existence of +mother descent, deny that such a system carries with it, except in a +few exceptional cases, mother-rights of special advantage to women; +even when these seem to be present they believe such rights to be more +apparent than real. + +In bringing forward any theory of mother-right, it thus becomes +necessary to show the causes that have led to this reversal in +opinion. To do this, the first step will be to examine, with +considerable detail, the evidence for the matriarchal theory as it is +given by its two great supporters. Now, an interesting point arises, +if we compare the view of Bachofen with that held by McLennan. No two +ways could well be further apart than those by which these two men +arrived at the same conclusion. Both accept an early period of +promiscuous sexual relationships. But Bachofen found the explanation +of mother-descent in the supremacy of women, and believed a +matriarchate to have been established by them in a moral revolt +against such _hetairism_. Mr. McLennan, on the other hand, regarded +the custom as due to uncertainty of paternity--the children were +called after the mother because the father was unknown. + +Let us concentrate our attention on the _Das Mutterrecht_ of Bachofen, +whose work as the great champion of matriarchy claims our most careful +consideration. And it is necessary to say at once that there can be no +doubt his view of women's supremacy is greatly exaggerated. Such a +rule of women, at the very early stage of society when mother-kin is +supposed to have arisen, is not proved, and does not seem probable. +Even if it existed, _it could not have originated in the way and for +the reasons_ that are credited by the Swiss writer. I wish to +emphasise this point. Much of the discredit that has fallen on the +matriarchate has arisen, I am certain, through the impossibility of +accepting Bachofen's mythical account of its origin. This great +supporter of women was a dreamer, rather than a calm and impartial +investigator. Founding his main theory on assumptions, he asks us to +accept these as historical facts. Much of his work and his belief in +women must be regarded as the rhapsodies of a poet. And yet, it is the +poet who finds the truth. The poetic spirit is, in one sense, the most +practical of all. Bachofen saw the fact of mother-power, though not +_why_ it was the fact, and he enfolded his arguments in a garment of +pure fiction. + +To disengage from his learned book, _Das Mutterrecht_,[8] his theory +of the origin of the Matriarchate is no easy task. There is, for one +thing, such bewildering contradiction and confusion in the material +used. Then the interpretation of the mythical tales, so freely +intermingled everywhere, is often strained--prompted by a poetic +imagination which snatches at every kind of allegory. Often the views +expressed are inconsistent with each other, the arguments and proofs +are disconnected, while many of the details are hopelessly obscure and +confused. Yet it seems to me possible to recognise the idea which +brings into unity the mass of his work--the spirit, as it were, that +breathes into it its life. It may be found in the clear appreciation +of the superstitious and mystical element in primitive man, and their +close interweaving with the sexual life. As I understand Herr +Bachofen, the sex-act was the means which first opened up ways to +great heights, but also to great depths. + + [8] Prof. Giraud-Teulon's _La Mere chez certains Peuples de + l'Antiquite_ is founded on the introduction to _Das + Mutterrecht_. This little book of fascinating reading is the + best and easiest way of studying Bachofen's theory. + +Bachofen strongly insists on the religious element in all early human +thought. He believes that the development of the primitive community +only advanced by means of religious ideas. + + "Religion," he says, "is the only efficient lever of all + civilisation. Each elevation and depression of human life + has its origin in a movement which begins in this supreme + department."[9] + + [9] _Das Mutterrecht_, Intro., p. xiii. + +The authority for this belief is sought in religious myths. + + "Mythical tradition appears to be the faithful + interpretation of the progress of the law of life, at a time + when the foundations of the historical development of the + ancient world were laid; it reveals the original mode of + thought, and we may accept this direct revelation as true + from our complete confidence in this source of history."[10] + + [10] _Das Mutterrecht_, Intro., p. vii. + +This mystical religious element, which is the essential part of _Das +Mutterrecht_, is closely connected by Bachofen with the power of +women. As it is his belief that, even at this early period, the +religious impulse was more developed among women than men, he bases on +this unproved hypothesis his theory of women's supremacy. "Wherever +gynaecocracy meets us," he says, "the mystery of religion is bound up +with it, and lends to motherhood an incorporation in some +divinity."[11] + + [11] _Ibid._, Intro., p. xv. + +Doubtless this theory of a higher feminine spirituality is a pleasing +one for women--but is it true? The insuperable difficulty to its +acceptance arises, in the first place, from the fact that we can know +nothing at all of the spiritual condition of the human beings among +whom mother-kin was held first to have been practised. But we must go +further than this in our doubt. Can we accept for any period a +spiritual superiority in the character of woman over man? To me, at +least, it is clear that a knowledge of the two sexes among all races +both primitive and civilised--yes, and among ourselves, is sufficient +to discredit such a supposition. + +Bachofen would have us believe that[12] the mother-right of the +ancient world, was due to a revolt of women against the degraded +condition of promiscuity, which previously had been universal among +mankind, a condition in which men had a community of wives, and +_openly lived together like gregarious animals_. + + [12] _Das Mutterrecht_, Intro., p. xxiv. and p. 10. + + "Women, by their nature nobler and more spiritual than men, + became disgusted with this lawless _hetairism_, and, under + the influence of a powerful religious impulse, combined in a + revolt (the first Amazonian movement) to put an end to + promiscuity and established marriage." + +Over and over again Bachofen affirms this spiritual quality in women. + + "The woman's religious attitude, in particular, the tendency + of her mind towards the supernatural and the divine, + influenced the man and robbed him of the position which + nature disposed him to take in virtue of his physical + superiority. In this way women's position was transformed by + religious considerations, until they became in civil life + what religion had caused them to be."[13] And again: "We + cannot fail to see that of the two forms of gynaecocracy in + question--religious and civil--the former was the basis of + the latter. Ideas connected with worship came first, and the + civil forms of life were then the result and + expression."[14] + + [13] _Ibid._, Intro., p. xiv. + + [14] _Ibid._, Intro., p. xv. + +We may note in passing, the greater affectability of woman's nature, +which would seem always to have had a tendency to expression in +religio-erotic manifestations. But to build up a theory of matriarchy +on this foundation is strangely wide of the facts. Bachofen adduces +the spirituality of women as the cause of their power. But on what +grounds can such a claim be supported? + +It is on the evidence of licentious customs of all kinds and on +polyandry, that he bases his belief in a period of promiscuity. He +regards this early condition of _hetairism_ as a law of nature, and +believes that after its infraction by the introduction of individual +marriage, expiation was required to be made to the Earth Goddess, +Demeter, in temporary prostitution. Hence he explains the widespread +custom of religious prostitution. This fanciful idea may be taken to +represent Bachofen's method of interpretation. There is an +intermediate stage between _hetairism_ and marriage, such as the +group-marriage, held by him to have been practised among barbarous +peoples. "Each man has a wife, but they are all permitted to have +intercourse with the wives of others."[15] + + [15] _Das Mutterrecht_, p. 18. + +Great stress is laid on the acquisition by women of the benefits of a +marriage law. In the families founded upon individual marriage, which +grew up after the Amazonian revolt, the women, and not the men, held +the first place. Bachofen does not tell us whether they assigned this +place to themselves, or had it conceded to them. Women were the heads +of the families, the children were named after the mother, and not +the father, and all the relations to which rights of succession +attached were traced through women only. All property was held by +women. Moreover, from this headship, women assigned to themselves, or +had conceded to them, the social and political power as well as the +domestic supremacy.[16] + + [16] I have taken much of this passage from Mr. McLennan's + criticism of Bachofen's theory, _Studies in Ancient History_, + pp. 319-325. + +The authority for this remarkable theory is sought, with great +ingenuity and patience, in the fragmentary accounts of barbarous +people, and in an exhaustive study of heroic stories and religious +myths. Bachofen argues powerfully for the acceptance of these myths. + + "Every age unconsciously obeys, even in its poetry, the laws + of its individual life. A patriarchal age could not, + therefore, have invented the matriarchate, and the myths + which describe the latter may be regarded as trustworthy + witnesses of its historical existence. It may be taken for + granted that the myths did not refer to special persons and + occurrences, but only tell us of the social customs and + ideas which prevailed, or were endeavouring to prevail, in + several communities."[17] + + [17] _Das Mutterrecht_, Intro., pp. vii.-viii. + +This is true. It is the interpretation given to many of these myths +that one is compelled to question. Bachofen's way of applying mythical +tales has no scientific method; for one thing, abstract ideas are +added to primitive legends which could only arise from the thought of +civilised peoples. For instance, he accepts, without any doubt, the +existence of the Amazons; and believes that the myths which refer to +them record "a revolt for the elevation of the feminine sex, and +through them of mankind." It is on such insecure foundations he builds +up his matriarchal theory. + +There is, however, an aspect of truth in Bachofen's position, which +becomes plain on a closer examination. To prove this, I must quote a +passage from _Das Mutterrecht_, as representing, or at least +suggesting, the opinions of those who have argued most strongly +against his theory. When recapitulating the facts and arguments in +favour of accepting the supremacy of women, he makes this suggestive +statement-- + + "The first state in all cases was that of _hetairism_. The + rule is based upon the right of procreation: since there is + no individual fatherhood, _all have only one father--the + tyrant whose sons and daughters they all are, and to whom + all the property belongs. From this condition in which the + man rules by means of his rude sexual needs, we rise to that + of gynaecocracy_, in which there is the dawn of marriage, of + which the strict observance is at first observed by the + woman, not by the man. Weary of always ministering to the + lusts of man, _the woman raises herself by the recognition + of her motherhood_. Just as a child is first disciplined by + its mother, so are people by their women. It is only the + wife who can control the man's essentially unbridled + desires, and lead him into the paths of well-doing.... + _While man went abroad on distant forays, the woman stayed + at home, and was undisputed mistress of the household._ She + took arms against her foe, and was gradually transformed + into an Amazon."[18] + + [18] _Das Mutterrecht_, pp. 18-19. + +The italics in the passage are mine, for they bear directly on what I +shall afterwards have to prove: (1) that mother-right was not the +first stage in the history of the human family; (2) that its existence +is not inconsistent with the patriarchal theory. Bachofen here +suggests a pre-matriarchal period in which the elementary family-group +was founded on and held together by a common subjection to the oldest +and strongest male. This is the primordial patriarchal family. + +Then come the questions: Can we accept mother-right? Are there any +reasonable causes to explain the rise of female dominance? +Westermarck, in criticising the matriarchal theory, has said: "The +inference that 'kinship through females only' has everywhere preceded +the rise of 'kinship through males,' would be warranted only on +condition that the cause, or the causes, to which the maternal system +is owing, could be proved to have operated universally in the past +life of mankind."[19] Now, this is what I believe I am able to do. +Hence it has been necessary first to clear the way of the old errors. +Bachofen's interpretation is too fanciful to find acceptance. Will any +one hold it as true that the change came because _women willed it_? +Surely it is a pure dream of the imagination to credit women, at this +supposed early stage of society, with rising up to establish marriage, +in a revolt of purity against sexual licence, and moreover effecting +the change by force of arms! Bachofen would seem to have been touched +with the Puritan spirit. I am convinced also that he understood very +little of the nature of woman. Conventional morality has always acted +on the side of the man, not the woman. The clue is, indeed, given in +the woman's closer connection with the home, and in the idea that "she +raises herself by the recognition of her motherhood." But the facts +are capable of an entirely different interpretation. It will be my aim +to give a quite simple, and even commonplace, explanation of the rise +of mother-descent and mother-right in place of the spiritual +hypothesis of Bachofen. + + [19] _The History of Human Marriage_, p. 105. + +It will be well, however, to examine further Bachofen's own theory. It +is his opinion that the first Amazonian revolt and period of women's +rule was followed by a second movement-- + +"Woman took arms against her foe [_i. e._ man], and was gradually +transformed into an Amazon. _As a rival to the man the Amazon became +hostile to him, and began to withdraw from marriage and from +motherhood. This set limits to the rule of women, and provoked the +punishment of heaven and men._"[20] + + [20] _Das Mutterrecht_, p. 85. + +There is a splendid imaginative appeal in this remarkable passage. +Again the italics are mine. It is, of course, impossible to accept +this statement, as Bachofen does, as an historical account of what +happened through the agency of women at the time of which he is +treating. Yet, we can find a suggestion of truth that is eternal. Is +there not here a kind of prophetic foretelling of every struggle +towards readjustment in the relationships of the two sexes, through +all the periods of civilisation, from the beginning until now? You +will see what I mean. The essential fact for woman--and also for +man--is the sense of community with the race. Neither sex can keep a +position apart from parenthood. Just in so far as the mother and the +father attain to consciousness and responsibility in their relations +to the race do they reach development and power. Bachofen, as a poet, +understood this; to me, at least, it is the something real that +underlies all the delusion of his work. But I diverge a little in +making these comments. + +Again the origin of the change from the first period of matriarchy is +sought by Bachofen in religion. + + "Each stage of development was marked by its peculiar + religious ideas, produced by the dissatisfaction with which + the dominating idea of the previous stage was regarded; a + dissatisfaction which led to a disappearance of this + condition." "What was gained by religion, fostering the + cause of women, by assigning a mystical and almost divine + character to motherhood was now lost through the same cause. + The loss came in the Greek era. Dionysus started the idea of + the divinity of fatherhood; holding the father to be the + child's true parent, and the mother merely the nurse." In + this way, we are asked to believe, the rights of men arose, + the father came to be the chief parent, the head of the + mother and the owner of the children, and, therefore, the + parent through whom kinship was traced. We learn that, at + first, "women opposed this new gospel of fatherhood, and + fresh Amazonian risings were the common feature of their + opposition." But the resistance was fruitless. "Jason put an + end to the rule of the Amazons in Lemnos. Dionysus and + Bellerophon strove together passionately, yet without + gaining a decisive victory, until Apollo, with calm + superiority, finally became the conqueror, and the father + gained the power that before had belonged to the + mother."[21] + + [21] _Das Mutterrecht_, pp. 73, 85. Compare also McLennan, + _Studies_, p. 322, and Starcke, _The Primitive Family in its + Origin and Development_. + +But before this took place, Bachofen relates yet another movement, +which for a time restored the early matriarchate. The women, at first +opposing, presently became converts to the Dionysusian gospel, and +were afterwards its warmest supporters. Motherhood became degraded. +Bacchanalian excesses followed, which led to a return to the ancient +_hetairism_. Bachofen believes that this formed a fresh basis for a +second gynaecocracy. He compares the Amazonian period of these later +days with that in which marriage was first introduced, and finds that +"the deep religious impulse being absent, it was destined to fail, and +give place to the spiritual Apollonic conception of fatherhood."[22] + + [22] _Ibid._, p. 85. + +In Bachofen's opinion this triumph of fatherhood was the final +salvation. This is what he says-- + + "It was the assertion of fatherhood which delivered the mind + from natural appearances, and when this was successfully + achieved, human existence was raised above the laws of + natural life. The principal of motherhood is common to all + the spheres of animal life, but man goes beyond this tie in + gaining pre-eminence in the process of procreation, and thus + becomes conscious of his higher vocation. In the paternal + and spiritual principle he breaks through the bonds of + tellurism, and looks upwards to the higher regions of the + cosmos. Victorious fatherhood thus becomes as distinctly + connected with the heavenly light as prolific motherhood is + with the teeming earth."[23] + + [23] _Das Mutterrecht_, Intro., p. xxvii. + +Here, Bachofen, as is his custom, turns to point an analogy with the +process of nature. + + "All the stages of sexual life from Aphrodistic _hetairism_ + to the Apollonistic purity of fatherhood, have their + corresponding type in the stages of natural life, from the + wild vegetation of the morass, the prototype of conjugal + motherhood, to the harmonic law of the Uranian world, to the + heavenly light which, as the _flamma non urens_, corresponds + to the eternal youth of fatherhood. The connection is so + completely in accordance with law, that the form taken by + the sexual relation in any period may be inferred from the + predominance of one or other of these universal ideas in the + worship of a people."[24] + + [24] _Ibid._, Intro., p. xxix. + +Such, in outline, is Bachofen's famous matriarchal theory. The +passages I have quoted, with the comments I have ventured to give, +make plain the poetic exaggeration of his view, and sufficiently prove +why his theory no longer gains any considerable support. To build up a +dream-picture of mother-rule on such foundations was, of necessity, to +let it perish in the dust of scepticism. But is the downthrow +complete? I believe not. A new structure has to be built up on a new +and surer foundation, and it may yet appear that the prophetic vision +of the dreamer enabled Bachofen to see much that has escaped the sight +of those who have criticised and rejected his assumption that power +was once in the hands of women. + +One great source of confusion has arisen through the acceptance by the +supporters of the matriarchate of the view that men and women lived +originally in a state of promiscuity. This is the opinion of Bachofen, +of McLennan, of Morgan, and also of many other authorities, who have +believed maternal descent to be dependent on the uncertainty of +fatherhood. It will be remembered that Mr. McLennan brought forward +his theory almost simultaneously with that of Bachofen. The basis of +his view is a belief in an ancient communism in women. He holds that +the earliest form of human societies was the group or horde, and not +the family. He affirms that these groups can have had no idea of +kinship, and that the men would hold their women, like their other +goods, in common, which is, of course, equal to a general promiscuity. +There he agrees with Bachofen's belief in unbridled _hetairism_, but +a very different explanation is given of the change which led to +regulation, and the establishment of the maternal family. + +According to Mr. McLennan, the primitive group or horde, though +originally without explicit consciousness of relationships, were yet +held together by a _feeling_ of kin. Such feeling would become +conscious first between the mother and her children, and, in this way, +mother-kin must have been realised at a very early period. Mr. +McLennan then shows the stages by which the savage would gradually, by +reflection, reach a knowledge of the other relationships through the +mother, sister and brother relationships, mother's brother and +mother's sister, and all the degrees of mother-kin, at a time before +the father's relation to his children had been established. The +children, though belonging at first to the group, would remain +attached to the mothers, and the blood-tie established between them +would, as promiscuity gave place to more regulated sexual +relationships, become developed into a system. All inheritance would +pass through women only, and, in this way, mother-right would tend to +be more or less strongly developed. The mother would live alone with +her children, the only permanent male members of the family being the +sons, who would be subordinate to her. The husband would visit the +wife, as is the custom under polyandry, which form of the sexual +relationship Mr. McLennan believes was developed from promiscuity--a +first step towards individual marriage. Even after the next step was +taken, and the husband came to live with his wife, his position was +that of a visitor in her home, where she would have the protection of +her own kindred. She would still be the owner of her children, who +would bear her name, and not the father's; and the inheritance of all +property would still be in the female line.[25] + + [25] _Studies in Ancient History_, pp. 83, _et seq._ + +We have here what appears to be a much more reasonable explanation of +mother-kin and mother-right than that of Bachofen. Yet many have +argued powerfully against it. Westermarck especially, has shown that +belief in an early stage of promiscuous relationship is altogether +untenable.[26] It is needless here to enter into proof of this.[27] +What matters now is that with the giving up of promiscuity the whole +structure of McLennan's theory falls to pieces. He takes it for +granted that at one period paternity was unrecognised; but this is +very far from being true. The idea of the father's relationship to the +child is certainly known among the peoples who trace descent through +the mother; the system is found frequently where strict monogamy is +practised. Again, Mr. McLennan connects polyandry with mother-descent, +regarding the custom of plurality of husbands as a development from +promiscuity. Here, too, he has been proved to be in error. Whatever +the causes of the origin of polyandry, it has no direct connection +with mother-kin, although it is sometimes practised by peoples who +observe that system. + + [26] _History of Human Marriage_, pp. 51-133. It is on this + question that my own opinion has been changed, compare _The + Truth about Woman_, p. 120. + + [27] See next chapter on the Patriarchal Theory. + +For myself, I incline to the opinion that the system by which +inheritance passes through the mother needs no explanation. It was +necessarily (and, as I believe, is still) the _natural_ method of +tracing descent. Moreover, it was adopted as a matter of course by +primitive peoples among whom property considerations had not arisen. +Afterwards what had started as a habit was retained as a system. The +reasons for naming children after the mother did not rest on +relationship, the earliest question was not one of kinship, but of +association. Those were counted as related to one another who dwelt +together.[28] The children lived with the mother, and therefore, as a +matter of course, were called after her, and not the father, who did +not live in the same home. + + [28] Starcke, _The Primitive Family in its Origin and + Development_, pp. 36, 37. + +All these questions will be understood better as we proceed with our +inquiry. The important thing to fix in our minds is that mother-kin +and mother-right (contrary to the opinion of McLennan and others) may +very well have arisen quite independently of dubious fatherhood. It +thus becomes evident that the maternal system offers no evidence for +the hypothesis of promiscuity; we shall find, in point of fact, that +it arose out of the regulation of the sexual relations, and had no +connection with licence. It is necessary to understand this clearly. + +Bachofen is much nearer to what is likely to have happened in the +first stage of the family than Mr. McLennan, though he also mistakenly +connects the maternal system with unregulated _hetairism_. Still he +suggests (though it would seem quite unconsciously) the patriarchal +hypothesis, which founds the family first on the brute-force of the +male. Mother-right has been discredited chiefly, as far as I have been +able to find, because it is impossible to accept, at this early +period, sexual conditions of the friendly ownership of women, entirely +opposed to what was the probable nature of brute man. At this stage +the eldest male in the family would be the ruler, and he would claim +sexual rights over all the women in the group. Bachofen postulates a +revolt of women to establish marriage. We have seen that such a +supposition, in the form in which he puts it, is without any credible +foundation. Yet, it is part of my theory that there was a revolt of +women, or rather a combination of the mothers of the group, which led +to a change in the direction of sexual regulation and order. But the +causes of such revolt, and the way in which it was accomplished, were, +in my opinion, entirely different from those which Bachofen supposes. +The arguments in support of my view will be given in the next two +chapters. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +DIFFICULTIES AND OBJECTIONS: AN ATTEMPT TO RECONCILE MOTHER-RIGHT WITH +THE PATRIARCHAL THEORY. + + +The foundation of the Patriarchal theory is the jealous sexual nature +of the male. This is important; indeed profoundly significant. The +strongest argument against promiscuity is to be gained from what we +know of this factor of jealousy in the sexual relationships. + +"The season of love is the season of battle," says Darwin. Such was +the law passed on to man from millions of his ancestral lovers. The +action of this law[29] may be observed at its fiercest intensity among +man's pre-human ancestors. Courtship without combat is rare among all +male quadrupeds, and special offensive and defensive weapons for use +in these love-fights are found; for this is the sex-tragedy of the +natural world, the love-tale red-written in blood. + + [29] The reader is referred to _The Truth about Woman_, pp. + 87-114. In the courtships and perfect love marriages of many + birds we find jealous combats replaced by the peaceful + charming of the female by the male. + +This factor of sexual jealousy--the conflict of the male for +possession of the female--has not been held in sufficient account by +those who regard promiscuity as being the earliest stage in the sexual +relationships. That jealousy is still a powerful agent even in the +most civilised races is a fact on which it is unnecessary to dwell. +This being so, and since the action of jealousy is so strong in the +animal kingdom, it cannot be supposed to have been dormant among +primitive men. Rather, in the infancy of his history this passion must +have acted with very great intensity. Thus it becomes impossible to +accept any theory of the community of women in the earliest stage of +the family. For inevitably such peaceful association would be broken +up by jealous battles among the males, in which the strongest member +would kill or drive away his rivals. + +Great stress is laid, by the supporters of promiscuity, on the danger +that such conflicts must have been to the growing community. It is, +therefore, held that in order to prevent this check on their +development, it was necessary for the male members not to give way to +jealousy, but to be content with promiscuous ownership of women. But +this is surely to credit savage man with a control of the driving +jealous instinct that he could not then have had? What we do not find +in the sexual conduct of men, as they now are, cannot be credited as +existing in the infancy of social life. We fall into many mistakes in +judging these questions of sex; we under-estimate the strength of +love-passion--the uncounted ancestral forces dating back to the +remote beginnings of life. Doubtless conflicts over the possession of +women were frequent from the beginning of man's history. But these +disputes would not lead to promiscuous intercourse, only to a change +in the tyrant male, who ruled over the women in the group. + +Another fact against a belief in promiscuity is that the lowest +savages known to us are not promiscuous, in so far as there is no +proved case of the sexual relations being absolutely unregulated. They +all recognise sets of women with whom certain sets of men can have no +marital relations. Again these savages are very far removed from the +state of man's first emergence from the brute, as is proved by their +combination into large and friendly tribes. Such peaceful aggregation +could only have arisen at a much later period, and after the males had +learnt by some means to control their brute appetites and jealousy of +rivals in that movement towards companionship, which, first resting in +the sexual needs, broadens out into the social instincts. + +For these reasons, then, we conclude that the theory of a friendly +union having existed among males in the primitive group is the very +reverse of the truth. This question has now been sufficiently proved. +I am thus brought into agreement with Dr. Westermarck, Mr. Crawley, +and Mr. Lang, in his examination of Mr. Atkinson's _Primal Law_, as +well as with other writers, all of whom have shown that promiscuity +cannot be accepted as a stage in the early life of the human family. + +I have now to show how far this rejection of promiscuity affects our +position with regard to mother-descent and mother-right. It is clearly +of vital importance to any theory that its foundations are secure. One +foundation--that of promiscuity, on which Bachofen and McLennan, the +two upholders of matriarchy, base their hypothesis--has been +overthrown. It thus becomes necessary to approach the question from an +altogether different position. Mother-right must be explained without +any reference to unregulated sexual conduct. I am thus turned back to +examine the opposing theory to matriarchy, which founds the family on +the patriarchal authority of the father. Nor is this all. What we must +expect a true theory to do is to show conditions that are applicable +not only to special cases, but in their main features to mankind in +general. I have to prove that such conditions arose in the primitive +patriarchal family as it advanced towards social aggregation, that +would not only make possible, but, as I believe, would necessitate the +power of the mothers asserting its force in the group-family. Only +when this is done can I hope that a new belief in mother-right may +find acceptance. + +The patriarchal theory stated in its simplest form is this: Primeval +man lived in small family groups, composed of an adult male, and of +his wife, or, if he were powerful, several wives, whom he jealously +guarded from the sexual advances of all other males. In such a group +the father is the chief or patriarch as long as he lives, and the +family is held together by their common subjection to him. As for the +children, the daughters as soon as they grow up are added to his +wives, while the sons are driven out from the home at the time they +reach an age to be dangerous as sexual rivals to their father. The +important thing to note is that _in each group there would be only one +adult polygamous male, with many women of different ages and young +children_. I shall return to this later. Such is the marked difference +in the position of the two sexes--the solitary jealously unsocial +father and the united mothers. I can but wonder how its significance +has escaped the attention of the many inquirers, who have sought the +truth in this matter. Probably the explanation is to be found in this: +they have been interested mainly in one side of the family--the male +side; I am interested in the other side--in the women members of the +group. The position of women has seemed of primary importance to very +few. Bachofen is almost alone in placing this question first, and his +mystical far-fetched hypothesis has failed to find acceptance. + +Let me now, in order to make the position clearer, continue a rough +grouping of the supposed conditions in this primordial family, with +all its members in subjection to the common father. It may be argued +that we can know nothing at all about the family and the position of +the two sexes at this brute period. This is true. The conditions are, +of course, conjectural, and any suggested conclusions to be drawn from +them must be still more so. Yet some hypothesis must be risked as a +starting-point for any theory that attempts to go so far back in the +stream of time. + +We may suppose, then, that mankind aboriginally lived in small +families in much the same way as the great monkeys: we see the same +conditions, for instance, among the families of gorillas, where the +group never becomes large. The male leader will not endure the rivalry +of the young males, and as soon as they grow up a contest takes place, +and the strongest and eldest male, by killing or driving out the +others, maintains his position as the tyrant head of the family.[30] + + [30] Darwin, _Descent of Man_. Wallace, _The Malay + Archipelago_, and Brehm, _Thierleben_. + +This may be taken as a picture of the human brute-family. It is clear +that the relation of the father to the other group members was not one +of kinship, but of power. "Every female in my crowd is my property," +says--or feels--Mr. Atkinson's patriarchal anthropoid, "and the +patriarch gives expression to his sentiment with teeth and claws, if +he has not yet learned to double up his fist with a stone in it. These +were early days."[31] + + [31] _Social Origins and Primal Law_, pp. 4, 21. Westermarck, + pp. 13, 42. _Primal Law_, pp. 209-212. + +We may conclude that there would be many of these groups, each with a +male head, his wives and adult daughters, and children of both sexes. +It is probable that they lived a nomadic life, finding a temporary +home in a cave, rock, or tree-shelter, in some place where the supply +of food was plentiful. The area of their wanderings would be fixed by +the existence of other groups; for such groups would almost certainly +be mutually hostile to each other, watchfully resenting any intrusion +on their own feeding ground. A further, and more powerful, cause of +hostility would arise from the sexual antagonism of the males. Around +each group would be the band of exiled sons, haunting their former +hearth-homes, and forming a constant element of danger to the solitary +paternal tyrant. This I take to be important as we shall presently +see. For, the most urgent necessity of these young men, after the need +for food, must have been to obtain wives. This could be done only by +capturing women from one or other of the groups. The difficulties +attending such captures must have been great. It is, therefore, +probable the young men at first kept together, sharing their wives in +polyandrous union. But this condition would not continue, the group +thus formed would inevitably break up at the adult stage under the +influence of jealousy; the captured wives would be fought for and +carried off by the strongest males to form fresh groups. + +In this matter I have given the opinion of Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Lang. +They hold that no permanent peaceful union could have been maintained +among the groups of young men and their captive wives. Mr. Atkinson +gives the reason-- + + "Their unity could only endure as long as the youthfulness + of the members necessitated union for protection, and their + immaturity prevented the full play of sexual passion." And + again: "The necessary Primal Law which alone could determine + peace within a family circle by recognising a _distinction + between female and male_ (the indispensable antecedent to a + definition of marital rights) could never have arisen in + such a body. It follows if such a law was ever evoked, it + must have been from _within the only other assembly in + existence_, viz. that headed by the solitary polygamous + patriarch."[32] + + [32] _Social Origins and Primal Law_, p. 230. Mr. Atkinson + writes this to show that there can be no connection between + these groups of young males and the polyandrous marriages of + Mr. McLennan's theory. The first italics in the passage are + his own; the second are mine. Why I wish to emphasise this + point will soon be seen. I have already mentioned how I was + recommended to read _Social Origins_ to convince me of my + mistake in accepting the mother-age. It has done just the + opposite, and has given me the clue to many difficulties that + I was before unable to clear up. This is why I am following + this book rather than other authorities in my examination of + the patriarchal theory. I take this opportunity of recording + my debt to the authors, and of expressing my thanks to Mr. + Wells, who recommended me to read the book. + +Whether Mr. Atkinson is right I shall not attempt to say; the point is +one on which I hesitate a decided opinion; but as this view affords +support to my own theory I shall accept it. + +Now, to consider the bearing of this on our present inquiry. So far I +have followed very closely the family group gathered around the +patriarchal tyrant, under the conditions given by Mr. Atkinson and Mr. +Lang, in _Social Origins and Primal Law_. It will not, I think, have +escaped the notice of the reader that very little has been said about +the women and their children. There is no hint at all that the women +must have lived a life of their own, different in its conditions from +that of the men. The female members, it would seem, have been taken +for granted and not considered, except in so far as their presence is +necessary to excite the jealous sexual combats of the males. This +seems to be very instructive. The idea of the subjection of all +females to the solitary male has been accepted without question. But +the group consisted of _many women and only one adult man_. Yet in +spite of this, the man is held to be the essential member; all the +family obey him. His wife (or wives) and his daughters, though +necessary to his pleasure as also to continue the group, are regarded +as otherwise unimportant, in fact, mere property possessions to him. +Now, I am very sure the rights these group-women must have held have +been greatly underrated, and the neglect to recognise this has led, I +think, to many mistakes. I am willing to accept the authority of the +polygamous patriarch--within limits. But it seems probable, as I shall +shortly indicate, that a predominant influence in the domestic life is +to be ascribed to the women, and, therefore, "the movement towards +peace within the group circle" must be looked for as a result from the +feminine side of the family, rather than from the male side. There is +still another point: I maintain that precisely through the +concentration of the male ruler on the sexual subjection of his +females, conditions must have arisen, affecting the conduct and +character of the women: conditions, moreover, that would bring them +inevitably more and more into a position of power. + +It remains for me to suggest what I believe these conditions to have +been. Meanwhile let us keep one fact steadily before our minds. The +fierce sexual jealousy of the males had by some means to be +controlled. It is evident that the way towards social progress could +be found only by the peaceful aggregation of these solitary hostile +groups; and this could not be done without breaking down the rule that +strength and seniority in the male conferred upon him marital right +over all the females. In other words, the tyrant patriarch had in some +way to learn to tolerate the presence of other adult males on friendly +terms within his own group. We have to find how this first, but +momentous, step in social progress was taken. + +Let us concentrate now our attention on the domestic life of the +women. And first we must examine more carefully the exact conditions +that we may suppose to have existed in these hostile groups. The +father is the tyrant of the band--an egoist. Any protection he affords +the family is in his own interests, he is chief much more than father. +His sons he drives away as soon as they are old enough to give him any +trouble; his daughters he adds to his harem. We may conceive that the +domination of his sexual jealousy must have chiefly occupied his time +and his attention. It is probable that he was fed by his women; at +least it seems certain that he cannot have provided food for them and +for all the children of the group. Sex must have been uninterruptedly +interesting to him. In the first place he had to capture his wife, or +wives, then he had to fight for the right of sole possession. +Afterwards he had to guard his women, especially his daughters, from +being carried off, in their turn, by younger males, his deadly rivals, +who, exiled by sexual jealousy from his own and the other similar +hearth-homes, would come, with each returning year, more and more to +be feared. An ever-recurring and growing terror would dog each step of +the solitary paternal despot, and necessitate an unceasing +watchfulness against danger, and even an anticipation of death. For +when old age, or sickness decreased his power of holding his own, then +the tables would be turned, and the younger men, so hardly oppressed, +would raise their hands against him in parricidal strife. + +You will see what all this strife suggests--the unstable and +adventitious relation of the man to the social hearth-group. Such +conditions of antagonism of each male against every other male must +favour the assumption that no advance in peace--on which alone all +future progress depended--could have come from the patriarchs. +Jealousy forced them into unsocial conduct. + +But advance by peace to progress was by some means to be made. I +believe that the way was opened up by women. + +I hasten to add, however, in case I am mistaken here, that I am very +far from wishing to set up any claim of superiority for savage woman +over savage man. The momentous change was not, indeed, the result of +any higher spiritual quality in the female, nor was it a religious +movement, as is the beautiful dream of Bachofen. I do not think we can +credit "a movement" as having taken place at all, rather the change +arose gradually, inevitably, and quite simply. To postulate a +conscious movement towards progress organised by women is surely +absurd. Human nature does not start on any new line of conduct +voluntarily, rather it is forced into it in connection with the +conditions of life. Just as savage man was driven into unsocial +conduct, so, as I shall try to show, savage woman was led by the same +conditions acting in an opposite direction, into social conduct. + +My own thought was drawn first to this conclusion by noting the +behaviour of a band of female turkeys with their young. It was a year +ago. I was staying in a Sussex village, and near by my home was the +meadow of a farm in which families of young turkeys were being reared. +Here I often sat; and one day it chanced that I was reading _Social +Origins and Primal Law_. I had reached the chapter on "Man in the +Brutal Stage," in which Mr. Atkinson gives the supposed facts of brute +man, and the action of his jealousy in the family group. I was very +much impressed; my reason told me that what the author stated so well +was probably right. Such sexually jealous conduct on the part of +savage man was likely to be true; it was much easier to accept this +than the state of promiscuous intercourse, with its friendly +communism in women, in which I had hitherto believed. I really was +very much disturbed. For I was still unshaken in my belief in +mother-right. How were the two theories to be reconciled? + +Often it is a small thing that points to the way for which one is +seeking. All at once my little boy, who had been playing in the field, +called out, "Oh, look at the Gobble-gobble,"--the name by which he +called the male-turkey. The cock, his great tail spread, his throat +swelling, was swaggering across the field, making an immense amount of +noisy disturbance. A group of females and young birds, many of them +almost full grown, were near to where we were sitting; they had been +rooting about in the ground getting their food. Their fear at the +approach of the strutting male was manifest. All the band gathered +together, with the young in the centre, led and flanked by the +mothers. As the male continued to advance upon them they retreated +further and further, and finally took harbour in a barn. Here the +swaggerer tried to follow them, but the rear females turned and faced +him and drove him off. + +I had found the clue that I was seeking. All I had been reading now +had a clear meaning for me. In my delight, I laughed aloud. I saw the +egoism of the solitary male; I knew the meaning of the females' +retreat; they were guarding the young from the feared attacks of the +father. I realised how the male's unsocial conduct towards his +offspring had forced the females to unite with one another. The cock's +strength, the gorgeous display of sex-charms, were powerless before +this peaceful combination. He was alone, a tyrant--the destroyer of +the family. But I saw, too, that his polygamous jealousy served as a +means to the end of advance in progress. It was the male's non-social +conduct that had forced social conduct upon the females. And I +understood that the patriarchal tyrant was just the one thing I had +been looking for. My belief in mother-power had gained a new and, as I +felt then in the first delight of that discovery, and as I still feel, +a much surer, because a simpler and more natural foundation. + +Having now defined my position, and having related how such conviction +came to me, let me proceed to examine the causes that would lead to +the assertion of women's power, in the aboriginal family group. From +what has been said, the following conditions acting on the women, may, +it is submitted, be fairly deduced. + + 1. In the group, which comprised the mothers, the adult + daughters, and the young of both sexes, the women would live + on terms of association as friendly hearth-mates. + + 2. The strongest factor in this association would arise from + the dependence of the children upon their mothers; a + dependence that was of much longer duration than among the + animals, on account of the pre-eminent helplessness of the + human child, which entailed a more prolonged infancy. + + 3. The women and their children would form the group, to + which the father was attached by his sexual needs, but + remained always a member apart--a kind of jealous fighting + specialisation. + + 4. The temporary hearth-home would be the shelter of the + women; and it was under this shelter that children were born + and the group accumulated its members. Whether cave, or + hollow tree, or some frail shelter, the home must have + belonged to the women. + + 5. And this state would necessarily attach the mothers to + the home, much more closely than the father, whose desire + lay in the opposite direction of disrupting the home. + Moreover this attachment always would be present and acting + on the female children, who, unless captured, would remain + with the mothers, while it could never arise in the case of + the sons, whose fate was to be driven from the home. Such + conditions must, as time went on, have profoundly modified + the women's outlook, bending their desires to a steady, + settled life, conditions under which alone the germ of + social organisation could develop. + + 6. Again, the daily search for the daily food must have been + undertaken chiefly by the women. For it is impossible that + one man, however skilful a hunter, could have fed all the + female members and children of the group. We may conceive + that his attention and his time must have been occupied + largely in fighting his rivals; while much of his strength, + as sole progenitor, must have been expended in sex. It is + therefore probable that frequently the patriarch was + dependent on the food activities of his women. + + 7. The mothers, their inventive faculties quickened by the + stress of child-bearing and child-rearing, would learn to + convert to their own uses the most available portion of + their environment. It would be under the attention of the + women that plants were first utilised for food. Seeds would + be beaten out, roots and tubers dug for, and nuts and fruits + gathered in their season and stored for use. Birds would + have to be snared, shell-fish and fish would be caught; + while, at a later period, animals would be tamed for + service. Primitive domestic vessels to hold and to carry + water, baskets to store the food supplies would have to be + made. Clothes for protection against the cold would come to + be fashioned. All the faculties of the women, in exercises + that would lead to the development of every part of their + bodies, would be called into play by the work of satisfying + the physical needs of the group. + + 8. This interest and providence for the family would + certainly have its effect on the development of the women. + The formation of character is largely a matter of attention, + and the attention of the mothers being fixed on the supply + of the necessary food, doubtless often difficult to obtain, + their energies would be driven into productive activities, + much more than in the case of the father, whose attention + was fixed upon himself. + + 9. In all these numerous activities the women of each group + would work together. And through this co-operation must have + resulted the assertion of the women's power, as the + directors and organisers of industrial occupations. As the + group slowly advanced in progress, such power increasing + would raise the women's position; the mothers would + establish themselves permanently as of essential value in + the family, not only as the givers of life, but as the chief + providers of the food essential to the preservation of the + life of its members. + + 10. And a further result would follow in the treatment by + the male of this new order. The women by obtaining and + preparing food would gain an economic value. Wives would + become to the patriarch a source of riches, indispensable to + him, not only on account of his sex needs, but on account of + the more persistent need of food. Thus the more women he + possessed the greater would be his own comfort, and the + physical prosperity of the group. The women would become of + ever greater importance, and the economic power that they + thus acquired would more and more favourably influence their + position. + + 11. There is one other matter in this connection. The + greater number of women in the group the stronger would + become their power of combination. I attach great importance + to this. Working together for the welfare of all, the social + motive would grow stronger in women, so that necessarily + they would come to consider the collective interests of the + group. Can it be credited that such conditions could have + acted upon the patriarch, whose conduct would still be + inspired by individual appetite and selfish inclinations? I + maintain such a view to be impossible. + + 12. Another advantage, I think, would arise for women out of + the male's jealous tyranny in the sexual relationship. Such + an idea may appear strange, if we think only of the + subjection of the females to the brute-appetite of the + patriarch. Yet there is another side. The women must have + gained freedom by being less occupied with sex passions, and + also from being less jealously interested in the man than he + was in them. It may be urged that the women would be jealous + of each other. I do not think this could have been. Jealousy + has its roots in the consciousness of possession, and is + only aroused through fear of loss. This could not have acted + with any great power among the women in the patriarchal + group. Their interest of possession in sex must have been + less acute in consciousness than the interest of the male. + Doubtless the woman would be attracted by the male's + courageous action in fighting his rivals for possession of + her, but when the rival was the woman's son such attraction + would come into strong conflict with the deeper maternal + instinct. + + 13. From the standpoint of physical strength, the patriarch + was the master, the tyrant ruler of the group, who, + doubtless, often was brutal enough. But the women, leading + an independent life to some extent, and with their mental + ingenuity developed by the conditions of their life, would + learn, I believe, to outwit their master by passive united + resistance. They would come to utilise their sex charms as + an accessory of success. Thus the unceasing sexual + preoccupation of the male, with the emotional dependence it + entailed on the females, must, I would suggest, have given + women an immense advantage. If I am right here, the + patriarch would be in the power of his women, much more + surely than they would be in his power. + + 14. Again, an antagonism must have arisen between the despot + father and his women, in particular with his daughters, + forced to submit to his brute-passions. I confess I find + grave difficulty in reconciling the view that the + group-daughters would willingly become the wives of their + father. I cannot conceive them without some power to + exercise that choice in love, which is the right of the + female throughout nature. There is great insistence by Mr. + Atkinson, and all who have written on the subject, on the + sexual passions of the males, while the desires of the women + are not considered at all. Apparently they are held to have + had none! This affords yet another instance of the strange + concentration on the male side of the family. It is taken + for granted, for instance, that in every case the young men, + when driven from their home, had to capture their wives from + other groups. I would suggest that often the capture was + aided by the woman herself; she may even have escaped from + the hearth-home in her desire to find a partner, preferring + the rule of a young tyrant to an old one, who moreover was + her father. I believe, too, that the wives and mothers must + frequently have asserted their will in rebellion. I picture, + indeed, these savage women ever striving for more + privileges, and step by step advancing through peaceful + combination to power. + + 15. I desire also to maintain that all I have here suggested + finds support from what is known of the position of women + among primitive peoples; and I may add also, from the + character of women to-day. + +Now I have summarised briefly what seem to me the probable conditions +of the women's daily life in these earliest groups. I have attempted +to show how the sexual jealousy, which acted for the destruction of +the mutually hostile male members, would necessitate for the women +conditions in many ways favourable; conditions of union in which lay +the beginnings of peace and order. What we have to fix in our thoughts +is the significant fact of the sociability of the women's lives in +contrast with the solitude of the jealous sire, watchfully resenting +the intrusion of all other males. Such conditions cannot have failed +to domesticate the women, and urged them forward to the work that was +still to be done in domesticating man. During the development of the +family, we may expect that the patriarch will seek to hold his rights, +and that the women will exert their influence more and more in +breaking these down; and this is precisely what we do find, as I +presently shall show. + +One point further. It may, of course, be urged that all I am affirming +for women in this far back beginning is but a process of ingenious +guessing. Such criticism is just. But I am speaking of conditions at a +time when conjecture is necessary. I venture to say that my +suggestions are in accord with what is likely to have happened. +Moreover, many difficulties will be made clearer if these guesses are +accepted. I believe that here in the earliest patriarchal stage we +have already the germs of the maternal family. All the chances for +success in power rested with the united mothers, rather than with the +solitary father. Assuredly the jealous patriarchs paid a heavy price +for their sexual domination. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +DEVELOPMENT IN THE PATRIARCHAL FAMILY AND THE RISE OF MOTHER-POWER + + +The essential question, now, is how these small hostile groups were +brought by association to expand into larger groups. In what way was +the sexual monopoly of the male ruler first curbed, and afterwards +broken down, for only by this being done could peace be gained? +However advantageous the habits of the patriarch may have been for +himself, they were directly opposed to progress. Jealousy depends on +the failure to recognise the rights of others. This sexual egoism, by +which one man through his strength and seniority held marital rights +over all the females of his group, had to be struck at its roots. In +other words, the solitary despot had to learn to tolerate the +association of other adult males. + +How was this happy change to be brought about? Social qualities are +surely developed in the character by union with one's fellow beings. +From what has been stated, it seems certain that it was in the +interests of the women to consolidate the family, and by means of +association to establish their own power. Jealousy is an absolutely +non-social quality. Regarding its influence, it is certainly absurd +to believe any voluntary association to have been possible among the +males of the hostile patriarchal groups; to credit this is to give the +lie to the entire theory. We are driven, therefore, to seek for the +beginnings of social conduct among the women. I have suggested the +conditions forcing them into combination with one another against the +tyranny of the patriarch. I have now to show how these causes, +continually acting, brought the women step by step into a position of +authority and power. There is, however, no suggestion of a spiritual +revolt on the part of women. I do not wish to set up any claim for, +because I do not believe in, the superiority of one sex over the other +sex. Character is determined by the conditions of living. If, as I +conceive, progress came through savage women, rather than through +savage men, it was because the conditions were really more favourable +to them, and drove them on in the right path. However strange it may +appear, their sexual subjection to the fierce jealousy of the +patriarch acted as a means to an end in advancing peace. + +The strongest force of union between the women would grow out of the +consciousness of an ever-threatening and common danger. Not only had +the young to be fed and cared for during infancy and childhood, but, +as they grew in years, they had to be guarded from the father, whose +relation to his offspring was that of an enemy. It has been seen how +the sons were banished at puberty from the family group to maintain +the patriarch's marital rights. Doubtless the strength of maternal +love gained in intensity through the many failures in conflicts, that +must have taken place with the tyrant fathers. Would not this +community of suffering tend to force the women to unite with one +another, at each renewed banishment of their sons? May they not, after +the banishment, have assisted their sons in the capture of their +wives? I think it must be allowed that this is possible. And there is +another point to notice. The exiled sons and their captured wives +would each have a mother in the groups they had left. May it not be +conceived that, as time brought progress in intelligence, some +friendly communication might have been established between group and +group, in defiance of the jealous guardianship of the patriarchs? +Thus, through the danger, ever to be feared in every family, there +might open up a way by sympathy to a possible future union. + +It is part of my supposition that every movement towards friendship +must have arisen among the women. This is no fanciful idea of my own. +Mr. Atkinson, one of the strongest supporters of the patriarchal +theory, agrees with this view, though he does not seem to see its +origin, and does not follow up its deep suggestion. By him the +movement in advance is narrowed to a single issue of peace between the +father and his sons, but this great step is credited to the influence +of the mothers. I must quote the passages that refer to this--[33] + + [33] _Primal Law_, pp. 231-232. + + "At the renewed banishment of each of her male progeny by + the jealous patriarch, the mother's feelings and instincts + would be increasingly lacerated and outraged. Her agonised + efforts to retain at least her last and youngest would be + even stronger than with her first born. It is exceedingly + important to observe that her chances of success in this + case would be much greater. When this last and dearest son + approached adolescence, it is not difficult to perceive that + the patriarch must have reached an age when the fire of + desire may have become somewhat dull, whilst, again, his + harem, from the presence of numerous adult daughters, would + be increased to an extent that might have overtaxed his once + more active powers. Given some such rather exceptional + situation, where a happy opportunity in superlative mother + love wrestled with a for once satiated paternal appetite in + desire, we may here discern a possible key of the + sociological problem which occupies us, and which consisted + in a conjunction within one group of two adult males." + +In the next paragraph the author presents the situation which in this +way might have arisen-- + + "We must conceive that, in the march of the centuries, on + some fateful day, the bloody tragedy in the last act of the + familiar drama was avoided, and the edict of exile or death + left unpronounced. _Pure maternal love triumphed over the + demons of lust and jealousy._ A mother succeeded in keeping + by her side a male child, and thus, by a strange + coincidence, that father and son, who, amongst all mammals, + had been the most deadly enemies, were now the first to join + hands. So portentous an alliance might well bring the world + to their feet. The family would now present for the first + time, the until then unknown spectacle of the inclusion + within a domestic circle, and amidst its component females, + of an adolescent male youth. It must, however, be admitted + that such an event, at such an epoch, demanded imperatively + very exceptional qualities, both physiological and + psychological, in the primitive agents. The new happy ending + to that old-world drama which had run so long through blood + and tears, was an innovation requiring very unusually gifted + actors. How many failures had doubtless taken place in its + rehearsal during the centuries, with less able or happy + interpreters!" + +Mr. Atkinson supposes that success in the new experiment "was rendered +possible by the rise of new powers in nascent man." Here I do not +follow him. "The germ of altruism," which he sees as "already having +risen to make its force felt" was, indeed, as he says "an important +factor." But is it credible that this altruism existed in the father? +I can conceive him being won over through his own emotional dependence +on some specially pleasing woman; he may well have had favourites +among his wives. I cannot accept "altruism" as a reason for his +conduct, under conditions acting in an exact opposite way in fostering +and increasing egoism. Much more probable is the supposition that he +"must have reached the age when the fire of desire had become somewhat +dulled." + +I must also take exception to a further statement of Mr. Atkinson, +"that with such prolonged infancy there had been opportunity for the +development of paternal philoprogenitiveness." And again: "It is +evident that such long-continued presence of sons could but result in +a certain mutual sympathy, however inevitable the eventual exile." It +is unnecessary for me to labour this question. I may, however, point +out, that the identical conditions of the family among the anthropoid +apes (on whom Mr. Atkinson bases his patriarchy) do not afford any +proof of paternal altruism. The polygamous jealous father never enters +into friendly union with the other males. He is strong and sexually +beautiful, but he is never social in his domestic conduct. He is the +tyrant in the family, and the young are guarded from his attacks by +the mothers. With the mothers there is protection and safety, with the +father ownership. The whole argument of the patriarchal theory is +based on the fact of the jealous conduct of the male. Driven to live +in solitary enmity, the patriarch could not voluntarily tolerate the +presence of a rival, if he was to maintain his position as ruler. It +is impossible to get away from this. Mr. Atkinson comes very near to +this essential truth, when he suggests (though he does not fully +acknowledge) that the first step in social development came through +the mother's love for her child; but at once he turns aside from this, +drawn, I think unconsciously, to the common opinion of the complete +subjection of the females to the male, an opinion always making it +difficult to accept the initiative in reform as coming from the woman. + +The exclusive and persisting idea of Mr. Atkinson's theory is to +establish the action of what he calls "the primal law." Only by +limiting and defining the marital rights of the males over the females +could advancement be gained. Until this was done these small hostile +groups could not become larger, and expand into the clan or tribe. + +I must follow this question a little although it leads us aside from +the immediate subject of my own inquiry. The first step in progress +has been taken; by the triumph of maternal love, an adult male son is +now included in the group. We must conceive that this victory, having +once been gained by one mother, would be repeated by other mothers. +Afterwards, as time went on, the advantage in strength gained to the +group by this increase in their male members, would tend to encourage +the custom. One may reasonably assume that it became established as a +habit in each group that once had taken the first step. Father and +sons, for so long enemies, now enter on a truce. + +It must not, however, be concluded that sexual peace followed this new +order. It is part of Mr. Atkinson's theory that the patriarch's sexual +jealousy would not be broken down by his tolerance of the presence of +his sons. Peace could be maintained only so long as the intruders +respected his marital rights. Under this condition, all the group +women, as they all belonged to the patriarch, would be taboo to the +young men; otherwise there would be a fight, and the offending son +would be driven into exile. Doubtless this frequently happened, but +the advantages gained by union would tend to prevent the danger. Some +means of preserving sexual peace within the group certainly would come +to be established. "For the first time," as Mr. Atkinson points out, +"we encounter the factor which is to be the leading power in future +metamorphosis, i. e. _an explicit distinction between female and +female as such_." + +Through this bar placed on the female members within the family +circle, the sons, who remained in peace, would be forced to continue +the practice of capturing their wives, and would bring in women to +live with them from other groups. It is assumed that these captures +were in all cases hostile. I have given my reasons for disagreeing +with this view. I hold that the young women may have been glad to have +been taken by the young men, and most probably assisted them, in a +surely not unnatural desire to escape from their tyrant fathers. I +really cannot credit such continued sexual subjection on the part of +the group-daughters, an opinion which arises, I am certain, from the +curious misconception of the passivity of the human female in love. + +I do not wish to conceal that my conjecture of an active part having +been taken by the women, both in their captures and also in all the +relationships of the family, is opposed to the great majority of +learned opinion. The reason for this already has been suggested. +Almost invariably the writers on these questions are men, and there +is, I imagine, a certain blindness in their view. I am convinced that +from the earliest beginnings of the human family women have exercised +a much stronger and more direct influence than is usually believed. +All the movements towards regulation and progress, so ingeniously +worked out by Mr. Atkinson, are easier to credit if we accept the +initiative as having come from the group-mothers. I have an inward +conviction of an unchanging law between the two sexes, and though I +cannot here attempt to give any proof, it seems to me, we can always +trace _the absorption by the male of female ideas_. The man accepts +what the woman brings forward, and then assumes the control, believing +he is the originator of her ideas. Take this case of capture: If, as I +suggest, the young women assisted or even took the initiative in their +own captures, they would very plainly not be willing to allow sexual +relationships with another hoary patriarch. I would urge that here +again it was by the action of the young women, rather than the young +men, that the new order was established. But this is a small matter. +If I am right, the communal living and common danger among the women +would powerfully bind them together in union, and sever them from the +male rulers. Once this is granted, it follows that social +consciousness in the women must have been stronger than in the +solitary males. Then there can be no possible doubt of the part taken +by women in the slow advancement of the group by regulation to social +peace. Moreover, I believe, that confirmation of what is here claimed +for women will be found (as will appear in the later part of my +inquiry) in many social habits among existing primitive peoples, who +still live under the favourable conditions of the maternal family; +habits that suggest a long evolutionary process, and that can be +explained only if they have arisen in a very remote beginning. But +enough on this subject has now been said. + +Many interesting questions arise from the action of Mr. Atkinson's +"primal law." His theory offers a solution of the much-debated +question of the origin of exogamy,[34] the term used first by Mr. +McLennan, in _Primitive Marriage_, for the rule which prohibited +sexual relationships within the group limit. Continence imposed by the +patriarch on his sons within the group, as a condition of his +tolerance of their presence, necessarily and logically entailed +marriage without, with women from some other group. This explanation +of exogamy is so simple that it seems likely to be true. It is much +more reasonable than any of the numerous other theories that have been +brought forward. Mr. McLennan, for instance, suggests that the custom +arose through a scarcity of females, owing to the widespread practice +of female infanticide. This can hardly be accepted, for such +conditions, where they exist, would arise at a much later period. Even +less likely is the theory of Dr. Westermarck, who explains exogamy as +arising from "an instinct against marriage of near kin." But we have +no proof of the existence of any such instinct.[35] Mr. Crawley's +view is similar: he connects the custom with the idea of sexual taboo, +which makes certain marriages a deadly sin. It is evident that these +causes could not have operated with the brute patriarch. One great +point in favour of Mr. Atkinson's view is that it takes us so much +further back. By it exogamy as a custom must have been much earlier +than totemism, as at this stage the different group-families would not +be distinguished by totem names; but its action as a law would become +much stronger when reinforced by the totem superstitions, and would +become fixed in rigid sexual taboos.[36] The strongest of these taboos +is the avoidance between brothers and sisters; this is Mr. Atkinson's +_primal law_. It is a law that is still a working factor among +barbarous races, and entails restrictions and avoidances of the most +binding nature. + + [34] _Studies._ Chap. VII. "Exogamy: Its Origin." + + [35] _History of Human Marriage._ Chap. XIV. "Prohibition of + Marriage between Kindred." + + [36] _Mystic Rose._ + +Unfortunately I have not space to write even briefly on this important +and deeply interesting subject. A right understanding of the whole +question of sexual taboos, with the complicated totem superstitions on +which they are based, is very necessary to any inquiry into the +position of women. But to do this I should have to write another book. +All I can say is this: these avoidances had in their origin no +connection with the relative power of the two sexes; nor do I believe +it can be proved that they were established by men rather than by +women. They arose quite naturally, out of the necessity for regulation +as a condition of peace. + +Let me give one example that will serve to show how easily mistakes +may arise. One of these rules, common among primitive peoples, +prevents the women from eating with the men. This is often considered +as a proof of the inferior position of the women, whereas it proves +nothing of the kind. It is just one instance out of many numerous laws +of avoidance between wife and husband, sister and brother, mother and +son, and, indeed, between all relations in the family, which are part +of the general rule to restrict sexual familiarity between the two +sexes, set up at a time when moral restraints upon desire could act +but feebly. It was only much later that these sexual taboos came to be +fixed as superstitions, that with unbreakable fetters bound the +freedom of women. + +Here, indeed, are facts causing us to think. We perceive how old and +strongly rooted are many customs from which to-day we are fighting to +escape; customs of separation between women and men, which, with +appalling conservatism, have descended through the ages. Will they +ever be broken down? I do not know. These questions are not considered +in adequate fashion; often we are ignorant of the deep forces driving +the sexes into situations of antagonism. Clearly these primitive +avoidances shed strong light on the sexual problems of our day. The +subject is one of profound interest. I wish that it were possible to +follow it, but all this lies outside the limit set to my inquiry, and +already I have been led far from the patriarchal family. + +The group has advanced in progress, and now has many features in +common with existing savage peoples. The friendly conjunction of the +father and his sons has established peace. Exogamy has begun to be +practised; and the family in this way has been increased not only by +the presence of the group-sons, but by their captured wives. We have +seen that this would necessitate certain rules of sexual avoidance; +thus the patriarch still holds marital rights over his wives and the +group-daughters, while the captured women are sacred to the +group-sons. + +There is now a further important change to consider. Again the rights +of the patriarch have to be restricted; a bar has to be raised to +prevent his adding his daughters to his wives. Only by overcoming this +habit of paternal incest can further social evolution become possible. + +On this question I shall give the explanation of Mr. Atkinson; and it +is with real regret that the limit of my space makes it impossible to +quote in full his own words.[37] The change came by _the entrance of +outside suitors as husbands for the daughters and their acceptance as +group-members_. + + [37] _Primal Law._ The chapter "From the Group to the Tribe," + pp. 250-263. + +At this point a difficulty once again arises. By what means was the +patriarch brought to accept the presence of these young intruders, +thus usurping his sexual rights over his daughters? Mr. Atkinson +believes this could not have taken place during the life of the +patriarch. "The initiative in change must have arisen irrespective of +him, or without his presence." Here Mr. Atkinson appears to me to fall +into error, as once more he neglects to consider the effect of the +young women's own desires. I hold that, by this time, the +group-daughters, supported by their mothers, must have been strong +enough to outwit their father (whose authority already had been +weakened), if not openly, then by deceiving him. They would now see +their brothers living with young wives. Is it credible, I ask, that +they would remain content with the sexual embraces of their father? + +In this connection it is of interest to note the opposition sometimes +offered by young females to the advances of an old male among the +families of monkeys. I have received quite recently an account of such +a case in a letter from my friend, Max Henry Ferrass, formerly +Inspector of Schools in India, and the author of a valuable work on +Burmah. This is what he says-- + + "I once was able to observe a herd of common long-tailed + monkeys of the Indian plains at play on a sandbank in a + river. There were about fifty of all ages. There was one + great bully among them who looked double the size of the + average adult--and must have been double the weight, at any + rate--whose sport was to chase the young females. They, + knowing his game, fled before him, but he caught them + readily. But before he could have his will of any, she would + bound from his grasp as if stung, and always escape, as this + sudden spurt of energy was more than he could control." + +Here we have a clear instance in which the young females escape from +the thraldom of the male ruler of the horde. The power with which Mr. +Atkinson endows his human patriarch seems to me quite incredible. I +have asserted again and again that the consolidation of the +group-circle was of much greater importance to the women than to the +men. Now this surely points to the acceptance of the view that the +regulation of the brute sexual appetite was initiated by the women. +Thereby, it may be pointed out, their action merely resembles +womankind in any stage from the lowest degree of savagery to the +highest stage of civilisation. + +Moreover, there is further proof that points strongly to the +acceptance of this view, that, the new departure, by which young +husbands came into the group, was brought about by the women, in +opposition to the knowledge and will of the patriarch. There exists a +common custom among primitive tribes, which affords evidence of these +outside suitors having visited their brides in secret. I refer to the +practice by which intercourse between the husband and wife is carried +on clandestinely by night. This is one of the earliest forms of +marriage, and, further, it is closely connected, as I shall presently +show, with the maternal family system. There appears to be no real +cause for this precaution. I do not think it can be explained by the +superstitious dread of the sexes for each other, expressing itself in +this form of sexual taboo; as Mr. Crawley and other writers suggest. +Doubtless this is a factor, and a very powerful one, in the +continuance of the custom, but it does not seem to me to be the true +explanation of its origin. Such secrecy and clandestine meetings are, +however, exactly what must have happened if the group-daughters +received their lovers, as I would suggest, in defiance of the will of +the patriarch. May not the custom as it still exists be a survival, +retained and strengthened by superstition, from a time when these +fugitive visits were necessary for safety?[38] + + [38] Mr. Atkinson refers to these clandestine marriages. He + does not, however, connect the custom, as I suggest, with any + action on the part of the young women. + +Mr. Atkinson's view is different from mine. He does not allow any +power at all to the women. He holds that after the death of the +patriarch, his daughters, still young, would be left without husbands. +To meet this difficulty suitors are brought from other groups by the +brothers, _i. e._ the sons settled in the group and who now rule. We +are asked to believe that they do this to relieve themselves of the +maintenance of their widowed sisters, and to prevent their being +captured and carried off to other groups. According to Mr. Atkinson +the presence of these outside lovers would not be dangerous to the +family peace. They would come from neighbouring groups, from which +the young men had already captured their wives. In this way the strangers +would be the brothers of their women; and thus the brother-and-sister +avoidance--the primal law already established--would prevent any fear of +interference with the established marital rights on the part of the +new-comers. I strongly differ from the suggestion that the brothers +had to feed and maintain their widowed sisters; such an opinion is but +another example of a failure to appreciate the women's side of the +question. I allow willingly that the sisters may have had the +assistance of their brothers; I incline, indeed, to the opinion that +they would be strong enough to compel their help, though probably this +was not necessary. The group-sisters and the group-brothers may well +have united against the father, who was the enemy of both. To me the +common-sense view is that these visits from outside suitors were first +paid clandestinely at night. In the light of human nature it is at +least probable that the tyrant father was deceived by his daughters +and his sons. If already he was dead, what reason was there for any +fear--why were the visits secret? This seems to show that I am right; +that once more the initiative in the changes that led to regulation +must be traced back to women. Afterwards, the custom thus established, +would come to be recognised, and the practice of the husband visiting +his wife by night would persist long after the danger making such +secrecy necessary had ceased. + +It will be readily seen that the introduction of young husbands from +outside, by whatever means this was done, would be an immense gain in +strength. Again a new regulation in the sexual relationships would +follow, and the group-daughters would now have husbands of their own +generation, sacred to them. Furthermore it was the first direct step +in friendly union between group and group; a step that would open up +ways to further progress. The husband, living in his own group, and +visiting his wife in hers, would at once form a connecting link +between two hitherto separate family circles, which friendly +connection would not be broken, when, later, the custom arose of the +husband leaving his group to take up his residence with his wife. + +Such an arrangement must have been of immense advantage to the women. +Under the new order, a wife married to one of these young strangers +would hold a position of considerable power, that hitherto had been +impossible. We have seen that the home was made by the group-women, +and must have belonged to them; but so far, the continuance of a +daughter in the home had entailed the acceptance of her father as a +husband; the only way of escape being by capture, which--whether +forced or, as I hold, aided by the girl's desire--sent her out from +her own family as a stranger into a hostile group. Now this was +reversed, and the husband entered as the alien into her home and +family. + +The following observation of Mr. Atkinson in this connection must be +quoted, as it is in strong agreement with my own view-- + + "As a wife who had not been captured, who, in fact, as an + actual member of the group itself, was, so to speak, the + capturer, _her position in regard to her dependent husband + would be profoundly modified_, in comparison with that of + the ordinary captive female, whereas such a captive, seized + by the usual process of hostile capture, had been a mere + chattel utterly without power; _she, as a free agent in her + own home, with her will backed by that of her brothers_" + [why not, I would ask, her sisters and her mother?] "_could + impose law on her subject spouse_."[39] + + [39] _Primal Law_, p. 256. + +In the foregoing sentences Mr. Atkinson affirms the fateful +significance to women of this new form of marriage. I am in +whole-hearted agreement with this opinion. I glean here and there from +the wealth of Mr. Atkinson's suggestions, statements which indicate +how nearly he came to seeing all that I am trying to establish. Yet, I +am compelled to disagree with his main argument; for always when he +touches the woman's side, he falls back at once to consider the +question in its relation to the males as the only important members in +the group. I do not, for instance, accept his view that the captive +wives were "mere chattels." They could not, under the conditions, have +been without some considerable power, even if it arose only from the +sexual dependence of their owners upon them. Much more significant, +however, is Mr. Atkinson's view regarding the authority of the wife in +these new peaceable marriages. He sees one point only as arising from +such a position, and finds "a psychological factor of enormous power, +now for the first time able to make itself felt, in the play of sexual +jealousy on the part of the wife." She would now "impose law on her +subject spouse, and such law dictated by jealousy would ordain a bar +to intercourse between him and her more youthful and hence more +attractive daughters." Now, I do not deny that such a factor may have +acted, for the incentive to jealousy arises always from individual as +opposed to collective possession. Still I do not think jealousy can +have been strong in this case, and, even if it were not, any reversion +on the part of an alien father to the habits of the patriarch must +have been impossible; such conduct would not have been tolerated by +the other males in the group, nor by the daughters, now able to get +young husbands for themselves. To limit the wife's power to this +single issue can hardly be consistent with the conditions of the case. +Mr. Atkinson, in common with many other anthropologists, seems +disposed to underrate the evidence regarding the far-reaching +importance of this form of marriage. Among existing examples of the +maternal family, the mother-rights and influences of women are +dependent largely on the position of the husband as a stranger in her +family home. This matter will become clear in the later part of my +inquiry. + +With the establishment of this new peaceful marriage the way was +cleared for future progress; it is but a few further steps for the +group to grow into the clan and the tribe. The family-group has +increased greatly in size and in social organisation, from the time +when it consisted of the patriarch, and his community of women and +young children. The group-sons have brought in wives from other groups +and have founded families; the group-daughters now have husbands who +live with them. Primitive regulations over the marital rights have +arisen, enabling peace to be maintained. Each family to some extent +would be complete in itself. As the groups advanced in progress, totem +names would come to be used as family marks of distinction, taken +usually from some plant or animal. Peaceable marriages between the +sons and daughters of the different groups would more and more become +the habit, and would gradually take the place of capture marriages. +The regulation of the sexual relationships, by which certain women and +certain men became sacred to each other, would become more strongly +fixed by custom; and afterwards the law would follow that a group of +kindred, distinguished by its totem mark, might not marry within the +hereditary name. The religious superstitions that came to be connected +with these totem names would make binding the new order in the +marriage law. When this stage was reached exogamy would be strictly +practised; and in all cases under the complete maternal system, the +woman on marriage would remain in her family home, where the husband +would come to live with her as a kind of privileged guest. + +There is one other matter that must be noted. The totem name was +inherited from the mother, and not the father. This was the natural +arrangement. When the group was small, there may have been a communal +ownership of the group-children by the mothers, under the authority of +the father. But this would not continue for long; when the group +increased in numbers, the mother and her children would keep together +as a little sub-family in the larger circle. This would be especially +the case with captured wives, who would bring with them the totem +marks of their groups, and this would be the name of the children. The +naming of the children after the mother would also be the simplest way +of distinguishing between the offspring of different wives, a +distinction that would often be necessary, during the earlier +conditions, among the polygamous fathers. + +It is, however, an entirely mistaken view that the father's relation +to the child was ever unrecognised. The taking of the name of the +mother arose as a matter of course, and was adopted simply as being +the most convenient custom. It is manifest that mother-descent has no +connection with a period of promiscuity. Quite the reverse. All the +conditions of mother-right arose out of the earliest movements towards +order and regulation in the relationships of the sexes, and were not +the result of licence. Nor was the naming of the child after the +mother so much a question of relationship as of what may be called +"social kinship." The causes which led to the maternal system are +closely connected with the collective motive, which, if I am right, +was in its origin, at least, the result of the union of the women +against the selfish inclinations of the patriarch. When property +rights came to be recognised, consisting at first of stores of food +and the household goods, it would be perfectly natural that they +should belong to the women, and descend through them. The inheritance +would be to those most closely bound together, and who lived together +in the same home. Thus it appears that descent through the mother was +founded on social rights, by which the organisation of the family, +such as membership in the group or clan, succession and inheritance +were dependent on the mothers. In this sense it is clear that the term +mother-power is fully justified; it is nearer to the facts than the +term mother-kin. + +Further than this I must not go; the first part of my inquiry now has +come to an end. It may seem to the reader that the patriarchal theory, +in a book written to establish mother-right, has received more +attention than was called for. I have discussed it so fully, not only +because of the interest of the subject in proving the errors in the +earlier theories of matriarchy, but because of the insight the +conditions of the primordial group give us into the origin of the +maternal family. + +Many of the suggestions made are more or less hypothetical, but not a +few, I think, are necessary deductions, based on what is most probable +to have happened. I am fully aware of numerous omissions, and the +inadequacy of this summary; but if the suggestions brought forward +shall prove in themselves to have merit, it has seemed to me that a +fruitful field of investigation has been opened. Much new ground had +to be covered in this attempt to picture the position of women at a +period so remote that the difficulties are very great. I hope at least +to have cleared away the old errors, which connected mother-descent +with uncertainty of paternity and an early period of promiscuity. + +Recognising sexual jealousy as the moving force in brute man, I have +accepted that the primeval family was of the patriarchal type. I have +traced the probable development of the group-family, expanding by +successive steps into larger groups living in peaceful association. In +the earlier stage, whilst the men lived as solitary despots, the women +enjoyed a communal life. It is thus probable that the leading power in +the upward movement of the group developing into the clan and tribe +arose among the united mothers, and not with the father. The women +were forced into social conduct. On this belief is based the theory of +mother-power. + +The most important result we have gained is the proof that the +maternal system was framed for order, and has no connection with +sexual disorder. It is enough if I have suggested reasons to show that +this widespread custom, which is practised still among many peoples, +has nothing about it that is exceptional, nothing fantastic, nothing +improbable. I hold it to be a perfectly natural arrangement--the +practical outgrowth of the practical needs of primitive peoples. The +strongest and the one certain claim for a belief in mother-right and +mother-power must rest on this foundation. It is left for the second +part of my book to prove how far I am right in what I claim. + + + + +PART II + +THE MOTHER-AGE CIVILISATION + + + + + "It's not too late to seek a newer world: + + * * * * * + + Tho' much is taken, much abides: and tho' + We are not now the strength which in old days + Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; + One equal temper of heroic hearts; + Made weak by time and rule, but strong in will + To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." + + TENNYSON. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE MATRIARCHAL FAMILY AMONG THE AMERICAN INDIANS + + +It is time now to turn to the actual subject of this investigation, in +order to see how far the theory of mother-right has been helped by the +lengthy examination of the patriarchal group. + +Since the publication of _Das Mutterrecht_ much has been written that +has tended to raise doubts as to the soundness of the matriarchal +theory, at least in the form held by its early supporters. A reaction +in the opposite direction has set in, before which the former belief +in mother-power has been transformed, and now seems likely to +disappear altogether. In recent years, Westermarck, Starcke, Andrew +Lang, N. W. Thomas, and Crawley among others have given utterance to +this view. The prevalence of a system tracing descent through the +mother is accepted by the majority of learned opinion, though it would +seem somewhat grudgingly. Mr. Crawley is the only writer, as far as I +know, who denies that such a practice was ever common; the cases in +which it still exists, as these cannot be denied, he regards as +exceptions. He affirms: "There is no evidence that the maternal system +was ever general or always preceded the paternal system." And again: +"Though frequent, maternal descent cannot have been either universally +or generally a stage through which man has passed."[40] + + [40] _The Mystic Rose_, pp. 460-461. + +Mr. Crawley considers this assumption may be taken for granted; so +that he does not trouble himself about proofs. The subject of +mother-right is dismissed as unworthy of serious attention. Such an +attitude is surely instructive, and illustrates the failure, to which +I have already pointed, in considering the woman's side in these +questions. There would seem to be a tendency to doubt as being +possible any family arrangement favourable to the authority of women. +Even when descent through the mother is accepted as a phase in social +development, it is denied that such descent confers any special rights +to women. + +One reason of this prejudice must be sought in the persistence of the +puritan spirit: the objection to mother-kin rests mainly on the +objection to loose sexual relationships. Thus it became necessary to +attempt a new explanation of the origin of the custom, and hence my +examination of the primordial patriarchal group. It may be thought +that I should have done better to confine my inquiry to existing +primitive peoples. But, if I am right, mother-power is rooted much +further back than history, and arose first in the dawn of the human +family. This had to be established. + +It is clearly of vital importance to an inquiry that claims to set up +a new belief in a discredited theory to protect it from those +objections which hitherto have prevented its acceptance. This I have +attempted to do. I have shown that the customs connected with +mother-right had no connection at all with a state of promiscuity; +that they were the result of order in the sexual relationships, and +not of disorder. I have traced the causes which appear to have given +rise to such a system, showing that the maternal order was not the +first phase of the family, but was a natural forward movement--one +which developed slowly and quite simply from the conditions of the +patriarchal group. Moreover, I have maintained, and tried to prove, +that the initiative in progress was taken by the women, they being +inspired by their collective interest to overcome the individual +interests of the male members of the group. If this is not assented +to, then indeed, my view of mother-power can find no acceptance. + +It is necessary, however, once more to guard against any mistake. I do +not wish to prove a theory of gynaecocracy, or rule of woman. The title +chosen for this chapter at once opens the way to misinterpretation. It +might appear as if I supported Bachofen's supposition that, under a +system of maternal descent women possessed supreme rule in the family +and in the clan: this is a dream only of visionaries. I declare here +that I consider the theory of the so-called matriarchate at once false +and injurious: false, because it can lead to nothing; and injurious, +because, while it cannot be supported by facts, it overthrows what can +be proved by the evidence that is open to all investigators. Nothing +will be gained by exaggeration and by claiming over much for women. +The term "matriarchal" takes too much for granted that women at one +period ruled. Such a view is far from the truth. All I claim, then, is +this: the system by which the descent of the name and the inheritance +of property passes through the female side of the family placed women +in a favourable position, with definite rights in the family and clan, +rights which, in some cases, resulted in their having great and even +extraordinary power. This, I think, may be granted. _If descent +through the father stands, as it is held to do, for the predominance +of man over woman--the husband over the wife, then it is at least +surely possible that descent through the mother may in some cases have +stood for the predominance of the wife over the husband._ The reader +will judge how far the examples of the maternal family I am able to +bring forward support this claim. + +The evidence for mother-right has never yet been fully brought into +notice; but much of the evidence is now available. Our knowledge of +the customs of primitive peoples has increased greatly of late years, +and these afford a wide field for inquiry. And although the examples +of the complete maternal family existing to-day are few in +number--probably not more than twenty tribes,[41] yet the important +fact is that they occur among widely separated peoples in all the +great regions of the uncivilised world. Moreover, side by side with +these, are found a much larger number of imperfect systems, which give +unmistakable evidence of an earlier maternal stage. Such examples are +specially instructive; they belong to a transitional period, and show +the maternal family in its decline as it passes into a new patriarchal +stage; often, indeed, we see the one system competing in conflict with +the other. + + [41] This is the number given by Prof. Tylor. "The + Matriarchal Family System," _Nineteenth Century_, July 1896. + +In this connection I may note that Westermarck does not accept an +early period when descent was traced exclusively through the mother; +he gives a long list of peoples among whom the system is not +practised. These passages occur in his well-known _Criticism of the +Hypothesis of Promiscuity_,[42] and his whole argument is based on the +assumption that mother-right arose through the tie between the father +and the child being unrecognised. But mother-descent has no connection +at all with uncertainty of paternity. I venture to think Dr. +Westermarck has not sufficiently considered this aspect of the +question, and, if I mistake not, it is this confusion of +mother-descent with promiscuity which explains his attitude towards +the maternal system, and his failure to recognise its favourable +influence on the status of women. In his opinion this system of +tracing descent does not materially affect the relative power of the +two sexes.[43] In such a view I cannot help thinking he is mistaken; +and I am supported in this by the fact that he makes the important +qualification that the husband's power is impaired when he lives among +his wife's kinsfolk. Now, it is this form of marriage, or the more +primitive custom when the husband only visits his wife, that is +practised among the peoples who have preserved the complete maternal +family. Under such a domestic arrangement, which really reverses the +position of the wife and the husband, mother-right is found; this +maternal marriage is, indeed, the true foundation of the woman's +power. Where the marriage system has been changed from the maternal to +the paternal form, and the wife is taken from the protection of her +own kindred to live in the home of her husband, even when descent is +still traced through the mother, the chief authority is almost always +in the hands of the father. Thus it need not cause surprise to find +mother-descent combined with a fully established patriarchal rule. But +among such peoples practices may often be met with that can be +explained only as survivals from an earlier maternal system. Moreover, +in other cases, we meet with tribes that have not yet advanced to the +maternal stage. A study of existing tribes, and of the records of +ancient civilisations, will yield any number of examples. + + [42] _History of Human Marriage_, pp. 97-104. + + [43] "The Position of Woman in Early Civilisations," + _Sociological Papers_, 1904. + +Unmistakable traces of mother-right may, indeed, be found by those, +whose eyes are opened to see, in all races. In peasant festivals and +dances, and in many religious beliefs and ceremonies, we may meet +with such survivals. They may be traced in our common language, +especially in the words used for sex and for kin relationships. We can +also find them shadowed in certain of our marriage rites, and sex +habits to-day. Another source of evidence is furnished by the +widespread early occurrence of mother-goddesses, who must be connected +with a system which places the mother in the forefront of religious +thought. Further proof may be gathered from folk stories and heroic +legends, whose interest offers rich rewards in suggestions of a time +when honour rested with the sex to whom the inheritance belonged. +Thus, the difficulty of establishing a claim for mother-right and +mother-power does not rest in any paucity of proof--but rather in its +superabundance. + +It would be superfluous for me to dwell on the difficulties of such an +inquiry. The subject is immensely complicated and wide-reaching, so +that I must keep strictly to the path set before me. It is my purpose +to outline the domestic relations in the maternal family clan, and to +examine the sex-customs and forms of marriage. I shall limit myself to +those matters which throw some light on the position of women, and +shall touch on the features of social life only in so far as they +illustrate this. These questions will be discussed in the three +succeeding chapters. Some portion of the matter given has appeared +already in the section on the "Mother-Age Civilisation" in _The Truth +about Woman_, which gives examples of the maternal family in America, +Australia, India and other countries. Such examples formed a necessary +part of the historical section of that work; they are even more +necessary to this inquiry. Many new examples will be given, and the +examination of the whole subject will be more exhaustive. These +chapters will be followed by a discussion of certain difficulties, and +an examination of the transition period in which the maternal family +gave way to the second patriarchal stage with the family founded on +the authority of the father. A short chapter will be devoted to the +work done by women in primitive tribes and its importance in relation +to their position. Then will come as full an account as is possible of +the traces of the mother-age to be found in the records of ancient and +existing civilised races; while a brief chapter will be added on +certain myths and legends which help to elucidate the theory of +women's early power. The final chapter will treat of general +conclusions, with an attempt to suggest certain facts which seem to +bear on present-day problems. Throughout I shall support my +investigation (as far as can be done in a work primarily designed for +a text-book) by examples, which, in each case, have been carefully +chosen from trustworthy evidence of those who are personally +acquainted with the habits of the peoples of whom they write. I shall +try to avoid falling into the error of a one-sided view. Facts will be +more important than reflections, and as far as possible, I shall let +these speak for themselves. + +Let us now concentrate our attention on the complete maternal family, +where the clan is grouped around the mothers. + +The examples in this chapter will be taken from the aboriginal tribes +of North and South America among whom traces of the maternal system +are common, while in some cases mother-right is still in force. At the +period of European discovery the American Indians were already well +advanced in the primitive arts, and were very far removed from +savagery. Their domestic and social habits showed an organisation of a +very remarkable character; among certain tribes there was a communal +maternal family, interesting and complicated in its arrangements. Such +customs had prevailed from an antiquity so remote that their origin +seems to have been lost in the obscurity of the ages. It is possible, +however, to see how this communism in living may have arisen and +developed out of the conditions we have studied in the far distant +patriarchal groups. For this reason they afford a very special +interest to our inquiry. + +Morgan, who was commissioned by the American Government to report on +the customs of the aboriginal inhabitants, gives a description of the +system as it existed among the Iroquois-- + + "Each household was made up on the principle of kin. The + married women, usually sisters, own or collateral, were of + the same _gens_ or clan, the symbol or _totem_ of which was + often painted upon the house, while their husbands and the + wives of their sons belonged to several other _gentes_. The + children were of the _gens_ of their mother. As a rule the + sons brought home their wives, and in some cases the + husbands of the daughters were admitted to the maternal + household. Thus each household was composed of persons of + different _gentes_, but the predominating number in each + household would be of the same _gens_, namely, that of the + mother."[44] + + [44] Morgan, _Houses and House-Life of the American + Aborigines_, p. 64. + +We see here, at once, the persistence and development of the +conditions and later customs of the patriarchal family-group, now +evolved into the clan. In the far-distant days the jealous spirit was +still strong; now it has been curbed and regulated, and the female +yoke binds the clan together. We have the mothers as the centre of the +communal home; the sons bringing their wives to live in the circle, +while the daughters' husbands are received as permanent guests. Under +such a system the mothers are related to each other, and belong to the +same clan, and their children after them; the fathers are not bound +together by the same ties and are of different clans. The limits +within which marriage can take place are fixed, and we can trace the +action of the ancient primal law in the bar that prohibits the husband +from being of the same clan as his wife. Though the husband takes up +his abode in the wife's family, dwelling there _during her life and +his good behaviour_,[45] he still belongs to his own family. The +children of the marriage are of the kindred of the mother, and never +of his kindred: they are lost to his family. Thus there can be no +extension of the clan through the males, it is the wife's clan that is +extended by marriage.[46] + + [45] Tylor, "The Matriarchal Family System," _Nineteenth + Century_, July 1896. + + [46] McLennan, _The Patriarchal Theory_, p. 208. Heriot, + _Travels through the Canadas_, p. 323. + +The important point to note is that the conditions of the clan are +still favourable to the social conduct of the women, who are attached +much more closely to the home and to each other than can be the case +with the men. The wife never leaves the home, because she is +considered the mistress, or, at least, the heiress. In the house all +the duties and the honour as the head of the household fall upon her. +This position may be illustrated by the wife's obligation to her +husband and his family, which are curiously in contrast with what is +usually expected from a woman. Thus a wife is not only bound to give +food to her husband, to cook his provisions when he sets out on +expeditions, but she has likewise to assist members of his family when +they cultivate their fields, and to provide wood for an allotted +period for the use of his family. In this work she is assisted by +women of her clan. The women are also required in case of need to look +after their parents. + +There are many interesting customs in the domestic life of the +Iroquois. I can notice a few only. The system of living, at the time +Morgan visited the tribes, consisted of a plan at once novel and +distinctive. Each _gens_ or clan lived in a long tenement house, large +enough to accommodate the separate families. These houses were +erected on frames of poles, covered with bark, and were from fifty to +a hundred feet in length. A passage way led down the centre, and rooms +were portioned off on either side: the doors were at each end of the +passage. An apartment was allotted to each family. There were several +fireplaces, usually one for every four families, which were placed in +the central passage: there were no chimneys. The Iroquois lived in +these long houses, _Ho-de-no-sau-nee_, up to A.D. 1700, and in +occasional instances for a hundred years later. They were not peculiar +to the Iroquois, but were used by many tribes. Unfortunately this wise +plan of living has now almost entirely passed away. + +I wish that I had space to give a fuller account of these +families.[47] Each household practised communism in living, and made a +common stock of the provisions acquired by fishing and hunting, and by +the cultivation of maize and plants. The curse of individual +accumulation would seem not to have existed. Ownership of land and all +property was held in common. Each household was directed by the matron +who supervised its domestic economy. After the daily meal was cooked +at the several fires, the matron was summoned, and it was her duty to +apportion the food from the kettle to the different families according +to their respective needs. What food remained was placed in the +charge of another woman until it was required by the matron. In this +connection Mr. Morgan says: "This plan of life shows that their +domestic economy was not without method, and it displays the care and +management of women, low down in barbarism, for husbanding their +resources and for improving their conditions." + + [47] The reader is referred to Morgan's interesting _Houses + and House-Life of the Aborigines_. It is from this work that + many of the facts I give have been taken. + +In this statement, made by one who was intimately acquainted with the +customs of this people there is surely confirmation of what I have +claimed for women? The further we go in our inquiry the more we are +driven to the conclusion that the favourable conditions uniting the +women with one another exerted a powerful influence on their +character. I think this is a view of the maternal family system that +has never received its proper meed of attention. + +It must be noted that the women did not eat with the men; but the fact +that the apportioning of the food was in the women's hands is +sufficient proof that this separation of women and men, common among +most primitive peoples, has no connection with the superiority of one +sex over the other. It is interesting to find that only one prepared +meal was served in each day. But the pots were always kept boiling +over the fires, and any one who was hungry, either from the household +or from any other part of the village, had a right to order it to be +taken off and to eat as he or she pleased. + +We may notice the influence of their communistic living in all the +Indian customs. At all times the law of hospitality was strictly +observed. Food was dispensed in every case to those who needed it; no +excuse was ever made to avoid giving. If through misfortune one +household fell into want, the needs were freely supplied from the +stock laid by for future use in another household. Hunger and +destitution could not exist in any part of an Indian village or +encampment while plenty prevailed elsewhere. Such generosity at a time +when food was often difficult to obtain, and its supply was the first +concern of life, is a remarkable fact. Nor does this generosity seem, +as might be thought, to have led to idleness and improvidence. He who +begged, when he could work, was stigmatised with the disgraceful name +of "poltroon" or "beggar"; but the miser who refused to assist his +neighbour was branded as "a bad character." Mr. Morgan, commenting on +this phase of the Indian life says: "I much doubt if the civilised +world would have in their institutions any system which can properly +be called more humane and charitable." + +These reflections induce one to ask: What were the causes of this +humane system of living among a people considered as uncivilised? Now, +I do not wish to claim overmuch for women. We have seen, however, that +the control and distribution of the supply of food was placed in the +hands of the matrons, thus their association with the giving of food +must be accepted. Is not this fact sufficient to indicate the reason +that made possible this communism? To me it is plain that these +remarkable institutions were connected with the maternal family, in +which the collective interests were more considered than is possible +in a patriarchal society, based upon individual inclination and +proprietary interests. + +A brief notice must now be given to the system of government. An +Indian tribe was composed of several _gentes_ or clans, united in what +is known as a _phratry_ or brotherhood. The tribe was an assemblage of +the _gentes_. The _phratry_ among the Iroquois was organised partly +for social and partly for religious objects. Each _gens_ was ruled by +chiefs of two grades, distinguished by Morgan as the _sachem_ and +common chiefs. The _sachem_ was the official head of the _gens_, and +was elected by its adult members, male and female. The _sachems_ and +chiefs claimed no superiority and were never more than the exponents +of the popular will of the people. Unanimity among the _sachems_ was +required on all public questions. This was the fundamental law of the +brotherhood; if all efforts failed to gain agreement the matter in +question was dropped. Under such a system individual rule or the power +of one _gens_ over the other became impossible. All the members of the +different _gentes_ were personally free; equal in privileges, and in +position, and in rights. "Liberty, equality, and fraternity," though +never formulated, were the cardinal principles of the _gens_.[48] Mr. +Morgan holds the opinion that "this serves to explain that sense of +independence and personal dignity universally attributed to the Indian +character." + + [48] Morgan, _Ancient Society_, p. 62. Also _Houses and + House-Life of the American Aborigines_. + +Regarding the part taken by the women in the government, we have very +remarkable testimony. Schoolcraft,[49] in his elaborate study of the +customs of the Indian tribes, states that the women had "a +conservative power in the political deliberations. The matrons had +their representatives in the public councils, and they exercised a +negative, or what we call a veto, power, in the important question of +the declaration of war." They had also the right to interpose in +bringing about a peace. Heriot also affirms: "In the women is vested +the foundation of all real authority. They give efficiency to the +councils and are the arbiters of war and peace.... It is also to their +disposal that the captured slaves are committed." And again: "Although +by custom the leaders are chosen from among the men, and the affairs +which concern the tribe are settled by a council of ancients, it would +yet seem that they only represented the women, and assisted in the +discussion of subjects which principally related to that sex."[50] + + [49] _Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the + History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the + United States_, 6 vols., Vol. III, p. 195. See also _Notes on + the Iroquois_ and _The Indian in his Wigwam_. + + [50] Heriot, _op. cit._, pp. 321-322. + +These remarkable social and domestic conditions were common to the +American Indians under the maternal system. The direct influence of +women, as directors through the men, is a circumstance of much +interest. Among the Senecas, an Iroquoian tribe with the complete +maternal family, the authority was very certainly in the hands of the +women. Morgan quotes an account of their family system, given by the +Rev. Ashur Wright for many years a resident among the Senecas, and +familiar with their language and customs. + + "As to their family system, it is probable that one clan + predominated (in the houses), the women taking in husbands, + however, from other clans, and sometimes for novelty, some + of their sons bringing in their young wives, until they felt + brave enough to leave their mothers. Usually the female + portion ruled the house, and were doubtless clannish enough + about it. The stores were in common, but woe to the luckless + husband or lover who was too shiftless to do his share of + the providing. No matter how many children or whatever goods + he might have in the house, he might at any time be ordered + to pack up his blanket and budge, and after such orders it + would not be healthful for him to attempt to disobey; the + house would be too hot for him, and unless saved by the + intercession of some aunt or grandmother, he must retreat to + his own clan, or, as was often done, go and start a new + matrimonial alliance in some other. The women were the great + power among the clans as everywhere else. They did not + hesitate, when occasion required, to 'knock off the horns,' + as it was technically called, from the head of a chief and + send him back to the ranks of the warrior. The original + nomination of the chief also always rested with them." + +Mr. Morgan affirms his acceptance of the Indian women's authority, and +says, after quoting this passage: "The mother-right and gynaecocracy +among the Iroquois here plainly indicated is not over-drawn. The +mothers and their children, as we have seen, were of the same _gens_, +and to them the household belonged. The position of the mother was +eminently favourable to her influence in the household, and tended to +strengthen the maternal bond."[51] + + [51] _Houses and House-Life of American Aborigines_, pp. + 65-66. + +It is important to note that among the Iroquois polygamy is not +permitted, nor does it appear ever to be practised. Many instances are +reported in the Seneca tribe of a woman having more than one husband, +but an Iroquoian man is never allowed more than one wife.[52] This is +the more remarkable when we consider the fact that the mothers nurse +their children for a very long period, during which time they do not +cohabit with their husbands. Such entire absence of polygamy is to be +explained, in part, by the maternal marriage, a system which in its +origin was closely connected with sexual regulation; nor would +plurality of wives be possible in a society in which all the members +of both sexes enjoyed equal privileges, and were in a position of +absolute equality. Marriages usually take place at an early age. Under +the maternal form, the husband living with the wife worked for her +family, and commonly gained his footing only through his service. As +suitor he was required to make presents to the bride's family. During +the first year of marriage all the produce of his hunting expeditions +belonged to the wife, and afterwards he shared his goods equally with +her. The marriages were negotiated by the mothers: sometimes the +father was consulted, but this was little more than a compliment, as +his approbation or opposition was usually disregarded. Often it was +customary for the bridegroom to seek private interviews at night with +his betrothed; clearly a survival from a time when such secrecy in +love was necessary. In some instances it was enough if the suitor went +and sat by the girl's side in her apartment; if she permitted this, +and remained where she was, it was taken for consent, and the act +would suffice for marriage. Girls were allowed the right of choice in +the selection of their partners. There is abundant testimony as to the +happiness of the marriage state. Divorce was, however, allowed by +mutual consent, and was carried out without dispute, quarrel or +contradiction.[53] If a husband and a wife could not agree, they +parted amicably, or two unhappy pairs would exchange husbands and +wives. An early French missionary remonstrated with a couple on such a +transaction, and was told: "My wife and I could not agree; my +neighbour was in the same case, so we exchanged wives and all four +were content. What can be more reasonable than to render one another +mutually happy, when it costs so little, and does nobody any +harm."[54] It would seem that these maternal peoples have solved many +difficulties of domestic and social life better than we ourselves have +done. + + [52] Morgan, _League of the Iroquois_, p. 324. Heriot, _op. + cit._, pp. 323, 329. Schoolcraft, _op. cit._, Vol. III, p. + 191. + + [53] Heriot, pp. 231-237. See also Report of an Official of + Indian Affairs on two of the Iroquoian tribes, cited by + Hartland. _Primitive Paternity_, Vol. I, p. 298. + + [54] _Charleroix_, Vol. V, p. 48, quoted by Hartland, _op. + cit._, Vol. II, p. 66. + +The Wyandots, another Iroquoian tribe, maintained the maternal +household, though they seem to have reached a later stage of +development than the Senecas. They camped in the form of a horse-shoe, +every clan together in regular order. Marriage between members of the +same clan was forbidden; the children belonged to the clan of the +mother. The husbands retained all their rights and privileges in their +own _gentes_, though they lived in the _gentes_ of their wives. After +marriage the pair resided, for a time, at least, with the wife's +mother, but afterwards they set up housekeeping for themselves.[55] + + [55] Powell, _Rep. Bur. Ethn._, I, 63. + +We may note in this change of residence the creeping in of changes +which inevitably led in time to the decay of the maternal family and +the reassertion of the patriarchal authority of the father. This is +illustrated further by the Musquakies, also belonging to the +Algonquian stock. Though still organised in clans, descent is no +longer reckoned through the mother; the bridegroom, however, serves +his wife's family, and he lives in her home. This does not make him +of her clan, but she belongs to his, till his death or divorce +separates her from him. As for the children, the minors at the +termination of the marriage belong to the mother's clan, but those who +had had the puberty feast are counted to the father's clan.[56] + + [56] Owen: _Musquakie Indians_, p. 72. + +The male authority was felt chiefly in periods of war. This may be +illustrated by the Wyandots, who have an elaborate system of +government. In each _gens_ there is a small council composed of four +women, called _yu-wai-yu-wa-na_; chosen by the heads of the household. +These women select a chief of the _gens_ from its male members, that +is, from their brothers and sons. He is the head of the _gentile_ +council. The council of the tribe is composed of the aggregated +_gentile_ councils; and is thus made up of four-fifths of women and +one-fifth of men. The _sachem_ of the tribes, or tribal-chief, is +chosen by the chiefs of the _gentes_. All the civil government of the +_gens_ and of the tribe is carried on by these councils; and as the +women so largely outnumbered the men, who are also--with the one +exception of the tribal-chief--chosen by them, it is evident that the +social government of the _gens_ and tribe is largely controlled by +them. On military affairs, however, the men have the direct authority, +though, as has been stated, the women have a veto power and are +"allowed to exercise a decision in favour of peace." There is a +military council of all the able-bodied men of the tribe, with a +military chief chosen by the council.[57] This seems a very wise +adjustment of civic duties; the constructive social work and the +maintaining of peace directed by the women; the destructive work of +war in the hands of men. + + [57] I have summarised the account of the Wyandot government + as given by Hartland, who quotes from Powell's "Wyandot + Government," _First Annual Report of the Bureau of American + Ethnology_, 1879-1880, pp. 61 ff. + +Powell gives an interesting account of their communal life. Each clan +owns its own lands which it cultivates; but within these lands each +household has its own patch. It is the women councillors who partition +the clan lands among the households. The partition takes place every +two years. But while each household has its own patch of ground, the +cultivation is communal; that is, all the able-bodied women of the +clan take a share in cultivating every patch. Each clan has a right to +the service of all its women in the cultivation of the soil. It would +be difficult to find a more striking example than this of communism in +labour. I claim it as proof of what I have stated in an earlier +chapter of the conditions driving women into combination and social +conduct. + +If we turn now to the South American continent we shall find many +interesting survivals of the complete maternal family, in particular +among the Pueblo peoples of New Mexico and Arizona, so called from the +Spanish word _pueblo_, a town. The customs of the people have been +carefully studied and recorded by Bancroft, Schoolcraft, Morgan, +Tylor, McGee, the Spanish historian, Herrera, and other travellers. +When first visited by European anthropologists the country was divided +into provinces, and in many provinces the people lived in communities +or little republics. The communal life was here more developed even +than among the Northern Indians. The people lived together in joint +tenement houses, much larger, and of more advanced architecture, than +the long houses of the Iroquois. These houses are constructed of +adobe, brick and stone, imbedded in mortar; one house will contain as +many as 50, 100, 200, and in some cases, 500 apartments. Speaking of +these houses, Bancroft states: "The houses are common property, and +both women and men assist in building them; the men erect the wooden +frames, and the women make the mortar and build the walls. In place of +lime for mortar they mix ashes with earth and charcoal. They make +_adobes_, or sun-dried bricks, by mixing ashes and earth with +water."[58] Cushing, who visited and lived with the Zuni Indians, +records that among them the houses are entirely built by the women, +the men supplying the material. These houses are erected in terrace +form; within they are provided with windows, fireplaces and chimneys, +and the entrance to the different apartments is gained by rude pole +ladders. The pueblo, or village, consists of one or two, or sometimes +a greater number of these houses, each containing a hundred or more +families, according to the number of apartments. + + [58] _The Native Races of the Pacific States of South + America_, 5 vols., Vol. I, p. 555. See also Morgan. + +Among the Creek Indians of Georgia, Morgan recounts a somewhat +different mode of communal dwelling as formerly being practised. In +1790 they were living in small houses, placed in clusters of from four +to eight together; and each cluster forming a _gens_ or clan, who ate +and lived in common. The food was prepared in one hut, and each family +sent for its portion. The smallest of these "garden cities" contained +10 to 40 groups of houses, the largest from 50 to 200.[59] These +communistic dwelling-houses are so interesting and so important that I +would add a few words. Here, we have among these maternal peoples a +system of living which appears to be identical with the improved +conditions of associated dwelling now beginning to be tried. How often +we consider new things that really are very old! In the light of these +examples, our co-operative dwelling-houses and garden cities can no +longer be regarded as experiments. They were in use in the mother-age, +when many of our new (!) ideas seem to have been common. Can this be +because of the extended power held by women, who are more practical +and careful of detail than men are? I believe that it is possible. +This would explain, too, the revival of the same ideas to-day, when +women are taking up their part again in social life. To those who are +questioning the waste and discomfort of our solitary homes I would +recommend a careful study of this primitive communism. I would point +out the connection of the social ideal with the maternal family, while +the home that is solitary and unsocial must be regarded as having +arisen from the patriarchal customs. I have had occasion again and +again to note that collective interests are more considered by women; +and individual interests by men. This, at least, is how I see it; and +a study of the Indian maternal families seems to give confirmation to +such a conclusion. + + [59] Schoolcraft, _Indian Tribes_, p. 262, gives an account + of these houses. A similar plan of living is reported of the + Maya Indians. + +But to return to the Pueblo peoples. The tribes are divided into +exogamous totem clans. Kinship is reckoned through the women, and in +several tribes we find the complete maternal family. Among such +peoples the husband goes to live with the wife and becomes an inmate +of her family. If the house is not large enough, additional rooms are +built on to the communal home and connected with those already +occupied. Hence a family with many daughters increases, while one +consisting of sons dies out. + +The marriage customs and relationships between the young men and the +girls are instructive; they vary in the different tribes, but have +some points in common. The Pueblos are monogamists, and polygamy is +not allowed amongst them. Bancroft records a very curious custom. The +morals of the young people are carefully guarded by a kind of secret +police, whose duty it is to report all irregularities; and in the +event of such taking place the young man and the girl are compelled to +marry.[60] Now, whatever opinion may be held of such interference with +the love-making of the young people, it affords strong proof of the +error which has hitherto connected the maternal system with +unregulated sexual relationships. This is a fact I am again and again +compelled to point out, risking the fear of wearying the reader. + + [60] Bancroft, _op. cit._, pp. 546, 547. + +Among some tribes freedom is permitted to the women before marriage. +Heriot states that the natives who allow this justify the custom, and +say "that a young woman is mistress of her own person, and a free +agent."[61] The tie of marriage is, however, observed more strictly +than among many civilised monogamous races. And this is so, although +divorce is always easy and by mutual consent; a couple being able to +separate at once if they are dissatisfied with each other. Here are +facts that may well cause us to think. As for the courtship, the usual +custom is reversed; when a girl is disposed to marry she does not wait +for a young man to propose to her, but selects one to her liking, and +then consults her family as to his suitability as a husband. The +suitor has to serve the bride's family before he can be accepted, and +in some cases the conditions are binding and exceedingly curious. + + [61] Heriot, _op. cit._, p. 340. + +How simple and really beautiful are the conditions of life among these +people may be seen from the idyllic record of the Zuni Indians given +by Mr. Cushing.[62] He describes how the Zuni girl, when taking a +fancy to a young man, conveys a present of thin _hewe_-bread to him as +a token, and becomes his affianced, or as they say "his-to-be." He +then sews clothes and moccasins for her, makes her a necklace of gay +beads, and combs her hair out on the terrace in the sun. After his +term of service is over, and all is settled, he takes up his residence +with her; then the married life begins. "With the woman rests the +security of the marriage tie, and, it must be said, in her high +honour, that she rarely abuses the privilege; that is, never sends her +husband 'to the home of his fathers' unless he richly deserves it." +Divorce is by mutual consent, and a husband and wife would "rather +separate than live together unharmoniously." This testimony is +confirmed by Mrs. Stevenson, who visited the Zunis, and writes with +enthusiasm of the people. "Their domestic life might well serve as an +example for the civilised world. They do not have large families. The +husband and wife are deeply attached to one another and to their +children." "The keynote of this harmony is the supremacy of the wife +in the home. The house with all that is in it is hers, descending to +her through her mother from a long line of ancestresses; and the +husband is merely her permanent guest. The children--at least the +female children--have their share in the common home; the father has +none." "Outside the house the husband has some property in the fields, +although in earlier times he had no possessory rights and the land was +held in common. Modern influences have reached the Zuni, and +mother-right seems to have begun its inevitable decay."[63] + + [62] Cushing, "My Visit to the Zuni Indians," _Century + Magazine_, 1883. Prof. Tylor gives these passages in his + account of the Zuni Indians, "The Patriarchal Family System," + _Nineteenth Century_, 1896. I have quoted from him. + + [63] Mrs. Stevenson, in the _Report Bureau Ethnological_, + XXIII, pp. 290-293. + +The Hopis, another Pueblo tribe, are more conservative, and with them +the women own all the property except the horses and donkeys, which +belong to the men. Among the Pueblos the women commonly have control +over the granary, and they are very provident about the future. +Ordinarily they try to have one year's provisions on hand. It is only +when two years of scarcity succeed each other that the community +suffers hunger. Like the Zunis, the Hopis are monogamists. Sexual +freedom is, however, permitted to a girl before marriage. This in no +way detracts from her good repute; even if she has given birth to a +child "she will be sure to marry later on, unless she happens to be +shockingly ugly." Nor does the child suffer, for among these maternal +peoples, the bastard takes an equal place with the child born in +wedlock. The bride lives for the first few weeks with her husband's +family, during which time the marriage takes place, the ceremony being +performed by the bridegroom's mother, whose family also provides the +bride with her wedding outfit. The couple then return to the home of +the wife's parents, where they remain, either permanently, or for some +years, until they can obtain a separate dwelling. The husband is +always a stranger, and is so treated by his wife's kin. The dwelling +of his mother remains his true home, in sickness he returns to her to +be nursed, and stays with her until he is well again. Often his +position in his wife's home is so irksome that he severs his +connection with her and her family, and returns to his old home. On +the other hand, it is not uncommon for the wife, should her husband be +absent, to place his goods outside the door: an intimation which he +well understands, and does not intrude upon her again.[64] + + [64] Voth, _Traditions of the Hopi_, pp. 67, 96, 133. _Rep. + Bur. Ethn._, XIII, 340. Hartland, _Primitive Paternity_, Vol. + II, pp. 74-76. + +Again, among the Pueblo peoples, we may consider the Sai. Like the +other tribes they are divided into exogamous totem clans; descent is +traced only through the mother. The tribe through various reasons has +been greatly reduced in numbers, and whole clans have died out, and +under these circumstances exogamy has ceased to be strictly enforced. +This has led to other changes. The Sai are still normally monogamous. +When a young man wishes to marry a girl he speaks first to her +parents; if they are willing he addresses himself to her. On the day +of the marriage he goes alone to her home, carrying his presents +wrapped in a blanket, his mother and father having preceded him +thither. When the young people are seated together the parents address +them in turn, enjoining unity and forbearance. This constitutes the +ceremony. Tribal custom requires the bridegroom to reside with the +wife's family.[65] + + [65] _Rep. Bur. Ethn._ IX, p. 19. Hartland, _Ibid._, pp. + 76-77. + +All the Pueblo peoples are more advanced than the greater number of +the neighbouring tribes; their matrimonial customs are more refined, +their domestic life much happier, and they have an appreciation of +love, a rare thing in primitive peoples.[66] Among other tribes +purchase of a wife is common, always a sure sign of the enslavement of +women. Thus in Columbia what is most prized in a woman is her aptitude +for labour, and the price paid for her (usually in horses) depends on +her capacity as a beast of burden. Sometimes, as in California, a +suitor obtains a wife on credit, but then the man is called "half +married;" and until her price is paid he has to labour as a slave for +her parents. Here, as elsewhere, morality is simply a custom of habit; +Bancroft says that purchase of a wife has become accepted as +honourable, so that among the Californian Redskins "the children of a +wife who has cost nothing to her husband are looked down upon."[67] +Such customs are in sharp contrast to the liberty granted to the woman +among the Pueblos. As an example of women's power carried to the +limit of tyranny, we may note the Nicaraguans, of whom Bancroft states +that "the husbands are said to have been so much under the control of +their wives that they were obliged to do the housework, while the +women attended to the trading." Under these circumstances it is +perhaps not surprising to find the women described as "great shrews, +who would on the slightest provocation drive their offending husbands +out of the house."[68] This is a curious case of the despotic rule of +women. Westermarck accounts for their position by the strict monogamy +that is enforced, but I do not think this can be the true +explanation.[69] + + [66] Bancroft, _op. cit._, Vol. I, p. 549. + + [67] Bancroft, _op. cit._, Vol. I, p. 277. Power's _Tribes of + California_, pp. 22, 56. + + [68] Bancroft, _op. cit._, Vol. II, p. 685. + + [69] _History of Human Marriage_, p. 500. + +Among the Guanas the women make their own stipulations with their +lovers before marriage, arranging what they are to do in the +household. They are also said to decide the conditions of the +marriage, whether it is to be monogamous, or if polygamy or polyandry +is to be allowed.[70] The Zapotecs and other tribes inhabiting the +Isthmus of Tehuantepec, are remarkable for "the gentleness, affection, +and frugality that characterises the marital relations. Polygamy is +not permitted, which is very remarkable as the women greatly outnumber +the men."[71] + + [70] Azara, _Voyages dans l'Amerique Meridionale_, Vol. II, + p. 93. + + [71] Bancroft, _op. cit._, Vol. I, pp. 661-662. + +Lastly, I wish to bring forward a very striking example of the +complete maternal family among the Seri Indians, on the south-west +coast of North America, now reduced to a single tribe. Their curious +and interesting marriage customs have been described by McGee, who +visited the people to report on their customs for the American +Government. The Seri are probably the most primitive tribe in the +American continent. At the time of Mr. McGee's visit they preserved +the maternal system in its early form, and are therefore an +instructive example by which to estimate the position of the +women.[72] + + [72] "The Beginning of Marriage," _American Anthropologist_, + Vol. IX, p. 376. Also _Rep. Bur. Ethn._, XVII, 275. + + "The tribe is divided into exogamous totem clans. Marriage + is arranged exclusively by the women. The elder woman of the + suitor's family carries the proposal to the girl's clan + mother. If this is entertained, the question of marriage is + discussed at length by the matrons of the two clans. The + girl herself is consulted; a _jacal_ is erected for her, and + after many deliberations, the bridegroom is provisionally + received into the wife's clan for a year under conditions of + the most exacting character. He is expected to prove his + worthiness of a permanent relationship by demonstrating his + ability as a provider, and by showing himself an implacable + foe to aliens. He is compelled to support all the female + relatives of his bride's family by the products of his skill + and industry in hunting and fishing for one year. There is + also another provision of a very curious nature. The lover + is permitted to share the _jacal_, or sleeping-robe, + provided for the prospective matron by her kinswomen, not + as a privileged spouse, but merely as a protective + companion; and throughout this probationary time he is + compelled to maintain continence--he must display the most + indubitable proof of his moral force." + +This test of the Seri lover must not mistakenly be thought to be +connected, as might appear, with the modern idea of continence. As is +pointed out by McGee, it arose out of the primitive sexual taboos, and +is imposed on the young man as a test of his strength to abstain from +any sexual relationships outside the proscribed limits. Such a moral +test may once have been common, but seems to have been lost except +among the Seri; though a curious vestige appears in the anti-nuptial +treatment of the bridegroom, in the Salish tribe. The material test is +common among many peoples, and must not be confused with the later +custom of payment for the wife by presents given to her family. Still +this Seri marriage is one of the most curious I know among any +primitive peoples. And the continence demanded from the bridegroom +appears more extraordinary if we compare it with the freedom granted +to the bride. "During this period the always dignified position +occupied by the daughters of the house culminates." Among other +privileges she is allowed to receive the "most intimate attentions +from the clan-fellows of the group." "She is the receiver of the +supplies furnished by her lover, measuring his competence as would-be +husband. Through his energy she is enabled to dispense largess with a +lavish hand, and thus to dignify her clan and honour her spouse in the +most effective way known to primitive life; and at the same time she +enjoys the immeasurable moral stimulus of realising she is the arbiter +of the fate of a man who becomes a warrior or an outcast at her +bidding, and through him of the future of two clans--she is raised to +a responsibility in both personal and tribal affairs which, albeit +temporary, is hardly lower than that of the warrior chief." At the +close of the year, if all goes well, the probation ends in a feast +provided by the lover, who now becomes the husband, and finally enters +his wife's _jacal_ as "consort-guest." His position is wholly +subordinate, and without any authority whatever, either over his +children or over the property. In his mother's hut he has rights, +which seem to continue after his marriage, but in his wife's hut he +has none. + +I have now collected together, with as much exactitude as I could, +what is known of the maternal family in the American continents. There +are many tribes in which descent is reckoned through the father, and +it would be bold to assert that these have all passed through the +maternal stage. An examination of their customs shows, in some cases, +survivals, which point to such conclusion; among other tribes it seems +probable that the maternal clan has not developed. As illustrations of +mother-power, I claim the examples given speak for themselves. It may, +of course, be urged that these complete maternal families are +exceptions, and thus to dismiss them as unimportant. But this is +surely an unscientific way of settling the question. One has to accept +these cases, or to prove that they are untrue. Moreover, I have by no +means exhausted the evidence; and to these complete maternal families +might be added examples from other tribes which would furnish similar +proofs, but there is such consistency of custom among them all that +further accounts may be dispensed with. + +There is one other matter for which I would claim attention before +closing this chapter on the American Indians, and that is the +remarkable similarity to be noticed in many tribes between the faces +of the men and the women. To me this is a point of deep interest, +though I do not claim to understand it. My attention was first drawn +to notice this likeness between the two sexes when I came to know some +Iroquois natives who live in England. I was at once struck with the +appearance of the men: though strong and powerfully built, they were +strikingly like women. Since then I have examined many portraits of +the North Indian tribes; I have found that the great majority of men +approach much more nearly to the feminine than the male type. I might, +however, hesitate to bring the matter forward, were it founded only on +my own observation. But in my reading I have found an important +reference to the question in a recent work, "The Indians of North +America in Recent Times," by Mr. Cyrus Thomas, Ph.D., Archaeologist, in +the _Bureau of American Ethnology_. He writes as follows (p. 41)-- + + "Another curious fact, which has not hitherto received + special notice, though apparently of considerable interest, + is the prevailing feminine physiognomy of the males, at + least of those of the northern section. If any one will take + the trouble to study carefully a hundred or more good + photographs of males of pure blood he will find that two + thirds, if not a greater proportion, show feminine faces. + The full significance of this fact is not apparent, but it + seems to bear to some extent upon the question of the + evolution of the race." + +What this fact suggests is a problem to which it is very difficult +even to guess at an answer. Does this lack of differentiation in the +physiognomy of the Indians point to something much deeper? Are the men +really like the women? Such a conception opens up considerations of +very great significance. So far as I understand the matter, it appears +that, as well as the deep inherent differences between the two sexes, +there are other differences due to divergence in function. It seems +probable that changes in environment or in function (as when one sex, +for some reason or other, performs the duties usually undertaken by +the other sex), may alter or modify the differences which tend to +thrust the sexes apart. I feel very sure that there can be changes in +the secondary sexual characters of the male and female. This is +sufficiently proved by many examples. Can we, then, accept the theory +that an environment, which favours women's forceful function, may +modify the infinitely complicated characters of sex, which, as yet, we +so imperfectly understand? I do not know with any certainty. Yet I can +see no other interpretation; and, if I mistake not, it may be possible +in this way to cast a light on one of the most difficult problems with +which we are faced to-day. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE MATERNAL FAMILY AMONG THE KHASIS + + +There are, perhaps, no people among whom the family in the full +maternal form can be studied with more advantage than the Khasi Hill +tribes, in the north-east of India. This race has a special interest +as a people who, in modern times, have preserved their independence +and their ancestral customs through many centuries. We find +mother-descent strictly practised, combined with great and even +extraordinary rights on the part of the women. The isolation of the +Khasis may account for this conservatism, but, as will appear later, +there are other causes to explain the freedom and power of the Khasi +women. We are fortunate in having a fuller knowledge of the Khasi +tribes, than is common of many primitive peoples. Their institutions +and interesting domestic customs have been carefully noted by +ethnologists and travellers, and in all accounts there is united +testimony to the high status of the women. I will quote a statement of +Sir Charles Lyell,[73] which affirms this fact very strongly-- + + [73] In an Introduction to _The Khasis_, by P. R. Gurdon. + This work, written by one who had a long and intimate + knowledge of the Khasi tribes, gives an admirable account of + the people, their institutions and domestic life. See also + Sir J. Hooker, _Himalayan Journal_, Vol. II, pp. 273 _et + seq._; Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal_; and a + series of papers by J. R. Logan, in the _Journal of the + Indian Archipelago_, 1850-1857. Mr. Frazer (_The Golden + Bough_, Part IV, _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, p. 387) gives a + short account of the Khasis; also McGee in the article _The + Beginning of Marriage_ already quoted. + + "Their social organisation presents one of the most perfect + examples still surviving of matriarchal institutions carried + out with a logic and a thoroughness which, to those + accustomed to regard the status and authority of the father + as the foundation of society, are exceedingly remarkable. + Not only is the mother the head and source and only bond of + union of the family, in the most primitive part of the + hills, the Synteng country, she is the only owner of real + property, and through her alone is inheritance transmitted. + The father has no kinship with his children, who belong to + their mother's clan; what he earns goes to his own + matriarchal stock, and at his death his bones are deposited + in the cromlech of his mother's kin." + +Such testimony cannot be put aside. I wish it were possible for me to +give a detailed account of this people, there is so much that is of +interest to us in their mother-right customs. All that I can do is to +note briefly a few of these, which to me seem specially important. + +And first, in order to understand better their customs, let us +consider a few facts of the people themselves. The Khasis are a +vigorous and sturdy race. The men are short, but exceedingly muscular; +the women are comely, especially when young; and the children are +remarkably pretty. In both the sexes strongly developed calves are +considered a mark of beauty. It is interesting to note that the men +usually wear their hair long, and when it is cut short, a single lock +is preserved at the back, which is called _u niuhtrong_, "the +grandmother's lock." In some districts the men pull out the hairs of +the moustaches, with the exception of a few hairs on either side of +the upper lip. In character these people are independent, simple, +truthful and straightforward; cheerful in disposition, and +light-hearted by nature. They thoroughly appreciate a joke, especially +the women. Among the men there is some drunkenness, but not among the +women, though they are the chief distillers of spirits. Men and women +work together, usually at the same occupations. We learn that the +Khasis have an unusual love of nature, and are fond of music; thus +they have names for birds and flowers, also for many butterflies and +moths. These are traits not usually found in the people of India. + +There is a point to note of special interest in their language. All +the nouns have a masculine and a feminine gender, and the feminine +nouns immensely predominate. The sun is feminine, the moon masculine. +In the pronouns there is one form only in the plural, and that is +feminine. It may seem that these matters--noted so briefly--are +unimportant; but it is such little things that deserve attentive +study. At least they serve to show that the Khasis have reached a high +level of primitive culture; and they indicate further the strong +importance of the feminine idea, which is the main interest in our +inquiry. + +A few words must be said about the organisation of the tribes. These +tribes are formed in sections--of which the chief are the Khasi, +Synteng, and War. Each section or tribe is divided into clans and +sub-clans; these are strictly exogamous. To marry within the clan is +the greatest sin a Khasi can commit. This would explain the strict +reckoning of descent through the mothers. + +The Khasi clan grew from the family. There is a saying common among +the people, _Long jaid ne ka kynthei_, "From the woman sprang the +tribe." All the clans trace their descent from ancestresses +(grandmothers) who are called _Ki Iwabei Tynrai_, literally, +_grandmothers of the root_, i. e. _the root of the tree of the clan_. +In some clans the name of the ancestress survives, as, for instance, +_Kyngas houning_, "the sweet one." _Ka Iaw shubde_ is the ancestress +of the Synteng tribe, and it is curious to note that she is credited +with having first introduced the art of smelting iron. She is also +said to have founded a market in which she successfully traded in +cattle.[74] + + [74] _The Khasis_, pp. 62, 64, 82. All the facts I have given + of the Khasis are taken from Mr. Gurdon's work, unless + otherwise stated. + +It is hardly possible to exaggerate the esteem in which the tribal +ancestress is held; she is so greatly reverenced that she may truly be +said to be deified. In such worship rests the foundation of the deep +tribal piety. _Ka Iawbei_, "the first mother," has the foremost place +of honour by her side, and acting as her agent is _U Suid Nia_, her +brother. There is another fact to show the honour in which the female +ideal is held. The flat memorial stones set up to perpetuate the +memory of the dead are called after the mothers of the clan, while the +standing stones ranged behind them are dedicated to the male kinsmen +on the female side. These table stones are exceedingly interesting. +They are exactly like the long stones and dolmens which are found in +Brittany, in Ireland, in Galicia in Spain, and other parts of Europe. +Is it possible that some of these memorials, whose history has been +lost, were also set up to commemorate the mothers of tribes? But be +this as it may, among the Khasis, where ancient custom and tradition +have been preserved, goddesses are more important than gods. Almost +all the other deities to whom propitiation is offered are female. Male +personages also figure, and among them _Thaulang_, the husband, is +revered.[75] Still the chief divinity rests in the goddesses; the gods +are represented only in their relation to them. The powers of sickness +and death are all female, and these are most frequently worshipped. +Again, the protectors of the household are goddesses. I wish that I +had space to write of their curious, yet beautiful, religious rites. +The sacrifices are communal in character; they are offered in times of +sickness and when dangers threaten the clan. Priestesses assist at all +sacrifices and the male officiants act only as their agents. The +household sacrifices are always performed by women. + + [75] An incantation used in addressing this god begins: "O + Father, _Thaulang_, who hast enabled me to be born, who hast + given me my stature and my life." This is very certain proof + that the maternal system among the Khasis has no connection + with uncertainty of paternity. + +Consider what this placing of their goddesses rather than their +gods--of the priestess rather than priest--in the forefront of their +worship signifies! Very plainly it reflects honour on the sex to which +the supreme deities belong. We need no clearer proof of the high +status of women among this people. Such customs are certainly +survivals[76] from the time of a more primitive matriarchate, when the +priestess was the agent for the performance of all religious +ceremonies. In one state a priestess still performs the sacrifices on +the appointment of a new Siem, or ruler. Another such survival is the +High Priestess of Nongkrem, in the Synteng district, who "combines in +her person sacerdotal and regal functions." In this state the +tradition runs that the first High Priestess was _Ka Pah Synten_, "the +flower-lured one." She was a beautiful maiden, who had her abode in a +cave at Marai, near Nongkrem whence she was enticed by means of a +flower. She was taken by her lover to be his bride, and she became not +only the first High Priestess of Nongkrem, but also the mother of the +Siems of Nongkrem. + + [76] This is the opinion of Sir Charles Lyell and Mr. Gurdon. + We may compare the remark of Prof. Karl Pearson: "According + to the evidence not only the seers but the sacrificers among + the early Teutons were women." + +It must be noted that the Siems or rulers of the states are always +men. They are chosen from the eldest sister's children. Possibly the +case of the High Priestess of Nongkrem, who is the nominal head of the +state, points to an earlier period of rule by women; but to-day the +temporal power is delegated to one of her sons or nephews, who becomes +the Siem. I need not labour this question overmuch; it is actualities +I wish to deal with. As I have repeatedly said, there is no sure +ground for believing that the maternal system involves rule by women. +This may have happened in some cases, but I do not think that it can +ever have been common. I am very certain, however, of the error in the +view which accepts the subordination of women as the common condition +among barbarous peoples, whereas there are indications and proofs in +all directions of a more or less strong assertiveness on their part, +and always in the direction of social unity and sexual regulation. The +fact that the maternal system resulted in the limitation of the +freedom of the male members of the family is, in my opinion, to be +attributed to those powerful female qualities which exercised an +immense influence on early societies. Regarding what has been said, I +think it cannot be denied that while individual rights were of far +more importance to the males, the idea of the family and social rights +were, in their turn, essentially feminine sentiments. Thus it was in +the women's interest to consolidate the family, and by means of this +their own power; and they succeeded in doing so to an extraordinary +extent in primitive communities, without help of the maternal customs, +which, as I have tried to make clear, arose out of the conditions of +the primordial family and by the action of the united mothers. If I am +right, then, here is the primary cause of the women's position of +authority in the communal maternal family. + +I am very certain of the rights such a system conferred upon women; +rights that are impossible under the patriarchal family, which +involves the subordination of the woman to her father first and +afterward to her husband. In proof of this let us now consider +marriage and divorce, the laws of inheritance, and other customs of +the Khasis. And first we may note that polygamy--the distinctive +custom of the patriarchs--does not exist; as Mr. Gurdon remarks, "such +a practice would not be in vogue among a people who observe the +matriarchate." This is the more remarkable as the Khasi women +considerably outnumber the men. In 1901 there were 1118 females to +1000 males. At the present time the people are monandrists. There are +instances of men having wives other than those they regularly marry, +but the practice is not common. Such wives are called "stolen wives," +and their children are said "to be from the top," _i. e._ from the +branches of the clan and not the root. In the War country the children +of the "stolen wife" enjoy an equal share in the father's property +with the children of the regular wife. Polyandry is said to be +practised, but the fact is not mentioned by Mr. Gurdon; in any case it +can prevail only among the poorer sort, with whom, too, it would often +seem to mean rather facility of divorce than the simultaneous +admission of plurality of husbands.[77] + + [77] Fischer, _Tour. As. Soc._, Bengal, Vol. IX, Part II, p. + 834. + +The courtship customs of Khasi youths and maidens are simple and +beautiful. The young people meet at the dances in the spring-time, +when the girls choose their future husbands. There is no practice +among the Khasis of exchange of daughters; and there is an entire +absence of the patriarchal idea of their women as property. Marriage +is a simple contract, unaccompanied by any ceremony.[78] After +marriage the husband lives with his wife in her mother's home. Of late +years a new custom has arisen, and now in the Khasi tribe, when one or +two children have been born, and _if the marriage is a happy one_, the +couple frequently leave the family home, and set up housekeeping for +themselves. When this is done, husband and wife pool their earnings +for the support of the family. This is clearly a departure from the +maternal marriage, a step in the direction of father-right. Among the +Syntengs, the people who have most closely preserved the customs of +the matriarchate, the husband does not even go to live with his wife, +he only visits her in her mother's home. In Joway this rule is so +strict that the husband comes only after dark. He is not permitted to +sleep, to eat, or smoke during his visit--the idea being that as none +of his earnings go to support the home, he must not partake of food or +any refreshment. Here is a curious instance of etiquette preserving +these clandestine visits long after the time when such secrecy was +necessary. We may note another survival among the Syntengs. The father +is commonly called by the name of the first child, thus, the father of +a child called Bobon, becomes Pa-bobon.[79] This does not, I am sure, +point back to a period when paternity was uncertain, rather, it is an +effort to establish the social relation of the father to the family, +and is connected with domestic and property considerations, not at all +with relationship. The proof of this will appear in a later chapter. + + [78] Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal_, p. 57. + + [79] McGee, _The Beginning of Marriage_. + +Very striking are the conditions attaching to divorce. Again we find +the right of separation granted equally to both sexes, a significant +indication of the high position of women. Marriage being regarded as +an agreement between wife and husband, the tie may be broken without +any question of disgrace. But although divorce is frequent and easy, +and can be claimed for a variety of reasons, all who have dwelt among +the Khasis testify to the durable and happy marriages among them. Only +when they find it impossible to live amicably together do a couple +agree to separate. In this event the children always remain with the +mother. For their mothers the children cherish a very strong +affection, for all their sympathies and affection bind them to her and +her family. + +The conditions of divorce vary in the separate tribes. Among the +Khasis both parties must agree to the dissolution of the tie. With the +Synteng and War tribes such mutual consent is not necessary, but the +partner who claims release from the other, without his or her consent, +must pay compensation. A woman cannot be divorced during pregnancy. +The form of divorce is simple; among the Khasis it consists of the +exchange of five cowries. This is done in the presence of witnesses, +and the ceremony must take place in the open air. Then a crier goes +around the village to proclaim the divorce, using the following +words-- + + "_Kaw_--hear, oh villagers! that--U and K have been + separated in the presence of the elders. _Hei!_ thou, oh + young men, canst go and make love to K--for she is now + unmarried, and thou, oh maidens, canst make love to + U--_Hei!_ there is no let or hindrance from henceforth." + +And here I would pause, although it leads me a little aside, to make a +point that to me seems to be of special importance. Obviously this +simple divorce by mutual consent was made easy in its working by the +maternal system. The great drawback to the dissolution of the marriage +tie in the patriarchal family is the effect it has on the lives of the +children; but in the maternal family such evil does not exist, for +the children always live with the mother and take her name. By saying +this, I do not wish to imply that I am necessarily recommending such a +system, but that it had its advantages for the mother and her +children, I think, cannot be denied. Its failure arises, as is +evident, from the alien position of the father in relation to his +children. + +In the primitive maternal family the place of the father, to a great +extent, is filled by the maternal uncle. Among the Khasis he is +regarded in the light of a father. It is his duty to assist the mother +in the management of the family. The husband is looked upon merely as +_u shong kha_,[80] a begetter. Only by the later marriage custom, when +the wife and children leave the home of her mother, has the father any +recognised position in the home. "There is no gainsaying the fact," +writes Mr. Gurdon, "that the husband is a stranger in the wife's home, +and it is certain he can take no part in the rites and ceremonies of +his wife's family." + + [80] _The Khasis_, p. 81. + +The important status assigned to women becomes clearer when we +consider the laws of inheritance. Daughters inherit, not sons. The +youngest daughter is heiress to the family property, but the other +daughters are entitled to a share on the mother's death. No man can +possess property unless it is self-acquired. Among the Synteng, such +property on the man's death goes to his mother. This would seem to be +the primitive custom. There is now a provision that, if the wife +undertakes not to re-marry she has half of her husband's property, +which descends to her youngest daughter. In the Khasi states a man's +property, if acquired before his marriage, goes to his mother, but +what is gained afterwards goes to the wife, for the youngest daughter. +Only in the War country do the sons inherit from the father with the +daughters, but something in addition is given to the youngest +daughter. The family property always descends in the female line. For +this reason, daughters are of more importance than sons. A family +without daughters dies out, which among the Khasis is the greatest +calamity, as there is no one qualified to bury the dead and perform +the religious rites. Thus both the Khasis and the Syntengs have a plan +of adoption. The male members of any family, if left without females, +are allowed to call in a young girl from another family to perform the +family religious ceremonies. She takes the place of the youngest +daughter, and becomes the head of the household. She inherits the +ancestral property. + +In the face of these facts it can hardly be denied that mother-right +and mother-power among the Khasis are still very much alive. Here at +least descent through the mother does involve power to women, and +confers exceptional rights, especially as regards inheritance. I have +already called attention to the equality of the women with men in the +code of sexual morality. This is so important that it is worth while +to follow it a little further. That freedom in love carries with it +domestic and social rights and privileges to women I have no longer +to prove. We found the same freedom under the maternal family among +the Iroquois and Zuni Indians: there courtship was in the hands of the +woman; there also divorce was free, and a couple would rather separate +than live together inharmoniously. I have given proof of the happy +domestic life of these peoples. Equality in the sexual relationships +has always been closely associated with the status of women. Wherever +divorce is difficult, there woman's lot is hard, and her position low. +It is part of the patriarchal custom which regards the man as the +owner of the woman. It would be easy to prove this by the history of +marriage in the races of the past, as also by an examination of the +present divorce laws in civilised countries. I cannot do this, but I +make the assertion without the least shadow of doubt. "Free divorce is +the charter of Woman's Freedom." I would point back in proof to these +examples of the maternal family, foremost among whose privileges is +this equality of partnership in marriage. Here you have before you, +solved by these primitive peoples, some of the most urgent questions +that yet have to be faced by us to-day. To hear of peoples who live +gladly, and without those problems that are rotting away our +civilisation, brings a new courage to those of us, who sometimes grow +hopeless at our own needless wastage of love and life. + +I must not say more upon this question, though it is one that tempts +me strongly. It is not, however, my purpose in this book to offer +opinions of my own on these problems of the relations of the two +sexes; I prefer to leave the facts of the mother-age to speak for +themselves. Those whose eyes are not blinded will not fail to see.[81] + + [81] Mrs. Chapman Catt has an article in the April number of + _Harper's Magazine_ on "A Survival of Matriarchy." It gives + an account of her visit to the Malay States, and the + favourable position of the women under the maternal customs. + I have received a letter from the great American champion of + Women's Rights in which she states how pleased she is that I + am writing this book on the Mother-age. "There are many + facts," she says, "of the early power of women which the + great world does not know." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +FURTHER EXAMPLES OF THE MATERNAL FAMILY + + +Pursuing our inquiry into the social organisation of mother-right, an +interesting example occurs among the peoples of the Malay States, +where, notwithstanding the centres of Hindu and Moslem influence, much +has been retained of the maternal system, once universally prevalent. +The maternal marriage, here known as the _ambel-anak_, in which the +husband lives with the wife, paying nothing to the support of the +family and occupying a subordinate position, may be taken as typical +of the former condition. But among the tribes who have come in contact +with outside influences the custom of the husband visiting the wife, +or residing in her house, is modified, and in some cases has +altogether disappeared. + +From a private correspondent, a resident in the Malay States, I have +received some interesting notes about the present conditions of the +native tribes and the position of women. "In most of the Malay States +exogamous matriarchy has in comparatively modern times been superseded +by feudalism (_i. e._, the patriarchal rights of the father). But +where the old customs survive, the women are still to a large extent +in control. The husband goes to live in the wife's village; thus the +women in each group are a compact unity, while the men are strangers +to each other and enter as unorganised individuals. This is the real +basis of the women's power. In other tribes, where the old customs +have changed, the women occupy a distinctly inferior position, and +under the influence of Islam the idea of secluding adult women has +been for centuries spreading and increasing in force." Here, again, +clear proof is shown of the maternal system exercising a direct +influence on the position of women. And this statement is in agreement +with Robertson Smith, who, in writing of the maternal marriage, says: +"And it is remarkable that when both customs--the woman receiving her +husband in her own hut, and the man taking his wife to his--occur side +by side among the same people, descent in the former case is traced +through the mother, in the latter through the father."[82] + + [82] _Marriage and Kinship in Early Arabia_, p. 74. See also + Marsden, _History of Sumatra_, p. 225. + +In its ancient form the maternal communal family has notably persisted +among the Padang Highlanders of Sumatra. These people live in village +communities, with long timber houses placed in barrack-like rows, very +similar to the communal dwellings of the American Indians. The houses +are gay in appearance, and are adorned with carved and coloured +woodwork. One dwelling will contain as many as a hundred people, who +form a _sa-mandei_, or mother-hood. Again we find the family +consisting of the house-mother and her descendants in the female +line--sons and daughters, and the daughters' children. McGee thus +describes these maternal households--[83] + + [83] "The Beginning of Marriage," _American Anthropologist_, + Vol. IX, p. 376. + + "If the visitor, mounting the ladder steps, looks in at one + of the doors of the separate dwellings, he may see seated + beyond the family hearth the mother and her children, eating + the midday meal, and very likely the father, who may have + been doing a turn of work in his wife's rice-plot. If he is + a kindly husband, he is there much as a friendly visitor, + but his real home remains in the house in which he was + born." + +The husband has no permanent residence in the woman's house, and at +dusk each evening the men may be seen walking across the village to +join their wives and families. The father has no rights over his +children, who belong wholly to the wife's _suku_, or clan. But this in +no way implies that the father is unknown, for monogamy is the rule; +as is usual the question is one rather of social right than of +relationship. The maternal uncle is the male head of the house, and +exercises under the mother the duties of a father to the children. The +brother of the eldest grandmother is the male head of the family +settlement and the clan consists of a number of these families. It +would seem that these male rulers act as the agents of the female +members, whose authority is great. This power is dependent on the +inheritance; as is the descent, so is the property, and its +transmission is arranged for the benefit of the maternal lineage. For +this reason daughters are preferred rather than sons. + +This account of the Padang Malays may be supplemented by the Jesuit +missionary De Mailla's description of the maternal marriage in the +Island of Formosa.[84] Speaking of this marriage, McGee says: "If it +had received the notice it deserves, it might long ago have placed the +study of maternal institutions on a sounder basis." + + [84] _Lettres edefiantes et curieux_, Vol. XVIII, p. 441, + copied in Dunhalde, _Description de la Clune_, Vol. I, p. + 166, and cited by McGee. + + "The Formosan youth wishing to marry makes music day by day + at the maid's door, till, if willing, she comes out to him, + and when they are agreed, the parents are told, and the + marriage feast is prepared in the bride's house, whence the + bridegroom returns no more to his father, regarding his + father-in-law's house as his own, and himself as the support + of it, while his own father's house is no more to him than + in Europe the bride's home is henceforth to her when she + quits it to live with her husband. Thus the Formosans set no + store on sons, but aspire to have daughters, who procure + them sons-in-law to become the support of their old age." + +It will be noted that here the house is spoken of as the father's, and +not as belonging to the mother. The bridegroom is the suitor, and we +see the creeping in of property considerations always associated with +the rise of father-right. Though the husband has as yet no recognised +position and lives in the wife's home, he is valued for his service to +his father-in-law, clearly a step in the direction of property +assertion. Among many of the Malay hill tribes of Formosa the maternal +system is dying out, though the old law forbidding marriage within the +clan remains in force. + +These changes must be expected wherever the transition towards +father-right has begun; the older forms of courtship and marriage, so +favourable to the woman, are replaced by patriarchal customs. One or +two curious examples of primitive courtship, in which the initiative +is taken entirely by the girl may be noted here. Among the Garos tribe +it is not only the privilege, but the duty of the girl to select her +lover, while an infringement of this rule is severely and summarily +punished. Any declaration made on the part of the young man is +regarded as an insult to the whole _mahari_ (motherhood) to which the +girl belongs, a stain only to be expiated by liberal presents made at +the expense of the _mahari_ of the over-forward lover. The marriage +customs are equally curious. On the morning of the wedding a ceremony +very similar to capture takes place, only it is the bridegroom who is +abducted. He pretends to be unwilling and runs away and hides, but he +is caught by the friends of the bride. Then he is taken by force, +weeping as he goes, in spite of the resistance and counterfeited grief +of his parents and friends, to the bride's house, where he takes up +his residence with his mother-in-law. It is instructive to find that +these marriages are usually successful. Although divorce is easy, it +is not frequent. "The Garos will not hastily make engagements, +because, when they do make them, they intend to keep them."[85] + + [85] Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal_, pp. 64, 142. + See also Tylor, "The Matriarchal Theory," _Nineteenth + Century_, July 1896, p. 89. + +In Paraguay, we are told, the women are generally endowed with +stronger passions than the men, and are allowed to make the +proposals.[86] So also among the Ahitas of the Philippine Islands, +where, if her clan-parents will not consent to a love match the girl +seizes the young man by the hair, carries him off, and declares she +has run away with him. In such a case it appears the marriage is held +to be valid whether the parents consent or not.[87] A similar custom +of a gentler character, is practised by the Tarrahumari Indians of +Northern Mexico, among whom, according to Lumboltz, the maiden is a +persistent wooer employing a _repertoire_ of really exquisite love +songs to soften the heart of a reluctant swain.[88] Again, in New +Guinea, where the women held a very independent position, "the girl is +always regarded as the seducer. Women steal men." A youth who +proposed to a girl would be making himself ridiculous, would be called +a woman, and laughed at by the girls. The usual method by which a girl +proposes is to send a present to the youth by a third party, following +this up by repeated gifts of food; the young man sometimes waits a +month or two, receiving presents all the time, in order to assure +himself of the girl's constancy, before decisively accepting her +advances.[89] + + [86] Moore, _Marriage Customs: Modes of Courtship_, etc., p. + 261. Rengger, _Naturgeschichte der Saeugelliere von Paraguay_, + p. 11, cited by Westermarck, _op. cit._, p. 158. + + [87] J. M. Wheeler, "Primitive Marriage," an article in + _Progress_, 1885, p. 128. + + [88] McGee, "The Beginning of Marriage," _American + Anthropologist_, Vol. IX. + + [89] Haddon, "Western Tribes of the Torres States," _Journal + of the Anthropological Society_, Vol. XIX, Feb. 1890. Cited + by Havelock Ellis, _Psychology of Sex_, Vol. III, p. 185. + +It is clear that these cases, which I have chosen from a number of +similar courtship customs, differ very much from what is our idea of +the customary role of the girl and her lover. To me they are very +instructive. They show the error of the long-held belief in the +passivity of the female as a natural law of the sex.[90] Such openness +of conduct in courtship is impossible except where women hold an +entirely independent position. Here, then, is another advantage that +may be claimed as arising for women out of the maternal system. I +claim this: the woman's right of selection in love--yes, her greatest +right, one that is necessary for a freer and more beautiful mating. + + [90] For further examination of this question of the supposed + passivity of the woman in courtship, see _The Truth about + Woman_, pp. 65-69, 251-257. + +Terminating this short digression, I return to my examination of the +peoples among whom the family is especially maternal. + +The Pelew Islanders of the South Sea have customs in many respects +the same as those of the Khasi tribes. They preserve strict maternal +descent, and like the Khasis, the deities of all the clans are +goddesses. The life and social habits of the people have been +described by Kubary, a careful and sympathetic observer, for long +resident in the island.[91] The tribes are divided into exogamous +clans, and intermarriage between any relations on the mother's side is +unlawful. These clans are grouped together in villages and the life is +of a communal character. Each village consists of about a score of +clans, and forms with its lands a petty independent state. + + [91] _Die socialen Einrichtungen der Pelauer. Die Religion, + de Pelauer._ Mr. Frazer, _Golden Bough_, Part IV, _Adonis, + Attis, Osiris_, pp. 387 _et seq._, summarises the account of + Kubary. See also Waitz-Gerland, Vol. V, Part II, p. 106 _et + seq._, and an account of the Pelews given by Ymer. + +Again we find the maternal system intimately connected with religious +ideas, and it is interesting to recall what was said by Bachofen: +"Wherever gynaecocracy meets us the mystery of religion is bound up +with it, and lends to motherhood an incorporation in some divinity." +Among these Islanders every family traces its descent from a +woman--the common mother of the clan. And for this reason the members +worship a goddess and not a god. In the different states there are, +besides other special deities, usually a goddess and a god, but as +these are held to be derived directly from a household-goddess, it is +evident that here, as among the Khasis, goddesses are older than the +gods. This is shown also by the names of the goddesses. There is +another fact of interest: some women are reputed to be the wives of +the gods, they are called _Amalalieys_ and have a great honour paid to +them, while their children pass for the offspring of the gods. + +The reverence paid to the ancestral goddesses is explained by Mr. +Kubary as arising from the importance of women in the clans. + + "The existence of the clan depends entirely on the life of + the women, and not at all on the life of the men. If the + women survive, it is no matter though every man in the clan + should perish, for the women will, as usual, marry men of + another clan, and their offspring will inherit their + mother's clan, and thereby prolong its existence. Whereas if + the women of the clan die out the clan necessarily becomes + extinct, even if every man in it should survive; for the men + must, as usual, marry women of another clan, and their + offspring will inherit their mother's clan and not the clan + of the father, which accordingly, with the death of the + father, is wiped off the community." + +I quote this passage because it shows so clearly what I am claiming, +that descent through the mother, under the condition of strict +exogamy, conferred a very marked distinction on the female members of +the clan, whose existence depended on them; this cannot possibly have +failed to act favourably on their position. I may note, too, in +passing, the fallacy of Mr. McLennan's view that polyandry (which, it +will be remembered, he held to have been developed from and connected +with mother-descent) arose as a result of female infanticide. Such a +practice is clearly impossible in clans whose existence depends on the +life of its female members; daughters among them are prized more +highly than sons. + +The case we are now examining affords the strongest confirmation of +the honour paid to women under the strict maternal system. Take alone +the titles that these Pelew islanders give to their women, as _Adhalal +a pelu_, "mothers of the land," and _Adhalal a blay_, "mothers of the +clan." The testimony of those who know their customs is that the women +enjoy complete equality with the men in every respect. Mr. Kubary +affirms the predominance of female influence in all the social life of +the clan. He asserts, without qualification, that the women both +politically and socially enjoy a position superior to that of the men. +The eldest women in the clans exercise the most decisive influence in +the conduct of affairs; the head men do nothing without full +consultation with them, and their power extends to affairs of state +and even to foreign politics. No chief would venture to come to a +decision without the approval of the mothers of the families. As one +consequence of this power the women have clubs of association similar +to the clubs of men that are common in so many tribes. A curious +privilege given to women is recorded: "The women have an unlimited +privilege of striking, fining, or if it be done on the spot, killing +any man who makes his way into their bathing places."[92] + + [92] Semper, _Die Palau-Inseln_, p. 68, cited by Westermarck + _op. cit._, p. 211. + +The marriage customs I shall pass over briefly, as they are similar to +those of other tribes under the maternal system, though changes may be +noted, such, for instance, as presents in the form of a kind of +bride-price being given by the bridegroom to the parents of the bride. +This is not a maternal custom, and although half of such presents +belongs by right to the girl, it is clearly a form of wife-purchase. +Then polygamy is practised, though it is expressly stated to be +uncommon.[93] There is now a marriage ceremony. Divorce still remains +free, and the conditions are favourable for the wife. Jealousy is said +to be prevalent both among the men and the women. The wedding +monologue is interesting and indicates the relative position of the +female and male members of the family. The salutation is as follows-- + + [93] Ymer, Vol. IV, p. 333. + + "Hei, thou, oh mother; oh grandmothers; oh maternal uncle; + oh elder grandmother; oh younger grandfather; oh elder + grandfather! As the flesh has fallen the ring has been put + on.... You will all of you give ear [the ancestresses and + ancestors] you will continue giving strength and spirit that + they [the bride and bridegroom] may be well." + +There is left an important fact to consider, which explains the +persistence of the women's authority under marriage conditions much +less favourable than the complete maternal form. The Pelew women have +another source of power; their position has an industrial as well as a +kinship basis. In this island the people subsist mainly on the produce +of their taro fields, and the cultivation of this, their staple food, +is carried out by the women alone. And this identification of women +with the industrial process has without doubt contributed materially +to the predominance of female influence on the social life of the +people. Wherever the control over the means of production is in the +hands of women, we find them exercising influence and even authority. +Among these islanders the women do not merely bestow life on the +people, they also work to obtain that which is most essential for the +preservation of life, and therefore they are called "mothers of the +land."[94] Now, considering this honour paid to the Pelew women, it is +clearly impossible to regard their work in cultivating the taro as a +sign of their subordinate position in the social order. The facts of +primitive life are often mistaken. This is a question to which I shall +refer again in a later chapter. + + [94] Frazer, _op. cit._, p. 380. + +In the same way among the Pani Kotches, tribes of Bengal, we find the +women in a privileged position, due to their greater industrial +activity and intelligence. + + "It is the women's business to dig the soil, to sow and + plant, as well as to spin, weave and brew beer; they refuse + no task, and leave only the coarsest labour to the men. The + mother of the family marries her daughter at an early age; + at the feast of betrothal she dispenses half as much again + to the bride as to the bridegroom-elect. As for the grown-up + girls and the widows, they know very well how to find + husbands; the wealthy never lack partners. The chosen one + goes to reside with his mother-in-law, who both reigns and + governs, with her daughter for prime minister. If the + consort permits himself to incur expenses without special + authorisation, he must meet them as best he can. Fathers of + families have been known to be sold as slaves, the wives + refusing to pay the penalties they incurred. Under these + circumstances, it was lawful for them to marry again."[95] + + [95] Hodgson, _Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal_, 1847 + (Dalton). + +Here, as among the Pelew islanders, special industrial conditions are +combined with the maternal system, and as a result we find what may, +perhaps, be termed "an economic matriarchy." Another cause of +authority, quite as powerful, is the possession by women of inherited +property. Among barbarous peoples the importance of this is not so +great, but where mother-descent has, for any reason, been maintained +up to a time when individual possession has been developed and +property is large, we meet with a remarkable "pecuniary matriarchate," +based on the women holding the magic power of money. + +An example may be found in the interesting Touaregs of the Sahara, a +race very far advanced in civilisation, who, even at the present day, +have preserved their independence and many of their ancient customs. +Among them all relationship is still maternal and confers both rank +and inheritance. "The child follows the blood of the mother," and the +son of a slave or serf father and a noble woman is noble. "It is the +womb which dyes the child," the Touaregs say in their primitive +language.[96] All property descends only through the mother, and by +means of accumulation the greatest part of the fortune of the +community is in the hands of women. This is the real basis of the +women's power. "Absolute mistress of her fortune, her actions, and her +children, who belong to her and bear her name, the Targui woman goes +where she will and exercises a real authority." The unusual position +of the wife is significantly indicated by the fact that, although +polygamy is permitted by the law, she practically enforces monogamy, +for the conditions of divorce are so favourable for a woman that she +can at once separate from a husband who attempts to give her a rival. +Again the initiative in courtship is taken by the woman, who chooses +from her suitors the one whom she herself prefers.[97] + + [96] Duveyrier, _Touareg du Nord_, p. 337 _et seq._ + + [97] Chavanne, _Die Sahara_, pp. 181, 209, 234. + +It is interesting to note that the Targui women know how to read and +write in greater numbers than the men. Duveyrier states that to them +is due the preservation of the ancient Libyan and Berber writings.[98] +"Leaving domestic work to their slaves, the Targui ladies occupy +themselves with reading, writing, music and embroidery; they live as +intelligent aristocrats."[99] "The ladies of the tribe of Ifoghas, in +particular, are renowned for their _savoirvivre_ and their musical +talent; they know how to ride _mehari_ better than all their rivals. +Secure in their cages, they can ride races with the most intrepid +cavaliers, if one may give this name to riders on dromedaries; in +order, also, to keep themselves in practice in this kind of riding, +they meet to take short trips together, going wherever they like +without the escort of any man."[100] In the tribe of Imanan, who are +descended from the ancient sultans, the women are given the title +_Timanokalin_, "royal women," on account of their beauty and their +talent in the art of music. They often give concerts, to which the men +come "from long distances--decked out like male ostriches." In these +concerts the women improvise the songs, accompanying themselves on the +tambourine and a sort of violin or _rebaza_. They are much sought +after in marriage, because of the title of _cherif_ which they confer +on their children.[101] + + [98] _Ibid._, p. 387. + + [99] Duveyrier, _op. cit._, p. 430. + + [100] _Ibid._, p. 362. + + [101] _Ibid._, p. 347. + +There is a touch of chivalrous sentiment in the relations between men +and women.[102] "If a woman is married," Duveyrier tells us, "she is +honoured all the more in proportion to the number of her masculine +friends, but she must not show preference to any one of them. The lady +may embroider on the cloak, or write on the shield of her chevalier, +verses in his praise and wishes for his good fortune. Her friend may, +without being censured, cut the name of the lady on the rocks or chant +her virtues. 'Friends of different sexes,' say the Touaregs, 'are for +the eyes and heart, and not for the bed only, as among the +Arabs.'"[103] Letourneau, in quoting these passages from Duveyrier, +makes the following comment: "Such customs as these indicate delicate +instincts, which are absolutely foreign to the Arabs. They strongly +remind us of the times of our southern troubadours and of the _cours +d'amour_, which were the quintessence of chivalry."[104] + + [102] Chavanne, _op. cit._, p. 208 _et seq._ + + [103] Duveyrier, _op. cit._, p. 429. + + [104] Letourneau, _The Evolution of Marriage_, pp. 180-181. + +The foregoing example is exceedingly interesting; it shows women +holding the position that as a rule belongs to men, and is thus worthy +of most careful study, but at the same time we must guard against +according it a general value which it does not possess. Such a case is +exceptional, though it by no means stands alone, and the social +position of Targui women is analogous to that of the women of ancient +Egypt. It is important to note that their great independence arose +through the persistence of maternal descent, and could not have been +maintained apart from that system, which placed in their hands the +strong power of wealth. Here, then, is certain proof of the favourable +influence mother-descent may exercise on the status of women. It is +because of this I have brought forward this example of the Targui +women. + +Enough has now been said. I have examined the institution of the +maternal family, both in the early communal stage and also under +later social conditions, where, in certain cases, mother-descent has +been maintained. In all the examples cited I have given the marriage +customs and domestic habits of the people as they are testified to by +authorities whose records cannot be questioned. Many similar examples, +it may be said, might be brought forward from other races, and the +proof of mother-right and mother-power greatly strengthened thereby. +There is, however, so much similarity in the maternal family, so much +correspondence in the marriage forms and social habits prevailing +among races widely separated, that the points of difference are little +in comparison with those they have in common. My object is not so much +to exhaust the subject as to bring into relief the radical differences +between the maternal communal clan, with its social life centred +around the mothers, and the opposite patriarchal form in which the +solitary family is founded on the individual father. I hold that, +other conditions being equal, the one system is favourable to the +authority of women, the other to the authority of men. The facts which +have been cited are, I submit, amply sufficient to support this view. + +We have seen that the life of the maternal clan is dependent on the +women--and not upon the men; we have noted that the inheritance of the +family name and the family property passing through the women adds +considerably to their importance, and that daughters are preferred to +sons. We have found women the organisers of the households, the +guardians of the household stores, and the distributors of food, under +a social organisation that may be termed "a communal matriarchy." More +important than all else, we have noted the remarkable freedom of women +in the sexual relationships; in courtship they are permitted to take +the active part; in marriage their position is one of such power that, +sometimes, they are able to impose the form of the marriage; in +divorce they enjoy equal, and even superior, rights of separation; +moreover, they are always the owners and controllers of the children. +Nor is the influence of women restricted to the domestic sphere. We +have found them the advisers, and in some cases the dictators, in the +social organisation under the headmen of the clan. Then we examined +the cases in which the women's power has an industrial as well as a +kinship basis, and have proved the existence of an "economic +matriarchy." And further even than this, we have found women the sole +possessors of accumulated wealth, and noted that, under the favourable +conditions of such a "pecuniary matriarchy," they are able to obtain a +position in learning and the arts excelling that of the men. We have +even seen goddesses set above the gods, and women worshipped as +deities. + +Now I submit to the judgment of my readers--what do these examples of +mother-right show, if not that, broadly speaking, women were the +dominant force in this stage of the family. No doubt too much +importance may be attached to the idea of women ruling. This is an +error I have tried to guard against. My aim throughout has been to +establish mother-right, not mother-rule. I believe it is only by an +extraordinary power of illusion that we can recognise, in the +favourable position of women under mother-descent Bachofen's view of +an Amazonian gynaecocracy. But this does not weaken at all my position. +I maintain that such customs of courtship, marriage and divorce, of +property inheritance and possession, and of the domestic and social +rights, as those we have seen in the cases examined, afford conclusive +proof of women's power in the maternal family. If this is denied, the +only conclusion that suggests itself to me is that, those who seek to +diminish the power of mother-right have done so in reinforcement of a +preconceived idea of the superiority of the man as the natural and +unchanging order in the relationships of the sexes. One suspects +prejudice here. To approach this question with any fairness, it is +absolutely essential to clear the mind from the current theories +regarding the family. The order is not sacred in the sense that it has +always had the same form. It is this belief in the immutability of our +form of marriage and the family which accounts for the prejudice with +which this question is approached. The modern civilised man cannot +easily accustom himself to the idea that in the maternal family the +dominion of the mother was regarded as the natural, and, therefore, +the right and accepted order of the family. It is very difficult for +us even to believe in a relationship of the mother and the father that +is so exactly opposite to that with which we are accustomed. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +MOTHER-RIGHT CUSTOMS AND THE TRANSITION TO FATHER-RIGHT + + +Endeavour has been made in the previous chapters to present the case +for mother-right as clearly and concisely as possible. The point we +have now reached is this: while mother-right does not constitute or +make necessary rule by women, under that system they enjoy +considerable power as the result (1) of their organised position under +the maternal marriage among their own clan-kindred, (2) of their +importance to the male members of the clan as the transmitters and +holders of property. + +It is necessary to remember the close connection between these +mother-right customs and the communal clan, which was a free +association for mutual protection. This is a point of much interest. +As we have seen, the undivided family of the clan could be maintained +only by descent through the mothers, since its existence depended on +its power to retain and protect all its members. In this way it +destroyed the solitary family, by its opposition to the authority and +will of the husband and father. + +These conclusions will be strengthened as we continue our examination +of mother-right customs as we shall find them in all parts of the +world. I must select a few examples only and describe them very +briefly, not because these cases offer less interest than the complete +maternal families already examined, but because of the length to which +this part of my inquiry is rapidly growing. The essential fact to +establish is the prevalence of mother-descent as a probable universal +stage in the past history of mankind, and then to show the causes +which, by undermining the dominion of the maternal clan, led to the +adoption of father-right and the re-establishment of the patriarchal +family. + +Let us begin with Australia, where the aboriginal population is in a +more primitive condition than any other race whose institutions have +been investigated. I can notice a few facts only from the harvest of +information brought together by anthropologists and travellers. The +tribes are grouped into exogamous sub-divisions, and each group has +its own land from which it takes a local name. Each group wanders +about on its own territory in order to hunt game and collect roots, +sometimes in detached families and, less often, in larger hordes, for +there seems to be a tendency to local isolation. A remarkable feature +of the social organisation is found in the more advanced tribes, +where, in addition to the division into clans, the group is divided +into male and female classes. All the members of such clans regard +themselves as kinsmen, or brothers and sisters; they have the same +totem mark and are bound to protect each other. The totem bond is +stronger than any blood tie, while the sex totems are even more sacred +than the clan totems. + +Much confusion has arisen out of the attempts to explain the +Australian system; and for long the close totem kinship was supposed +to afford evidence of group marriage, by which a man of one clan was +held to have sexual rights over all the women in another clan. But +further insight into their customs has proved the error of such a +view, which arose from a misunderstanding of the terms of relationship +used among the tribes. Nowhere is marriage bound by more severe laws; +death is the penalty for sexual intercourse with a person of a +forbidden clan. And it is certain that there is no evidence at all of +communism in wives.[105] + + [105] _See_ Westermarck, _op. cit._, pp. 54-56. + +A system of taboos is very strongly established, and as we should +expect the women appear to be most active in maintaining these sexual +separations. If a man, even by mistake, kills the sex-totem of the +women, they are as much enraged as if it were one of their own +children, and they will turn and attack him with their long poles. + +In Australia it is easy to recognise a very early stage in human +society. The organisation of the family group into the clan is still +taking place. Moreover, the most primitive patriarchal conditions have +not greatly changed, for the males are great individualists and cannot +readily suffer the rights of others than themselves. Mother-right can +hardly be said to exist, and the position of women is low. It is not +the custom among any tribes for the husband to reside in the home of +the wife; this in itself is sufficient to explain the power of the +husbands. Wives are frequently obtained by capture, and fights for +women are of common occurrence. Here it would seem that progress has +been very slow. Indeed, it is the chief interest of the Australian +tribes that we can trace the transformation from the early patriarchal +conditions to the communal clan. + +There is still another fact of very special interest. In the large +majority of tribes known to us descent is traced through the mother; +the proportion of these tribes to those with father-descent being four +to one. Now, the question arises as to which of these two systems is +the earlier custom? As a rule it is assumed that in all cases descent +was originally traced through the mother. But is this really so? The +evidence of the Australian tribes points to the exact opposite +opinion. For what do we find? The tribes that have established +mother-descent have advanced further, with a more developed social +organisation, which could hardly be the case if they were the more +primitive. To this question Starcke, in _The Primitive Family_, has +drawn particular attention; he regards "the female line as a later +development," arrived at after descent through the father was +recognised, such change being due to an urgent necessity which arose +in the primitive family for cohesion among its members, making +necessary sexual regulation and the maternal clan. + +It is certainly difficult to decide on the priority of this or that +custom. But what is significant is that in Australia the tribes which +maintain the male line of descent must be assigned to the lowest stage +of development. The rights established by marriage among them are less +clearly defined, and the use of the totem marks, with the sexual +taboos arising from them, are less developed. Everything tends to show +that clan organisation and union in peace have arisen with +mother-descent, which cannot thus be regarded as a survival from the +earlier order, but as a later development--a step forward in progress +and social regulation. + +I take this as being exceedingly important: it serves to establish +what it has been my purpose to show, that in the first stage the +family was patriarchal--small hostile groups living under the jealous +authority of the fathers; and that only as advancement came did the +maternal clan develop, since it arose through a community of purpose +binding all its members in peace, and thereby controlling the warring +individual interests. The reasons for mother-descent have been +altogether misunderstood by those who regard it as the earliest phase +of the family, and connect the custom with sexual disorder and +uncertainty of paternity. In all cases the clan system shows a marked +organisation, with a much stronger cohesion than is possible in the +restricted family, which is held together by the force of the father. +It was within the clan that the rights of the father and husband were +endangered: he lost his position as supreme head of the family, and +became an alien member in a free association where his position was +strictly defined. The incorporation of the family into the clan arose +through the struggle for existence forcing it into association; it was +the subordinate position of the husband under such a system which +finally made the women the rulers of the household. If we regard the +social conditions of the maternal system as the first stage of +development, they are as difficult to understand as they become +intelligible when we consider it as a later and beneficent phase in +the growth of society. + +This, then, I claim as the chief good of the maternal system. As I see +it, each advance in progress rests on the conquest of sexual distrusts +and fierceness forcing into isolation. These jealous and odious +monopolist instincts have been the bane of humanity. Each race must +inevitably in the end outlive them; they are the surviving relics of +the ape and the tiger. They arise out of that self-concentration and +intensity of animalism that binds the hands of men and women from +taking their inheritance. The brute in us still resents association. +Am I wrong in connecting this individual monopolist idea of My power! +My right! with the paternal as opposed to the maternal family? At any +rate I find it absent in the communal clan grouped around the mothers, +where the enlarged family makes common cause and life is lived by all +for and with each other. + +An instructive example of the joint maternal family is furnished by +the Nairs of Malabar, where we see a very late development of the +clan system. The family group includes many allied families, who live +together in large communal houses and possess everything in common. +There is common tenure of land, over which the eldest male member of +the community presides; while the mother, and after her death the +eldest daughter, is the ruler in the household. It is impossible to +give the details of their curious conjugal customs. The men do not +marry, but frequent other houses as lovers, without ceasing to live at +home, and without being in any way detached from the maternal family. +There is, however, a symbolic marriage for every girl, by a rite known +as tying the _tali_; but this marriage serves the purpose only of +initiation, and the couple separate after one day. When thus prepared +for marriage, a Nair girl chooses her lovers, and any number of unions +may be entered upon without any restrictions other than the strict +prohibitions relative to caste and tribe. These later marriages, +unlike the solemn initial rite, have no ceremony connected with them, +and are entered into freely at the will of the woman and her +family.[106] + + [106] Starcke's _Primitive Family_, pp. 85-88. Letourneau, + _Evolution of Marriage_, pp. 80-81, 311-312. Hartland, + _Primitive Paternity_, Vol. I, pp. 269, 288. + +Now, if we regard these customs in the light of what has already been +established, it is clear that they cannot be regarded as the first +stage in the maternal family. Such a view is entirely to mistake the +facts. The Nairs are in no respect a people of primitive culture. +Through a long period they have most strictly preserved the custom of +matriarchal heredity, which has led to an unusual concentration of the +family group, and it is probable that here is the best explanation of +the conjugal liberty of the Nair girls. However singular their system +may appear to us, it is the most logical and complete of any +polyandric system. If we compare it with the more usual form of +patriarchal polyandry we see at once the influence of maternal +descent. Here, the woman makes a free choice of her husbands; in no +sense is she their property. It is common for them to work for her, +one husband taking on himself to furnish her with clothes, another to +give her rice and food, and so on. It is, in fact, the wife who +possesses, and it is through her that wealth is transmitted. In +fraternal polyandry, on the other hand (as, for instance, it is +practised in Thibet and Ceylon), the husbands of a woman are always +brothers; she belongs to them, and for her children there is a kind of +collective fatherhood. But among the Nairs the man as husband and +father cannot be said to exist; he is reduced to the most subordinate +role of the male--he is simply the progenitor. + +I know of no stronger case than this of the degraded position of the +father. And what I want to make clear is that in such negation of all +father-right rested the inherent weakness in the matriarchal +conditions--a weakness which led eventually to the re-establishment of +the paternal family. We must be very clear in our minds as to the +sharp distinction between the restricted family and the communal +clan. The clan as a confederation of members was opposed to the family +whose interests were necessarily personal and selfish. Such communism, +to some may appear strange at so early a stage of primitive cultures, +yet, as I have more than once pointed out, it was a perfectly natural +development; it arose through the fierce struggle for existence, +forcing the primitive hostile groups to expand and unite with one +another for mutual protection. Such conditions of primitive socialism +were specially favourable for women. As I have again and again +affirmed, the collective motive was more considered by the mothers, +and must be sought in the organisation of the maternal clan. But since +individual desires can never be wholly subdued, and the male nature is +ever directed towards self-assertion, the clan, organised on the +rights of the mothers, had always to contend with an opposing force. +At one stage the clan was able to absorb the family, but only under +exceptional conditions could such a system be maintained. The social +organisation of the clan was inevitably broken up as society advanced. +With greater security of life the individual interests reasserted +their power, and this undermined the dominion of the mother. + +To bring these facts home, we must now consider some further examples +of mother-right, in order to show how closely these customs are +connected with the conditions of the maternal familiar clan. + +The Yaos of Africa have what may be regarded as a matriarchal +organisation. Kinship is reckoned and property is inherited through +the mother. When a man marries, he is expected to live in his wife's +village, and his first conjugal duties are to build a house for her, +and hoe a garden for her mother. This gives the woman a very important +position, and it is she, and not the man, who usually proposes +marriage.[107] + + [107] Alice Werner, "Our Subject Races", _National Reformer_, + Aug. 1897, p. 169. + +In Africa descent through the mother is the rule, though there are +exceptions, and these are increasing. The amusing account given by +Miss Kingsley[108] of Joseph, a member of the Batu tribe in French +Congo, strikingly illustrates the prevalence of the custom. When asked +by a French official to furnish his own name and the name of his +father, Joseph was wholly nonplussed. "My fader!" he said. "Who my +fader?" Then he gave the name of his mother. The case is the same +among the negroes. The Fanti of the Gold Coast may be taken as +typical. Among them an intensity of affection (accounted for partly by +the fact that the mothers have exclusive care of the children) is felt +for the mother, while the father is almost disregarded as a parent, +notwithstanding the fact that he may be a wealthy and powerful man. +The practice of the Wamoimia, where the son of a sister is preferred +in legacies, "because a man's own son is only the son of his wife," is +typical. The Bush husband does not live with his wife, and often has +wives in different places.[109] + + [108] _Travels_, p. 109. + + [109] Lippert, _Kulturgeschichte_, etc., Vol. II, p. 57. + Hartland, _Primitive Paternity_, Vol. I, pp. 274, 286. + +In Africa the clan system is firmly established, which explains the +prevalence of mother-descent. Women, on the whole, take an important +position, and here, as elsewhere, their inheritance of property +enables them to maintain their equality with their husbands. +Individual possession of wealth is allowed, but a married man usually +cannot dispose of any property unless his wife agrees, and she acts as +the representative of the children's claims upon the father. The +privilege that, according to Laing, the Soulima women have, of leaving +their husbands when they please, is also proof of the maternal +customs.[110] Moreover, among some tribes, the influence of the +mothers as the heads of families extends to the councils of state; it +is even said that the chiefs do not decide anything without their +consent.[111] + + [110] Letourneau, pp. 306-307; citing Laing, _Travels in + Western Africa_. + + [111] Giraud-Teulon, _Les origines du mariage et de la + famille_, pp. 215 _et seq._ + +Mother-right is still in force in many parts of India, though owing to +the influence of Brahminism on the aboriginal tribes the examples of +the maternal family are fewer than might be expected. Among the once +powerful Koochs the women own all the property, which is inherited +from mother to daughter. The husband lives with his wife and her +mother, and, we are told, is subject to them. These women are most +industrious, weaving, spinning, planting and sowing, in a word, doing +all the work not above their strength.[112] The Koochs may be compared +with the Khasis, already noticed, and these maternal systems among the +Indian hill tribes may surely be regarded as showing conditions at one +time common. Even tribes who have passed from the clan organisation to +the patriarchal family preserve numerous traces of mother-right. Thus, +the choice of her lover often remains with the girl; again, divorce is +easy at the wish either of the woman or the man.[113] Such freedom in +love is clearly inconsistent with the patriarchal authority of the +husband. I must note too the practice, common among many tribes, by +which the husband remains in the wife's home for a probationary +period, working for her family.[114] This is clearly a step towards +purchase marriage, as is proved by the Santals, where this service is +claimed when a girl is ugly or deformed and cannot be married +otherwise, while other tribes offer their daughters when in want of +labourers. This service-marriage must not be confused with the true +maternal form, where the bridegroom visits or lives with the wife and +any service claimed is a test of his fitness; it shows, however, the +power of the woman's kindred still curbing the rights of the husband. + + [112] Hodgson, _Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal_, 1855, + Vol. XVIII, p. 707, cited by Starcke, _op. cit._, pp. 79, + 285. + + [113] Hartland, _op. cit._, Vol. II, pp. 155-157. + + [114] This custom prevails, for instance, among the Kharwars + and Parahiya tribes, and is common among the Ghasiyas, and is + also practised among the Tipperah of Bengal. + +The existence of mother-descent among the peoples of Western Asia has +been ascertained with regard to some ancient tribes; but I may pass +these over, as they offer no points of special interest. I must, +however, refer briefly to the evidence brought forward by the late +Prof. Robertson Smith[115] of mother-right in ancient Arabia. We find +a decisive example of its favourable influence on the position of +women in the custom of _beena_ marriage. Under this maternal form, the +wife was not only freed from any subjection involved by the payment of +a bride-price in the form of compulsory service or of gifts to her +kindred (which always places her more or less under authority), but +she was the owner of the tent and the household property, and thus +enjoyed the liberty which ownership always entails. This explains how +she was able to free herself at pleasure from her husband, who was +really nothing but a temporary lover. Ibn Batua, even in the +fourteenth century found that the women of Zebid were perfectly ready +to marry strangers. The husband might depart when he pleased, but his +wife in that case could never be induced to follow him. She bade him a +friendly adieu and took upon herself the whole charge of any children +of the marriage. The women in Jahiliya had the right to dismiss their +husbands, and the form of dismissal was this: "If they lived in a +tent they turned it round, so that if the door faced east it now faced +west, and when the man saw this, he knew he was dismissed and did not +enter." The tent belonged to the woman: the husband was received +there, and at her good pleasure. We find many cases of _beena_ +marriage among widely different peoples. Frazer[116] cites an +interesting example among the tribes on the north frontier of +Abyssinia, partially Semitic peoples, not yet under the influence of +Islam, who preserve a maternal marriage closely resembling the _beena_ +form, but have as well a purchase marriage, by which a wife is +acquired by the payment of a bride-price and becomes the property of +her husband. + + [115] _Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia._ See also + Barton, _Semitic Origins_. + + [116] _Academy_, March 27, 1886. + +A very curious form of conjugal contract is recorded among the +Hassanyeh Arabs of the White Nile, where the wife passed by contract +for a portion of her time only under the authority of her husband. It +illustrates in a striking way the conflict in marriage between the old +rights of the woman and the rising power of the husband. + + "When the parents of the man and the woman meet to settle + the price of the woman, the price depends on how many days + in the week the marriage tie is to be strictly observed. The + woman's mother first of all proposes that, taking everything + into consideration, with due regard to the feelings of the + family, she could not think of binding her daughter to a due + observance of that chastity which matrimony is expected to + command for more than two days in the week. After a great + deal of apparently angry discussion, and the promise on the + part of the relations of the man to pay more, it is arranged + that the marriage shall hold good, as is customary among the + first families of the tribe, for four days in the week, viz. + Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and in compliance + with old established custom, the marriage rites during the + three remaining days shall not be insisted on, during which + days the bride shall be perfectly free to act as she may + think proper, either by adhering to her husband and home, or + by enjoying her freedom and independence from all observance + of matrimonial obligations."[117] + + [117] Spencer, _Descriptive Sociology_, Vol. V, p. 8, citing + Petherick, _Egypt, the Soudan, and Central Africa_, pp. + 140-141. + +A further striking example of mother-right is furnished by the Mariana +Islands, where the position of women was distinctly superior. + + "Even when the man had contributed an equal share of + property on marriage, the wife dictated everything, and the + man could undertake nothing without her approval; but if the + woman committed an offence, the man was held responsible and + suffered the punishment. The women could speak in the + assembly; they held property, and if a woman asked anything + of a man, he gave it up without a murmur. If a wife was + unfaithful, the husband could send her home, keep her + property, and kill the adulterer; but if the man was guilty + or even suspected of the same offence, the women of the + neighbourhood destroyed his house and all his visible + property, and the owner was fortunate if he escaped with a + whole skin; and if the wife was not pleased with her + husband, she withdrew, and a similar attack followed. On + this account many men were not married, preferring to live + with paid women."[118] + + [118] Thomas, _Sex and Society_, pp. 73-74, quoting + Waitz-Gerland. + +A similar case of the rebellion of men against their position is +recorded in Guinea, where religious symbolism was used by the husband +as a way of obtaining control and possession of his wife. The maternal +system held with respect only to the chief wife. + + "It was customary, however, for a man to buy and take to + wife a slave, a friendless person with whom he could deal at + pleasure, who had no kindred who could interfere with her, + and to consecrate her to his Bossum, or god. The Bossum + wife, slave as she had been, ranked next to the chief wife, + and was exceptionally treated. She alone was very jealously + guarded, she alone was sacrificed at her husband's death. + She was, in fact, wife in a peculiar sense. And having by + consecration been made of the kindred and worship of her + husband her children could be born of his kindred and + worship."[119] + + [119] McLennan, _The Patriarchal Theory_, p. 235. + +It will be readily seen that the special rights held by the husband +over these captive-wives would come to be greatly desired. But the +capture of women was always difficult, as it frequently led to +quarrels and even warfare with the woman's tribe, and for this reason +was never widely practised. It would therefore be necessary for +another way of escape from the bonds of the maternal marriage to be +found. This was done by a system of buying the wife from her +clan-kindred, in which case she became the property of her husband. + +The change did not, of course, take place at once, and we have many +examples of a transition period where the old customs are in conflict +with the new. Both forms of marriage, the maternal and the purchase +contract, are practised side by side by many peoples. These cases are +so instructive that I must add one or two examples to those already +noticed. The _ambel-anak_ marriage of Sumatra is the maternal form, +but there is another marriage known as _djudur_, by which a man buys +his wife as his absolute property. There is a complicated system of +payments, on which the husband's rights to take the wife to his home +depends. If the final sum is paid (but this is not commonly claimed +except in the case of a quarrel between the families) the woman +becomes to all intents and purposes the slave of the man; but if, on +the other hand, as is not at all uncommon, the husband fails or has +difficulty in making the main payment, he becomes the debtor of his +wife's family, and he is practically the slave, all his labour being +due to his wife's family without any reduction in the debt, which must +be paid in full, before he regains his liberty.[120] In Ceylon, again, +there are two forms of marriage, called _beena_ and _deega_, which +cause a marked difference in the position of the wife. A woman married +under the _beena_ form lives in the house or immediate neighbourhood +of her parents, and if so married she has the right of inheritance +along with her brothers; but if married in _deega_ she goes to live in +her husband's house and village and loses her rights in her own +family.[121] + + [120] Marsden, _History of Sumatra_, pp. 225-227. + + [121] Forbes, _Eleven Years in Ceylon_, Vol. I, p. 333. + +In Africa where the _beena maternal marriage_ is usual, and the +husband serves for his wife and lives with her family, it is said that +families are usually more or less willing _for value received_ to give +a woman to a man to take away with him, or to let him have his _beena_ +wife to transfer to his own house. Among the Wayao and Mang'anja of +the Shirehighlands, south of Lake Nyassa, a man on marrying leaves his +own village and goes to live in that of his wife; but, as an +alternative, he is allowed to pay a bride-price, in which case he +takes his wife away to his home.[122] Again among the Banyai on the +Zambesi, if the husband gives nothing the children of the marriage +belong to the wife's family, but if he gives so many cattle to his +wife's parents the children are his.[123] Similar cases may be found +elsewhere. In the Watubela Islands between New Guinea and Celebes a +man may either pay for his wife before marriage, or he may, without +paying, live as her husband in her parents' house, working for her. In +the former case, the children belong to him, in the latter to the +mother's family, but he may buy them subsequently at a price.[124] +Campbell records of the Limboo tribe (where the bride is usually +purchased and lives with the husband), that if poverty compels the +bridegroom to serve for his wife, he becomes the slave of her father, +"until by his work he has redeemed his bride."[125] An interesting +case occurs in some Californian tribes where the husband has to live +with the wife and work, until he has paid to her kindred the full +price for her and her child. So far has custom advanced in favour of +father-right that the children of a wife not paid for are regarded as +bastards and held in contempt.[126] + + [122] Macdonald, _Africana_, Vol I, p. 136. + + [123] Livingstone, _Travels_, p. 622. + + [124] Riedel, p. 205; cited by McLennan, _Patriarchal + Theory_, p. 326. + + [125] _Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal_, Vol. IX, p. 603. + + [126] Bancroft, Vol. I, p. 549. + +Wherever we find the payment of a bride-price, in whatever form, there +is sure indication of the decay of mother-right: woman has become +property. Among the Bassa Komo of Nigeria marriage is usually effected +by an exchange of sisters or other female relatives. The men may marry +as many wives as they have women to give to other men. In this tribe +the women look after the children, but the boys, when four years old, +go to live and work with the fathers.[127] The husbands of the Bambala +tribe (inhabiting the Congo states between the rivers Inzia and Kwilu) +have to abstain from visiting their wives for a year after the birth +of each child, but they are allowed to return to her on the payment to +her father of two goats.[128] Among the Bassanga on the south-west of +Lake Moeru the children of the wife belong to the mother's kin, but +the children of slaves are the property of the father. + + [127] _Journal African Society_, VIII, 15 _et seq._ + + [128] Torday and Joyce, _J. A. I._, XXXV, 410. + +The right of a father to his children was established only by +contract. Even where the wife had been given up by her kindred and +allowed to live with her husband, we find that the children may be +claimed by her family. Thus among the Makolo the price paid on +marriage might merely cover the right to have the wife, and in this +case the children belonged to the wife's family. It might, however, +cover a certain right to the children if that had been contracted for, +but never such a right as separated them wholly from the mother's +family. To effect this it was necessary that a further price should be +paid at the father's death. This sum once paid, her family had "given +her up" and her children were entirely severed from them.[129] The +legal acknowledgment of fatherhood in all cases had to be paid for. + + [129] McLennan, _The Patriarchal Theory_, pp. 324-325, 240. + +There are many customs pointing to this new father-force asserting +itself, and pushing aside the mother-power. In Africa, among the +Bavili the mother has the right to pawn her child, but she must first +consult the father, so that he may have a chance of giving her goods +to save the pledging.[130] This is very plainly a step towards +father-right. There is no distinction between legitimate and +illegitimate children. Similar conditions prevail among the Alladians +of the Ivory Coast, but here the mother cannot pledge her children +without the consent of her brother or other male head of the family. +The father has the right to ransom the child.[131] An even stronger +example of the property value of children is furnished by the custom +found among many tribes, by which the father has to make a present to +the wife's family when a child dies: this is called "buying the +child."[132] A similar custom prevails among the Maori people of New +Zealand; when a child dies, or even meets with an accident, the +mother's relations, headed by her brothers, turn out in force against +the father. He must defend himself until wounded. Blood once drawn, +the combat ceases; but the attacking party plunders his house and +appropriates the husband's property, and finally sits down to a feast +provided by him.[133] + + [130] Dennett, _Jour. Afr. Soc._, I, 266. + + [131] _Jour. Afr. Soc._, I, 412. + + [132] Hartland, _Primitive Paternity_, Vol. I, pp. 275 _et + seq._ + + [133] _Old New Zealand_, p. 110. + +These cases, with the inferences they suggest, show that the power a +husband and father possessed over his wife and her children was gained +through purchase. And it is not the fact of the husband's power, +however great it might be, that is so important, but the fact that by +the change in the form of marriage the wife and her children were cut +off from the woman's clan-kindred, whose duty to protect them was now +withdrawn. Here, then, was the reason of the change from mother-right +to father-right. The monopolist desire of the husband to possess for +himself the woman and her children (perhaps the deepest rooted of all +the instincts) reasserted itself. But the regaining of this individual +possession by man was due, not to male strength, but to purchase. I +must insist upon this. As soon as women became sexually marketable +their freedom was doomed. + +There are many interesting cases of transition in which the children +belong sometimes to the mother and sometimes to the father. Again I +can give one or two examples only. In the island of Mangia the parents +at the birth of the child arranged between themselves whether it +should be dedicated to the father's god or to the mother's. The +dedication took place forthwith, and finally determined which parent +had the ownership of the child.[134] Among the Haidis, children belong +to the clan of the mother, but in exceptional cases when the clan of +the father is reduced in numbers, the new-born child may be given to +the father's sister to suckle. It is then spoken of as belonging to +the paternal aunt and is counted to its father's clan.[135] It is also +possible to transfer a child to the father by giving it one of the +names common to his clan. There are many curious customs practised by +certain tribes, wavering between mother and father descent. In Samoa +religion decides the question. At the birth of a child the totem of +each parent is prayed to in turn (usually, though not always, starting +with that of the father) and whichever totem happens to be invoked at +the moment of birth is the child's totem for life and decides whether +he or she belongs to the clan of the mother or the father.[136] +Equally curious was the custom of the Liburni, where the children were +all brought up together until they were five years old. They were then +collected and examined in order to trace their likeness to the men and +they were assigned to their fathers accordingly. Whoever received a +boy from his mother in this way regarded him as his son.[137] +Similarly with the Arabs, where one woman was the wife of several men, +the custom was either for the woman to decide to which of them the +child was to belong, or the child was assigned by an expert to one of +the joint husbands to be regarded as his own.[138] + + [134] McLennan, _The Patriarchal Theory_. + + [135] _Survey of Canada_, Report for 1878-79, 134 B. Cited by + Frazer, _Totemism_, p. 76. + + [136] Turner, _Samoa_, p. 78. + + [137] _Das Mutterrecht_, p. 20, quoted by Starcke, _op. + cit._, pp. 126-127. + + [138] Wilken, _Das Matriarchat bei den alten Arabern_, p. 26. + +These facts throw a strong light on the bond between the father and +the child, which was a legal bond, not dependent, as it is with us, +upon blood relationship. Fatherhood really arose out of the ownership +of purchase. And for this reason the father's right came to extend to +all the children of the wife. It does not appear that the husband +makes any distinction between his wife's children, even if they were +begotten by other men. Chastity is not regarded as a virtue, and in +those cases where unfaithfulness in a wife is punished, it is always +because the woman, who has passed from the protection of her kindred, +acts without her husband's permission. Interchange of wives is common, +while it is one of the duties of hospitality to offer a wife to a +stranger guest. Husbands sometimes, indeed, seek other men for their +wives, believing they will obtain sons who will excel all others. Thus +of the Arabs we are told, there is one form of marriage according to +which a man says to his wife, "Send a message to such a one and beg +him to have intercourse with you." The husband acts in this way in +order that his offspring may be noble.[139] When a Hindu marries, all +the children previously born from his wife become his own; in +Pakpatan, even when a woman has forsaken her husband for ten years, +the children she brings forth are divided between her and her +lover.[140] Similarly in Madagascar, when a woman is divorced, any +children she afterwards bears belong to her husband.[141] Campbell +tells us of children born out of wedlock in the Limboo tribe that the +father may obtain possession of the boys by purchase and by naming +them, but the girls belong to the mother.[142] + + [139] Wilken, _op. cit._, p. 26. + + [140] Wade, _Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal_, Vol. VI, p. + 196. + + [141] See _Truth about Woman_, pp. 160-161, for account of + Madagascar. + + [142] _Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal_, Vol. IX, p. 603. + +I am very certain that it was through property considerations and for +no moral causes that the stringency of the moral code was tightened +for women. It seems to me of very great importance that women should +grasp firmly this truth: the virtue of chastity owes its origin to +property. Our minds fall so readily under the spell of such ideas as +chastity and purity. There is a mass of real superstition on this +question--a belief in a kind of magic in chastity. But, indeed, +continence had at first no connection with morals. The sense of +ownership has been the seed-plot of our moral code. To it we are +indebted for the first germs of the sexual inhibitions which, +sanctified, by religion and supported by custom, have, under the +unreasoned idealism of the common mind, filled life with cruelties and +jealous exclusions, with suicides, and murders, and secret +shames.[143] + + [143] This passage is quoted from _The Truth about Woman_, p. + 171. I give it here, because its importance seems to me to be + very great. + +This brings me to summarise the point we have reached. Father-right +was dependent on purchase-possession and had nothing to do with actual +fatherhood. The payment of a bride-price, the giving of a sister in +exchange, as also marriage with a slave, gained for the husband the +control over his wife and ownership of the children. I could bring +forward much more evidence in proof of this fact that property, and +not kinship, was the basis of fatherhood, did the limits of my space +allow me to do so; such cases are common in all parts of the world +where the transitional stage has been reached. The maternal clan, with +its strong social cohesion is then broken up by the growing power of +individual interests pushing aside the old customs, and bringing about +the restoration of the family. I believe that the causes by which the +father gained his position as the dominant partner in marriage must be +clear to every one from the examples I have given. Fatherhood +established in the first stage of the family on jealous authority, +now, after a period of more or less complete obscuration, rises again +as the dominant force in marriage. The father has bought back his +position as patriarch. On the other hand the mother has lost her +freedom that came with the protection of her kindred, under the social +organisation of the clan. Looking back through the lengthening record, +we find that another step has been taken in the history of the family. +This time is it a step forward, or a step backward? This is a question +I shall not try to answer, for, indeed, I am not sure. + +Yet in case I am mistaken here, let me say at once I am certain that +this return to the restricted family was a necessary and inevitable +step. The individual forces had to triumph. This may seem a +contradiction to all I have just said. What I wish to show is this: +one and all the phases in the development of society have been needful +and fruitful as successive stages in growth; yet none can +continue--none be regarded as the final stage, for each becomes +insufficient and narrow from the standpoint of the needs of a later +stage. We have reached the third stage--the patriarchal family which +still endures. And last and hardest to eradicate is that monopoly of +sexual possession, which says: "This woman and her children are mine: +I have tabooed her for life." Mankind has still to outlive this brute +instinct in its upward way to civilisation. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +WOMEN AND PRIMITIVE INDUSTRY + + +I have referred in an earlier chapter to a letter from Mr. H. G. +Wells, sent to me after the publication of my book, _The Truth about +Woman_. Now, there is one sentence in this letter that I wish to quote +here, because it brings home just what it is my purpose in this +chapter to show--that the mother-age was a civilisation owing its +institutions, and its early victories over nature, rather to the +genius of woman than to that of man. Mr. Wells does not, indeed, say +this. He rejects the mother-age, and in questioning my acceptance of +it as a stage in the past histories of societies, he writes: "The +primitive matriarchate never was anything more than mother at the +washing-tub and father looking miserable." + +It seems to me that here, in his own inimitable way, Mr. Wells (though +I think quite unconsciously) sums up the past labour-history of woman +and man. His statement has very far-reaching considerations. It forces +us to accept the active utility of primitive woman in the community--a +utility more developed and practical than that of man. This was really +the basis of women's position of power. The constructive quality of +the female mind, at a time when the male attention and energy were +fixed chiefly on the destructive activities of warfare, was liberated +for use and invention. Women were the seekers, slowly increasing their +efficiency. + +Very much the same account of the primitive sexual division in work +was given by an Australian Kurnai to Messrs. Fison and Howitt, in a +sentence that has been quoted very frequently: "A man hunts, spears +fish, fights and sits about, all the rest is woman's work." This may +be accepted as a fair statement of how work is divided between the two +sexes among primitive peoples. Now, what I wish to make plain is that +it was an arrangement in which the advantage was really on the side of +the woman rather than on that of the man. I would refer the reader +back to what has been said on this subject in Chapter III, where I +summed up the conditions acting on the women in the hypothetical first +stage of the primordial family. We saw that the males were chiefly +concerned with the absorbing duties of sex and fighting rivals, and +also hunting for game. The women's interest, on the other hand, was +bent on domestic activities--in caring for their children and +developing the food supplies immediately around them. From the +hearth-home, or shelter, as the start of settled life, and with their +intelligence sharpened by the keen chisel of necessity, women carried +on their work as the organisers and directors of industrial +occupations. Very slowly did they make each far-reaching discovery; +seeds cast into the ground sprouted and gave the first start of +agriculture. The plant world gave women the best returns for the +efforts they made, and they began to store up food. Contrivance +followed contrivance, each one making it possible for women to do +more. Certain animals, possibly brought back by the hunters from the +forests, were kept and tamed. Presently the use of fire was +discovered--we know not how--but women became the guardians of this +source of life. And now, instead of caves or tree-shelters, there were +huts and tents and houses, and of these, too, women were frequently +the builders. The home from the first was of greater importance to the +women; it was the place where the errant males rejoined their wives +and children, and hence the women became the owners of the homes and +the heads of households. For as yet the men were occupied in fighting. +The clumsy and the stupid among them were killed soonest; the fine +hand, the quick eye--these prevailed age by age. Tools and weapons +were doubtless fashioned by these fighters, but for destruction; the +male's attention was directed mainly by his own desires. And may we +not accept that among the most pressing activities of women was the +need to tame man and make him social, so that he could endure the +rights of others than himself? + +So through the long generations the life of human societies continued. +Those activities, due to female influence, developing and opening up +new ways in all directions, until we have that early civilisation, +which I have called the mother-age. + +All the world over, even to this day, this separation in the labour +activities of the two sexes can be traced. Destructive work, demanding +a special development of strength, with corresponding periods of rest, +falls to men; and contrasted with this violent and intermittent male +force we find, with the same uniformity, that the work of women is +domestic and constructive, being connected with the care of children +and all the various industries which radiate from the home--work +demanding a different kind of strength, more enduring, more +continuous, but at a lower tension. + +Bonwick's account of the work of Tasmanian women may be taken as +typical-- + + "In addition to the necessary duty of looking after the + children, the women had to provide all the food for the + household excepting that derived from the chase of the + kangaroo. They climbed up hills for the opossum" (a very + difficult task, requiring great strength and also skill), + "delved in the ground for yams, native bread, and nutritious + roots, groped about the rocks for shellfish, dived beneath + the sea for oysters, and fished for the finny tribe. In + addition to this, they carried, on their frequent tramps, + the household stuffs in native baskets of their own + manufacture."[144] + + [144] _Daily Life and Origin of the Tasmanians_, p. 55. + +Among the Indians of Guiana the men's work is to hunt, and to cut down +the trees when the cassava is to be planted. When the men have felled +the trees and cleaned the ground, the women plant the cassava and +undertake all the subsequent operations; agriculture is entirely in +their hands. They are little, if at all, weaker than the men, and they +work all day while the men are often in their hammocks smoking; but +there is no cruelty or oppression exercised by the men towards the +women.[145] + + [145] Everard im Thurn, _Among the Indians of Guiana_. + +In Africa we meet with much the same conditions of labour. "The work +is done chiefly by the women, this is universal; they hoe the fields, +sow the seed, and reap the harvest. To them, too, falls all the labour +of house-building, grinding corn, brewing beer, cooking, washing, and +caring for almost all the material interests of the community. The men +tend the cattle, hunt, go to war; they also spend much time sitting in +council over the conduct of affairs."[146] + + [146] Macdonald, "East Central African Customs," _Journal + Anthropological Institute_, Feb. 1890, p. 342. + +I may note the interesting account of Prof. Haddon[147] of the work of +the Western Tribes of the Torres Straits-- + + [147] _Journal Anthropological Institute_, Feb. 1890, p. 342. + + "The men fished, fought, built houses, did a little + gardening, made fish-lines, fish-hooks, spears, and other + implements, constructed dance-masks and head-dresses, and + all the paraphernalia for the various ceremonies and dances. + They performed all the rites and dances, and in addition did + a good deal of strutting up and down, loafing and 'yarning.' + The women cooked and prepared the food, did most of the + gardening, collected shell-fish, and speared fish on the + reefs, made petticoats, baskets and mats." + +Similar examples might be almost indefinitely multiplied. Among the +Andamanese, while the men go into the jungle to hunt pigs, the women +fetch drinking water and firewood, catch shell-fish, make fishing nets +and baskets, spin thread, and cook the food ready for the return of +the men.[148] The Moki women of America have fifty ways of preparing +corn for food. They make all the preparations necessary for these +varied dishes, involving the arts of the stonecutter, the carrier, the +mason, the miller and the cook.[149] In New Caledonia "girls work in +the plantations, boys learn to fight."[150] + + [148] Owen, _Transactions of the Ethnological Society_, New + Series, Vol. II, p. 36. + + [149] Mason, _Woman's Share in Primitive Culture_, p. 143. + + [150] Turner, _Nineteen Years in Polynesia_, p. 424. + +We should, however, fall into a popular error concerning the division +of labour in savagery, if we consider that all women's work is +regarded as degrading to men and all men's work is tabooed to women. +The duties of war and the chase are the chief occupation of men, yet +in all parts of the world women have fought at need, and sometimes +habitually, both to assist their men and also against them. Thus +Buckley, who lived for many years among the Australian tribes, relates +that when the tribe he lived with was attacked by a hostile party, the +men "raised a war-cry; on hearing this the women threw off their rugs +and, each armed with a short club, flew to the assistance of their +husbands and brothers."[151] In Central Australia the men occasionally +beat the women through jealousy, but on such occasions it is by no +means rare for the women, single handed, to beat the men +severely.[152] Again, men carry on, as a rule, the negotiations on +tribal concerns, but in such matters exceptions are very numerous. +Among the Australian Dieyerie, Curr states that the women act as +ambassadors to arrange treaties, and invariably succeed in their +mission.[153] The same conditions are found among the American +Indians. Men are the hunters and fishers, but women also hunt and +fish. Among the Yahgan of Tierra del Fuego fishing is left entirely to +the women,[154] and this is not at all unusual. Mrs. Allison states of +the Similkameen Indians of British Columbia that formerly "the women +were nearly as good hunters as the men," but being sensitive to the +ridicule of the white settlers, they have given up hunting.[155] In +hunting trips, the help of women is often not to be despised. +Warburton Pike writes thus: "I saw what an advantage it is to take +women on a hunting trip. If we killed anything, we had only to cut up +and _cache_ the meat, and the women would carry it. On returning to +camp we could throw ourselves down on a pile of caribou skins and +smoke our pipes in comfort, but the women's work was never +finished."[156] This account is very suggestive. The man undergoes the +fatigue of hunting, and when he has thrown the game at the woman's +feet his part is done; it is her duty to carry it and to cook it, as +well as to make the vessels in which the food is placed. The skins and +the refuse are hers to utilise, and all the industries connected with +clothing are chiefly in her hands.[157] Hearne, in his delightful old +narrative, speaks of the assistance of women on hunting expeditions-- + + "For when all the men are heavy laden they can neither hunt + nor travel to any considerable distance; and in case they + meet with any success in hunting, who is to carry the + produce of their labour?" + + [151] _Life and Adventures of William Buckley_, p. 43. + + [152] _Journal Anthropological Institute_, Aug. 1890, p. 61. + + [153] _Australian Races_, cited by Ellis, _Man and Woman_, p. + 9 _note_. + + [154] Haydes et Deniker, _Mission Scientifique de Cape Horn_, + tome vii, 1891. + + [155] _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, Feb. 1892, + p. 307. + + [156] Warburton Pike, _Barren Grounds_, p. 75. + + [157] Havelock Ellis, _Man and Woman_, p. 5. + +He adds with a charming frankness-- + + "Women were made for labour; one of them can carry or haul + as much as two men can do. They also pitch our tents, make + and mend our clothing, keep us warm at night, and, in fact, + there is no such thing as travelling any considerable + distance, or any length of time, in this country without + their assistance."[158] + + [158] _A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort to the Northern + Ocean_, p. 55. + +Numerous other examples might be added which illustrate how women take +part in the destructive work of men; conversely we find not a few +cases of the co-operation of men in the women's activities. The world +over, women are usually the weavers and spinners; but with the Navajo +and in some of the Pueblos the men are among the best weavers.[159] +Among the Indians of Guiana the men are specially skilful in +basket-weaving, and here also they as well as the women spin and +weave.[160] More curious is the custom in East Africa where all the +sewing for their own and the women's garments is done by the men, and +very well done. Sewing is here so entirely recognised as men's work +that a wife may obtain a divorce if she "can show a neglected rend in +her petticoat."[161] + + [159] Mason, _op. cit._, p. 10. + + [160] Im Thurn, _Among the Indians of British Guiana_. + + [161] Macdonald, _Journal Anthropological Institute_, Aug. + 1892. + +It is a common mistake, arising from insufficient knowledge, to +suppose that savage women are specially subject to oppression. Their +life is hard as we look at it, but not as they look at it. We have +still much to learn on these matters. An even greater error is the +view that these women are a source of weakness to the male members of +their families. The very reverse is the truth. Primitive women are +strong in body and capable in work. Fison and Howitt, in discussing +this question, state of the Australian women, "In times of peace, they +are the hardest workers and the most useful members of the community." +And in times of war, "they are perfectly capable of taking care of +themselves at all times, and so far from being an encumbrance on the +warriors, they will fight, if need be, as bravely as the men, and with +even greater ferocity."[162] This is no exceptional case. The strength +of savage women is proved by reports from widely different races, of +which all testify to their physical capability and aptness for labour. +Schellong,[163] who has carefully studied the Papuans of the German +protectorate of New Guinea, from the anthropological point of view, +"considers that the women are more strongly built than the men." Nor +does heavy work appear to damage the health or beauty of the women, +but the contrary. Thus among the Andombies on the Congo, to give one +instance, the women, though working very hard as carriers, and as +labourers in general, lead an entirely happy existence; they are often +stronger than the men and more finely developed: some of them, we are +told, have really splendid figures. And Parke, speaking of the +Manyuema of the Arruwimi in the same region, says that "they are fine +animals, and the women very handsome; they carry loads as heavy as +those of the men and do it quite as well."[164] Again, McGee[165] +comments on the extraordinary capacity of quite aged women for heavy +labour. He tells of "a withered crone, weighing apparently not more +than 80 to 90 lb. who carried a _kilio_ containing a stone mortar 196 +lb. in weight for more than half a mile on a sandy road without any +perceptible exhaustion. The proportion of the active aged is much +larger than among civilised people." + + [162] _Kamilaroi and Kurnai_, pp. 133, 147. + + [163] Cited by Ellis, _Man and Woman_, p. 4. + + [164] H. H. Johnston, _The Kilimanjaro Expedition_; Parke, + _Experiences in Equatorial Africa_. These examples are cited + by Ellis. + + [165] "The Beginnings of Agriculture," _American + Anthropologist_, Oct. 1895, p. 37. + +I may pause to note some of the numerous industries of which women +were the originators. First of all, woman is the food-giver; all the +labours relating to the preparation of food, and to the utilisation of +the side products of foodstuffs are usually found in the hands of +women. Women are everywhere the primitive agriculturists. They beat +out the seeds from plants; dig for roots and tubers, strain the +poisonous juices from the cassava and make bread from the residue; and +it was under their attention that a southern grass was first developed +into what we know as Indian corn.[166] The removal of poisonous matter +from tapioca by means of hot water is also the discovery of savage +women.[167] All the evolution of primitive agriculture may be traced +to women's industry. Power tells of the Yokia women in Central +California who employ neither plough nor hoe, but cultivate the ground +by digging the earth deep and rubbing it fine with their hands, and by +this means they get an excellent yield.[168] Women have everywhere +been the first potters; vessels were needed for use in cooking, to +carry and to hold water, and to store the supplies of food. For the +same reason baskets were woven. Women invented and exercised in common +multifarious household occupations and industries. Curing food, +tanning the hides of animals, spinning, weaving, dyeing--all are +carried on by women. The domestication of animals is usually in +women's hands. They are also the primitive architects; the hut, in +widely different parts of the world--among Kaffirs, Fuegians, +Polynesians, Kamtschatdals--is built by women. We have seen that the +communal houses of the American Indians are mainly erected by the +women. Women were frequently, though not always, the primitive +doctors. Among the Kurds, for instance, all the medical knowledge is +in the hands of the women, who are the hereditary _hakims_.[169] Women +seem to have prepared the first intoxicating liquors. The Quissama +women in Angola climb the gigantic palm trees to obtain +palm-beer.[170] In the ancient legends of the North, women are clearly +represented as the discoverers of ale.[171] + + [166] Thomas, _Sex and Society_, p. 136. + + [167] Mason, _op. cit._ p. 24. + + [168] _Cont. North American Ethnology_, Vol. III, p. 167. + + [169] Mrs. Bishop, _Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan_, cited + by H. Ellis, _op. cit._, p. 6. + + [170] _Jour. Anthrop. Inst._, Vol. I, p. 190. + + [171] "Magic Songs of the Finns," _Folk-lore_, Mar. 1892. + +It would be easy to go on almost indefinitely multiplying examples of +the industries of primitive women. There can be no doubt at all that +their work is exacting and incessant; it is also inventive in its +variety and its ready application to the practical needs of life. If a +catalogue of the primitive forms of labour were made, each woman would +be found doing at least half-a-dozen things while a man did one. We +may accept the statement of Prof. Mason that in the early history of +mankind "women were the industrial, elaborative, conservative half of +society. All the peaceful arts of to-day were once women's peculiar +province. Along the lines of industrialism she was pioneer, inventor, +author, originator."[172] + + [172] _American Antiquarian_, Jan. 1899. + +There is another matter that must be noted. The primitive division of +labour between the sexes was not in any sense an arrangement dictated +by men, nor did they impose the women's tasks upon them. The view that +the women are forced to work by the laziness of the men, and that +their heavy and incessant labour is a proof of their degraded position +is entirely out of focus. Quite the reverse is the truth. Evidence is +not wanting of the great advantage arising to women from their close +connection with labour. It was largely their control over the food +supply and their position as actual producers which gave them so much +influence, and even authority in the mother-age. In this connection I +may quote the statement of Miss Werner about the African women as +representing the true conditions-- + + "I cannot say that, so far as my own observations went, the + women's lot seemed to be a specially hard one. In fact, they + are too important an element in the community not to be + treated with consideration. The fact that they do most of + the heavy field-work does not imply that they are a + down-trodden sex. On the contrary, it gives them a + considerable pull, as a man will think twice before + endangering his food supply."[173] + + [173] "Our Subject Races," _The Reformer_, April 1897, p. 43. + +Mr. Horatio Hale, a well-known American anthropologist likewise +observes-- + + "The common opinion that women among savage tribes in + general are treated with harshness, and regarded as slaves, + or at least as inferiors, is, like many common opinions, + based on error, originating in too large and indiscriminate + deduction from narrow premises.... The wife of a Samoan + landowner or Navajo shepherd has no occasion, so far as her + position in her family or among her people, to envy the wife + of a German peasant."[174] + + [174] _Journal Anthropological Institute_, May 1892, p. 427, + cited by H. Ellis. + +Certainly savage women do not count their work as any degradation. +There is really an equal division of labour between the sexes, though +the work of the men is accomplished more fitfully than that of the +women. The militant activities of fighting and hunting are essential +in primitive life. The women know this, and they do their share--the +industrial share, willingly, without question, and without compulsion. +It is entirely absurd in this work-connection to regard men as the +oppressors of women. Rather the advantage is on the women's side. For +one thing, just because they are accustomed to hard labour all their +lives, they are little, if any, weaker than men. Primitive women are +strong in body, and capable in work. The powers they enjoy as well as +their manifold activities are the result of their position as mothers, +this function being to them a source of strength and not a plea of +weakness. + + "They who are accustomed to the ways of civilised women + only," remarks Mr. Fison, "can hardly believe what savage + women are capable of, even when they may well be supposed to + be at their weakest. For instance, an Australian tribe on + the march scarcely take the trouble to halt for so slight a + performance as childbirth. The newly born infant is wrapped + in skins, the march is resumed, and the mother trudges on + with the rest. Moreover, as is well known, among many tribes + elsewhere it is the father who is put to bed, while the + mother goes about her work as if nothing had happened."[175] + + [175] _Kamilaroi and Kurnai_, p. 358. + +Another important advantage arising to women, through their +identification with the early industrial process, was their position +as the first property owners. They were almost the sole creators of +ownership in land, and held in this respect a position of great power. +This explains the fact that in the transactions of the North American +tribes with the Colonial Government many deeds of assignment bear +female signatures.[176] A form of divorce used by a husband in ancient +Arabia was: "Begone, for I will no longer drive thy flocks to +pasture."[177] In almost all cases the household goods belonged to +the woman. The stores of roots and berries laid up for a time of +scarcity were the property of the wife, and the husband would not +touch them without her permission. In many cases such property was +very extensive. Among the Menomini Indians, for instance, a woman of +good circumstances would own as many as 1200 to 1500 birch-bark +vessels.[178] In the New Mexico Pueblos what comes from the outside of +the house as soon as it is inside is put under the immediate control +of the women. Bandelier, in his report of his tour in Mexico, tells us +that "his host at Cochiti, New Mexico, could not sell an ear of corn +or a string of chili without the consent of his fourteen-year-old +daughter, Ignacia, who kept house for her widowed father."[179] + + [176] Ratzel, _History of Mankind_, Vol. II, p. 130. + + [177] Robertson Smith, _Kinship and Marriage in Early + Arabia_, p. 65. + + [178] Hoffman, "The Menomini Indians," _Fourteenth Report of + the Bureau of American Ethnology_, p. 288. + + [179] Papers of the _Archaeological Institute of America_, + Vol. II, p. 138. + +I must now bring this brief chapter to a close. But first I would give +one further example. It is an account of the Pelew matrons' work in +the taro fields. Here the richest and most influential women count it +their privilege to labour, and it will be remembered that these women +are called "mothers of the land." They are politically and socially +superior to the men; and their position is dependent largely on their +close connection with the staple industry of the island. + + "The richest woman in the village looks with pride on her + taro patch, and although she has female followers enough to + allow her merely to superintend the work without taking part + in it, she nevertheless prefers to lay aside her fine apron, + and to betake herself to the field, merely clad in a small + apron that barely hides her nakedness, with a little mat on + her back to protect her from the burning heat of the sun, + and with a shade of banana leaves for her eyes. There, + dripping with sweat in the burning sun, and coated with mud + to the hips and over the elbows, she toils to set the + younger women a good example. Moreover, as in every other + occupation, the _Kalitho_, the gods must be invoked, and who + could be better fitted for the discharge of so important a + duty than 'the Mother of the House.'" + +Here is a picture of labour that may well make women pause to think. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +TRACES OF MOTHER-RIGHT CUSTOMS IN ANCIENT AND MODERN CIVILISATIONS + + +I propose in this chapter to examine, as fully as I can, the traces +that mother-right customs have left among some of the great races of +antiquity, as also in the early records of western civilisations. It +is the more necessary to do this because there is so marked a tendency +to minimise the importance of the mother-age, and to regard the +patriarchal family as primeval and universal. So much interesting +material is available, and so wide a field of inquiry must be covered, +that I shall be able to give a mere outline sketch, for the purpose of +suggesting, rather than proving, the widespread prevalence of the +communal clan and the maternal family. + +As to whether this maternal-stage, with kinship and inheritance +passing through the mother, has everywhere preceded the second +patriarchal period, it is difficult to be at all certain. Dr. +Westermarck, Mr. Crawley and others have argued against this view. But +(as I have before had occasion to point out) their chief motive has +been to discredit the theory of promiscuity, with which +mother-descent has been so commonly, and so mistakenly, connected. It +does not seem to have been held as possible that the mother-age was a +much later development, whose social customs were made for the +regulation of the family relationships. A number of very primitive +races exhibit no traces, that have yet been discovered, of such a +system, and have descent in the male line. This has been thought to be +a further proof against a maternal stage. But here again is an error; +we are not entitled to regard mother-descent as necessarily the +primitive custom. I believe and have tried to show, from the examples +of the Australian tribes and elsewhere, that in many cases the stage +of the maternal clan has not been reached. If I am right here, we have +the way cleared from much confusion. I would suggest, as also +possible, that there may among some people, have been retrogressions, +customs and habits found out as beneficial, and perhaps for long +practised, have by some tribes been forgotten. There can be no hard +and fast rule of progress for any race. The whole subject is thorny +and obscure, and the evidence on the question is often contradictory. +Still I hold the claim I make is not without foundation. I have tried +to show how the causes which led to the maternal system were perfectly +simple and natural causes, arising out of needs that must have +operated universally in the past history of mankind. And this +indicates a maternal stage at some period for all branches of the +human family. Again the widespread prevalence of mother-right +survivals among races where the patriarchal system has been for long +firmly established lends support to such a view, which will be +strengthened by the evidence now to be brought forward. It will be +necessary to go step by step, from one race to another, and to many +different countries, and I would ask my readers not to shrink from the +trouble of following me. + +Let us turn first to ancient Egypt, where women held a position more +free and more honourable than they have in any country to-day. + +Herodotus, who was a keen observer, records his astonishment at this +freedom, and writes-- + + "They have established laws and customs opposite for the + most part to those of the rest of mankind.... With them + women go to market and traffic; men stay at home and + weave.... The men carry burdens on their heads; the women on + their shoulders.... The boys are never forced to maintain + their parents unless they wish to do so; the girls are + obliged to, even if they do not wish it."[180] + + [180] Herodotus, Book II, p. 35. + +From this last rule it is logical to infer that women inherited +property, as is to-day the case among the Beni-Amer of Africa,[181] +where daughters have to provide for their parents. + + [181] Starcke, _The Primitive Family_, p. 67. + +Diodorus goes further than Herodotus: he affirms that in the Egyptian +family it is the man who is subjected to the woman. + + "All this explains why the queen receives more power and + respect than the king, and why, among private individuals, + the woman rules over the man, and that it is stipulated + between married couples, by the terms of the dowry-contract, + that the man shall obey the woman."[182] + + [182] Diodorus, Book I, p. 27. + +There is probably some exaggeration in this account, nevertheless, the +demotic deeds, in a measure, confirm it. By the law of maternal +inheritance, an Egyptian wife was often richer than her husband, and +enjoyed the dignity and freedom always involved by the possession of +property. More than three thousand three hundred years ago men and +women were recognised as equal in this land. + +Under such privileges the wife was entirely preserved from any +subjection; she was able to dictate the terms of the marriage. She +held the right of making contracts without authorisation; she remained +absolute mistress of her dowry. The marriage-contract also specified +the sums that the husband was to pay to his wife, either as a nuptial +gift or annual pension, or as compensation in case of divorce. In some +cases the whole property of the husband was made over to the wife, and +when this was done, it was stipulated that she should provide for him +during his life, and discharge the expenses of his burial and tomb. + +These unusual proprietary rights of the Egyptian wife can be explained +only as being traceable to an early period of mother-right. Without +proof of any absolutely precise text, we have an accumulation of facts +that render it probable that, at one time, descent was traced through +the mother. It is significant that the word _husband_ never occurs in +the marriage deeds before the reign of Philometor. This ruler (it +would appear in order to establish the position of the father in the +family) decreed that all transfers of property made by the wife should +henceforth be authorised by the husband. Up to this time public deeds +often mention only the mother, but King Philometor ordered the names +of contractors to be registered according to the paternal line. +Besides this, the hieroglyphic funeral inscriptions frequently bear +the name of the mother, without indicating that of the father.[183] + + [183] For a fuller account of the position of women in Egypt, + see the chapter on this subject in _The Truth about Woman_, + pp. 179-201. + +All these facts attest that women in Egypt enjoyed an exceptionally +favourable position. We may compare this position with that held by +the Touareg women of the Sahara, who, through the custom of maternal +inheritance, for long continued, have in their hands the strong power +of wealth, and thus exercise extraordinary authority, giving rise to +what I have called "a pecuniary matriarchy." + +It is probable that in Egypt property was originally entirely in the +hands of women, as is usual under the matriarchal system. Later, a +tradition in favour of the old privileges would seem to have +persisted after descent was changed from the maternal to the paternal +line. The marriage-contracts may thus be regarded as enforcing by +agreement what would occur naturally under the maternal customs. The +husband's property was made over by deed to the wife (at first +entirely, and afterwards in part) to secure its inheritance by the +children of the marriage. It was in such wise way the Egyptians +arranged the difficult problem of the fusing of mother-right with +father-right. + +In the very ancient civilisation of Babylon we find women in a +position of honour, with privileges similar in many ways to those they +enjoyed in Egypt. There are even indications that the earliest customs +may have gone beyond those of the Egyptians in exalting women. All the +available evidence points to the conclusion that at the opening of +Babylonian history women had complete independence and equal rights +with their husbands and brothers. It is significant that the most +archaic texts in the primitive language are remarkable for the +precedence given to the female sex in all formulas of address: +"Goddesses and gods;" "Women and men," are mentioned always in that +order; this is in itself a decisive indication of the high status of +women in this early period. And there are other traces all pointing to +the conclusion that in the civilisation of primitive Babylon +mother-right was still in active force. Later (as is shown by the Code +of Hammurabi) a woman's rights, though not her duties, were more +circumscribed; in the still later Neo-Babylonian periods, she again +acquired, through the favourable conditions with regard to property, +full liberty of action and equal rights with her husband.[184] + + [184] H. Ellis, _Psychology of Sex_, Vol. VI, p. 393. + +Let us now turn our attention to the Graeco-Roman civilisation. It is +convenient to take first a brief glance at Rome. I may note that the +family here would certainly appear to have developed from the +primitive clan, or _gens_. At the dawn of history the patriarchal +system was already firmly established, with individual property, and +an unusually strong subjection of woman to her father first and +afterwards to her husband. There are, however, numerous indications of +a prehistoric phase of communism. I can mention only the right of the +_gens_ to the heritage, and in certain cases the possession of an +_ager publicus_, which certainly bears witness in favour of an antique +community of property.[185] Can we, then, accept that there was once a +period of the maternal family, when descent and inheritance were +traced through the mother? Frazer[186] has brought forward facts which +point to the view that the Roman kingship was transmitted in the +female line; and, if this can be accepted, we may fairly conclude that +at one time the maternal customs were in force. The plebeian marriage +ceremonies of Rome should be noted. The funeral inscriptions in +Etruria in the Latin language make much greater insistence on the +maternal than the paternal descent; giving usually the name of the +mother alone, or indicating the father's name by a simple initial, +whilst that of the mother is written in full.[187] This is very +significant. Very little trustworthy evidence, however, is +forthcoming, and of the position of women in Rome in the earliest +periods we know little or nothing. And for this reason I shall refer +my readers to what I have written elsewhere[188] on this matter; +merely saying that there are indications and traditions pointing to +the view that here, as in so many great civilisations, women's actions +were once unfettered, and this, as I believe, can be explained only on +the hypothesis of the existence of a maternal stage, before the +establishment of the individual male authority under the patriarchal +system. + + [185] Letourneau, _Evolution of Marriage_, p. 335. + + [186] _Golden Bough_, Part I. _The Magic Art_, Vol. II, pp. + 270, 289, 312. + + [187] Mueller and Bachofen, cited by Giraud-Teulon, _op. cit._ + pp. 283-284. + + [188] _The Truth About Woman_, pp. 227-242. + +The evidence with regard to prehistoric Greece is much more complete. +The Greek [Greek: genos] resembled the Roman _gens_. Its members had a +common sepulture, common property, the mutual obligation of the +_vendetta_ and archon.[189] In the prehistoric clans maternal descent +would seem to have been established. Plutarch relates that the Cretans +spoke of Crete as their motherland, and not fatherland. In primitive +Athens, the women had the right of voting, and their children bore +their name--privileges that were taken from them, says the legend, to +appease the wrath of Poseidon, after his inundation of the city, +owing to the quarrel with Athene. Tradition also relates that at +Athens, until the time of Cecrops, children bore the name of their +mother.[190] Among the Lycians, whose affinity to the Greeks was so +pronounced, a matriarchate prevailed down to the time of Herodotus. +Not the name only, but the inheritance and status of the children +depended on the mother. The Lycians "honoured women rather than men;" +they are represented "as being accustomed from of old to be ruled by +their women."[191] + + [189] Grote, _History of Greece_, Vol. III, p. 95. + + [190] Letourneau, _op. cit._ pp. 335-336. + + [191] Herodotus, Book I, p. 172. + +One of the most remarkable instances of a gynaecocratic people has only +now been fully discovered as having existed in ancient Crete. It seems +probable that women enjoyed greater powers than they had even in +Egypt. The new evidence that has come to light is certainly most +interesting; the facts are recorded by Mr. J. R. Hall in a recent +book, _Ancient History in the Far East_, and I am specially glad to +bring them forward. He affirms: "It may eventually appear that in +religious matters, perhaps even the government of the State itself as +well, were largely controlled by the women." From the seals we gather +a universal worship of a supreme female goddess, the Rhea of later +religions, who is accompanied sometimes by a youthful male deity. +Wherever we find this preponderating feminine principle in worship we +shall find also a corresponding feminine influence in the customs of +the people. We have seen this, for instance, among the Khasis, where +also goddesses are placed before gods. Mr. Hall further states: "It is +certain that they [the women in Crete] must have lived on a footing of +greater equality with men than in any other ancient civilisation." And +again: "We see in the frescoes of Knossos conclusive indications of an +open and free association of men and women, corresponding to our idea +of 'Society,' at the Minoan court, unparalleled till our own day." The +women are unveiled, and the costumes and setting are extraordinarily +modern. Mr. Hall draws attention to the curious fact that in +appearance the women are very similar to the men, so that often the +sexes can be distinguished only by the conventions of the artists, +representing the women in white, and the men in red outline; the same +convention that was used in Egypt. I may recall to the reader the +likeness of the men to the women among the North American Indians, and +the same similarity between the sexes occurs among the ancient +Egyptians.[192] It is perhaps impossible to search for an explanation. +I would, however, point out that in all these cases, where the sexes +appear to be more alike than is common, we find women in a position of +equality with men. This is really very remarkable; I think it is a +fact that demands more attention than as yet it has received. + + [192] See pp. 129-131, also _The Truth about Woman_, pp. + 199-201. + +At one time there would seem to have been in prehistoric Greece a +period of fully established mother-right. Ancient Attic traditions are +filled with recollections of female supremacy. Women in the Homeric +legends hold a position and enjoy a freedom wholly at variance with a +patriarchal subjection. Not infrequently the husband owes to his wife +his rank and his wealth; always the wife possesses a dignified place +and much influence. Even the formal elevation of women to positions of +authority is not uncommon. "There is nothing," says Homer, "better and +nobler than when husband and wife, being of one mind, rule a +household. Penelope and Clytemnestra were left in charge of the realms +of their husbands during their absence in Troy; the beautiful Chloris +ruled as queen in Pylos. Arete, the beloved wife of Alcinous played an +important part as peacemaker in the kingdom of her husband."[193] + + [193] Gladstone, _Homeric Studies_, Vol. II, p. 507. + Donaldson, _Woman_, pp. 18-19. + +If we turn to the evidence of the ancient mythology and art, it is +also clear that the number of female deities must be connected with +the early predominance of women in Greece. We have to remember that +"the gods" are shaped by human beings in their own image, and the +status of women on earth is reflected in the status of a goddess. Five +out of the eight divinities of immemorial Greek worship were female, +Hera, Demeter, Persephone, Athene and Aphrodite. In addition there +were numerous lesser goddesses. One must consider also that it was +not uncommon for cities to be named after women; and the Greek stories +seem to point to tribes with totem names. How can these things be +explained, unless we accept a maternal stage? There are numerous other +facts all indicating this same conclusion. We find relationships on +the mother's side regarded as much more close than those on the +father's side. In Athens and Sparta a man might marry his father's +sister, but not his mother's sister. Lycaon, in pleading with +Achilles, says in order to appease him, that he is not the uterine +brother of Hector. It is also noteworthy to find that the Thebans, +when pressed in war, seek assistance from the AEginetans as their +nearest kin, _recollecting that Thebe and AEginia had been sisters_. A +similar case is that of the Lycaones in Crete, who claimed affinity +with Athens and with Sparta, which affinity was traced through the +mother.[194] + + [194] McLennan, "Kinship in Ancient Greece"; Essay in + _Studies in Ancient History_, pp. 195-246. + +There is much evidence I am compelled to pass over. It must, however, +be noted that there seems clear proof of the maternal form of marriage +having at one time been practised. Plutarch mentions that the +relations between husband and wife in Sparta were at first +secret.[195] The story told by Pausanias about Ulysses' marriage +certainly points to the custom of the bridegroom going to live with +the wife's family.[196] In this connection the action of Intaphernes +is significant, who, when granted by Darius permission to claim the +life of a single man, chose her brother, saying that both husband and +children could be replaced.[197] Similarly the declaration of Antigone +that neither for husband nor children would she have performed the +toil she undertook for Polynices[198] clearly shows that the tie of +the common womb was held as closer than the tie of marriage; and this +points to the conditions of the communal clan. + + [195] Plutarch, _Apophthegms of the Lacedaemonians_, LXV. + + [196] Pausanias, III, 20 (10), (Frazer's translation). + + [197] Herodotus, III, 119. + + [198] Sophocles, _Antigone_, line 905 _et seq._ + +Andromache, when she relates to Hector how her father's house has been +destroyed, with all who are in it, turns to him and says: "But now, +Hector, thou art my father and gracious mother, thou art my brother, +nay, thou art my valiant husband."[199] It is easy, I think, to see in +this speech how the early idea of the relationships under mother-right +had been transferred to the husband, as the protector of the woman +conditioned by father-right. As in so many countries, the patriarchal +authority of the husband does not seem to have existed in Greece at +this early stage of development. It may, however, be said that all +this, though proving the high status of women in the prehistoric +period, does not establish the existence of the maternal family. I +would ask: how, then, are these mother-right customs to be explained? +In the later history of Greece, with the family based on patriarchal +authority, all this was changed. We find women occupying a much less +favourable position, their rights and freedom more and more +restricted. In Sparta alone, where the old customs for long were +preserved, did the women retain anything of their old dignity and +influence. The Athenian wives, under the authority of their husbands, +sank almost to the level of slaves.[200] + + [199] _Iliad_, VI, 429-430. + + [200] _The Truth about Woman_, pp. 210-227. + +The patriarchal system is connected closely in our thought with the +Hebrew family, where the father, who is chief, holds grouped under his +despotic sway his wives, their children, and slaves. Yet this Semitic +patriarch has not existed from the beginning; numerous survivals of +mother-right customs afford proof that the Hebrew race must have +passed through a maternal stage. These survivals have a special +interest, as we are all familiar with them in Bible history, but we +have not understood their significance. It is possible to give a few +illustrations only. In the history of Jacob's service for his wives, +we have clear proof of the maternal custom of _beenah_ marriage. As a +suitor Jacob had to buy his position as husband and to serve Laban for +seven years before he was permitted to marry Leah, and seven years for +Rachel, while six further years of service were claimed before he was +allowed the possession of his cattle.[201] Afterwards, when he wished +to depart with his wives and his children, Laban made the objection, +"these daughters are my daughters, and these children are my +children."[202] Now, according to the patriarchal custom, Laban's +daughters should have been cut off from their father by marriage, and +become of the kindred of their husbands. Such a claim on the part of +the father proves the subordinate position held by the husband in the +wife's family, who retained control over her and the children of the +marriage, and even over the personal property of the man, as was usual +under the later matriarchal custom. Even when the marriage is not in +the maternal form, and the wife goes to the husband's home, we find +compensation has to be paid to her kindred. Thus when Abraham sought a +wife for Isaac, presents were taken by the messenger to induce the +bride to leave her home; and these presents were given not to the +father of the bride, but to her mother and brother.[203] This is the +early form of purchase marriage, such bridal-gifts being the +forerunners of the payment of a fixed bride-price. We still find +purchase marriage practised side by side with _beenah_ marriage in the +countries where the transitional stage has been reached and +mother-right contends with father-right. But there is stronger +evidence even than these two cases. The injunction in Gen. ii, 24: +"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall +cleave unto his wife," refers without any doubt to the early form of +marriage under mother-right, when the husband left his own kindred and +went to live with his wife and among her people. We find Samson +visiting his Philistine wife who remained with her own people.[204] +Even the obligation to blood vengeance rested apparently on the +maternal kinsmen (Judges viii, 19). The Hebrew father did not inherit +from the son, nor the grandfather from the grandson, which points back +to a time when the children did not belong to the clan of the +father.[205] Among the Hebrews individual property was instituted at a +very early period,[206] but various customs show clearly the early +existence of communal clans. Thus the inheritance, especially the +paternal inheritance, must remain in the clan "then shall their +inheritance be added unto the inheritance of the tribe." Marriage in +the tribe is obligatory for daughters. "Let them marry to whom they +think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they +marry. So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from +tribe to tribe."[207] We have here an indication of the close relation +between father-right and property. + + [201] Gen. xxx, 18-30; xxxi, 14, 41. + + [202] Gen. xxxi, 43. + + [203] Gen. xxiv, 5, 53. + + [204] Judges xv, 1. + + [205] Numb., xxxii, 8-11. See Letourneau, _Evolution of + Marriage_, p. 326. + + [206] Gen. xxiii, 13. + + [207] Numb. xxxvi, 4-8. + +Under mother-right there is naturally no prohibition against marriage +with a half-sister upon the father's side. This explains the marriage +of Abraham with Sarah, his half-sister by the same father. When +reproached for having passed his wife off as his sister to the King of +Egypt, the patriarch replies: "For indeed she is my sister; she is the +daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she +became my wife."[208] In the same way Tamar could have married her +half-brother Amnon, though they were both the children of David: +"Speak to the King, for he will not withhold me from thee." And it was +her uterine brother, Absalom, who revenged the rape of Tamar by +slaying; afterwards he fled to the kindred of his mother.[209] Again, +the father of Moses and Aaron married his father's sister, who legally +was not considered to be related to him.[210] Nabor, the brother of +Abraham, took to wife his fraternal niece, the daughter of his +brother.[211] It was only later that paternal kinship became legally +recognised among the Hebrews by the same titles as the natural kinship +through the mother. + + [208] Gen. xii, 10-20. + + [209] 2 Sam. xiii, 13-16 and 37. + + [210] Exod. vi, 20. + + [211] Gen. xi. 26-29. + +It is by considering these survivals of mother-right in connection +with similar customs to be found among existing maternal peoples that +we see their true significance. They warrant us in believing that the +patriarchal family, as we know it among the Hebrews and elsewhere, was +a later stage of an evolution, which had for its starting-point the +communal clan, and that these races have passed through the maternal +phase. We come to understand the change in the privileged position of +women. As the husband and father continued to gain in power, with the +reassertion of individual interests, it was inevitable that the mother +should lose the authority she had held, under the free social +organisation of the undivided clan. + +Traces of a similar evolution of the family may, I am convinced, be +found by all who will undertake an inquiry for themselves. The subject +is one of great interest. So far as my own study goes, I believe that +these survivals of the maternal-group customs may be discovered in the +early history of every people, where the necessary material for such +knowledge is available. I wish it were possible for me even to +summarise all the evidence, direct and inferential, that I have +collected for my own satisfaction. I must reluctantly pass over many +countries I would like to include; some of these--China, Japan, Burma +and Madagascar--have been noticed briefly in _The Truth about +Woman_.[212] There is surprising similarity between the facts; and, +the more of such survivals that can be found, the more the evidence +seems to grow in favour of the acceptance of a universal maternal +stage in the evolution of society. + + [212] See pp. 156-161. + +I must now, before closing this chapter (whose accumulation of facts +may, I fear, have wearied my readers), refer briefly to the races of +barbarous Europe. The point of interest is, of course--how far +mother-right may be accepted, as at one period, having existed. The +earliest direct evidence is the account given by Strabo of the +Iberians of ancient Spain. And first it is important to note that the +Iberians belonged to the Berber race, now widely regarded as the +parent of the chief and largest element in the population of Europe. +There is another fact that must be noted. The general characteristic +of the Berber family seems to have been the privileged position they +accorded to their women, privileges so great that we meet with strong +tendencies towards the matriarchate. This last is still in force among +the Touaregs of the Sahara; and there are as well numerous traces of +its former existence among the neighbouring Kabyles, though there the +most rigorous patriarchate has replaced the maternal family.[213] We +have seen, too, that in ancient Egypt, where the Berbers were largely +represented, women enjoyed a position of extraordinary freedom and +authority. + + [213] Letourneau, _op. cit._ 328. + +Bearing this in mind, we may accept the statement of Strabo: "Among +the Cantabrians usage requires that the husband shall bring a dower to +his wife, and the daughters inherit, being charged with the marriage +of their brothers, which constitutes a kind of gynaecocracy." There is +possibly some exaggeration in the term gynaecocracy; yet if there is no +proof of "rule by women," there can be no doubt that, through the +system of female inheritance, property was held by them, and this must +certainly have given them the power always involved by the possession +of wealth. + +The freedom of the women of ancient Spain is sufficiently indicated by +the fact that they took part in the activities usually considered as +belonging to men. It was these women who played their part in driving +back the Roman legions from the mountainous districts of northern +Spain; we read of them fighting side by side with men, where they used +their weapons with courage and determination. They received their +wounds with silent fortitude, and no cry of pain ever escaped their +lips, even when the wounds which laid them low were mortal. To women +as well as men liberty was a possession more valued than life, and, +when taken prisoners, they fell upon their own swords, and dashed +their little ones to death rather than suffer them to live to be +slaves. Nor were the activities of women confined to warfare. Justin +speaks of women as not only having the care of all domestic matters, +but also cultivating the fields. And Strabo, writing of these Amazons, +tells us that they would often step aside out of the furrows "to be +brought to bed," and then, having borne a child, would return to their +work "just as if they had only laid an egg." He notes, too, as being +practised among them the _couvade_, whereby the husband, in assertion +of his legal fatherhood, retired to bed when a child was born.[214] + + [214] See in this connection my book, _Spain Revisited_, pp. + 291-304. + +Spain is a land that I know well, and for this reason I have chosen to +write of it in fuller detail. Persistent relics of the early maternal +period even yet may be traced in the customs of this strongly +conservative people. Women are held in honour. There is a proverb +common all over Spain to the effect that "he who is unfortunate and +needs assistance should seek his mother." Many primitive customs +survive, and one of the most interesting is that by which the eldest +daughter in some cases takes precedence over the sons in inheritance. +Among the Basques, until quite recently, the administration of the +family property passed to the eldest child, whether a boy or a girl; +and in the case of a daughter, her husband was obliged to take the +name of the family and to live in the wife's home. Spanish women +always retain their own names after marriage, and as far back as the +fourth century we find them at the Synod of Elvira resisting an +attempt to limit this freedom. The practice is still common for +children to use the name of the mother coupled with that of the +father, and even, in some cases, alone, showing a quite unusual +absence of preference for paternal descent. This is very significant. +It explains the recognition given in old Spain to the unmarried +mother; even to-day in no country, that I know, does less social +stigma fall on a child born out of wedlock. The profound Spanish +veneration of the Virgin Mary, as well as the number of female saints, +is another indication of the honour paid to women, which must, I am +certain, be connected with a far back time when goddesses were +worshipped. I would note, too, the fine Spanish understanding of +hospitality. This belongs to the ideals of communal life. I know +nothing to equal it in the common habits of other European countries. +It may be compared with the conditions in the joint-family communities +of the American Indians.[215] + + [215] See pp. 107-109. + +Much more might be said on the position of the Spanish women. I have, +however, written elsewhere of these women,[216] of their intelligence, +and strength, and beauty, and of the active part they take still in +the industrial life of the country. There can be no question that some +features of the maternal customs have left their imprint on the +domestic life of Spain, and this, as I believe, explains how women +here have in certain directions, preserved a freedom of action and +privileges, which even in England have never been established, and +only of late claimed. + + [216] _Spain Revisited; Things Seen in Spain; Moorish + Cities._ + +As we may expect, there is less direct evidence of mother-right in the +other European countries than is the case in conservative Spain. +Dargun, who has written much on this subject,[217] believes that +maternal descent was formerly practised among the Germans. He holds +further "that the ancient Aryans at the time of their dispersion +regarded kinship through the mother as the sole, or chief, basis of +blood-kinship, and all their family rights were governed by this +principle." There is much conflict of opinion on this matter, and it +would, perhaps, be rash to make any definite statement. We may recall +what Tacitus says of the Germans: + + [217] _Mutterrecht und Raubehe und ihre Reste im Germanischen + Recht und Leben_, Vol. XVI, quoted by Starcke, _The Primitive + Family_, pp. 103 _et seq._ + +"The son of a sister is as dear to his uncle as to his father; some +even think that the first of these ties is the most sacred and close; +and in taking hostages they prefer nephews, as inspiring a stronger +attachment, and interesting the family on more sides." The same +authority tells us that the Germans of his day met together to take a +clan meal, to settle clan business, _i. e._ for the clan council--and +to arrange marriages. This is strong confirmation of what I am trying +to establish.[218] Further evidence may be gathered from the ancient +religion. There are many Teutonic goddesses, who may well be connected +with the primitive tribal-mothers.[219] Religion here, as so often +elsewhere, would seem to have been symbolised as feminine. Not only +the seers, but the sacrificers among the early Teutons were +women.[220] To this evidence may be added that in Germany up to a late +period the mother could be the guardian of her children; that a wife +had to be bought by the husband, both she and her children remaining +under the guardianship of her father. All this points to mother-right +and the existence of the maternal clan.[221] Let us note also that in +the Slav communities women had the right to vote, and might be elected +to the government of the community. + + [218] _De moribus Germanorum_, XX. See also K. Pearson, _The + Chances of Death_, Vol. II, p. 132. + + [219] Grimm, _Mythologie_, Vol. I, p. 248. + + [220] K. Pearson, _The Chances of Death_, Vol. II, p. 102. + + [221] Starcke, _op. cit._ p. 105, citing Dargun and Grimm. + See also Letourneau, _op. cit._ pp. 339-340. + +It will interest my readers to know that mother-descent must once +have prevailed in Britain. Among the Picts of Scotland kingship was +transmitted through women.[222] Bede tells us that down to his own +time--the early part of the eighth century--whenever a doubt arose as +to the succession, the Picts chose their king from the female rather +than from the male line.[223] There is an ancient legend which +represents the Irish as giving three hundred wives to the Picts, on +the condition that the succession to the crown should always be +through their females-- + + "There were oathes imposed on them, + By the stars, by the earth, + That from the nobility of the mother + Should always be the right to the sovereignty."[224] + + [222] Giraud-Teulon, _op. cit._ pp. 41-42. + + [223] Bede, II. 1-7. + + [224] McLennan, _Studies_, p. 46. + +Similar traces are found in England: Canute, the Dane, when +acknowledged King of England, married Emma, the widow of his +predecessor, Ethelred. Ethelbald, King of Kent, married his +stepmother, after the death of his father Ethelbert; and, as late as +the ninth century, Ethelbald, King of the West Saxons, wedded Judith, +the widow of his father. Such marriages are intelligible only if we +suppose that the queen had the power of conferring the kingdom upon +her consort, which could only happen where maternal descent was, or +had been, practised. These marriages with the widow of a king were at +one time very common. The familiar example of Hamlet's uncle is one, +who, after murdering his brother, married his wife and became king. +His acceptance by the people, in spite of his crime, is explained if +it was the old Danish custom for marriage with the king's widow to +carry the kingdom with it. In Hamlet's position as avenger, and his +curious hesitancy, we have really an indication of the conflict +between the old and the new ways of descent.[225] + + [225] See Frazer, _Golden Bough_, Part I. _The Magic Art_, + Vol. II, 282-283. + +The Celtic population of Britain preserved the institution of the clan +much longer than the other European races. In Wales and in Ireland, in +particular, communism was strongly established. The clan was +responsible for the crimes of its members, paid the fines, and +received the compensations.[226] There are numerous indications of +mother-right. In Ireland women retained a very high position and much +freedom, both before and after marriage, to a late period: temporary +unions were freely allowed, and customs having the force of law +safeguarded the rights of the wife. "Every woman," it was said, "is to +go the way she willeth freely."[227] + + [226] Letourneau, _op. cit._ p. 338. Maine, _Early + Institutions_, pp. 113 _et seq._ + + [227] Rhys and Brynmor-Jones, _The Welsh People_. + +The early Celtic mythologies and folk-records are full of these +survivals. Goddesses are frequent as primeval tribal-mothers. Let me +give one instance. The Irish goddess Brigit (whose attributes at a +later date were transferred to St. Bridget) is referred to in a +ninth-century glossary as--_operum atque artificiorum initia_. She was +the tribal-mother of the Bringantes. Similarly Vote was tribal-mother +of the Burgundians; and the goddess Bil of the Billings, and there are +numerous other cases. In a recent book on _Ulster Folk-lore_,[228] I +have been fortunate enough to find a most interesting passage +referring to the Irish goddess Brigit. I quote it with pleasure as a +fitting ending to this chapter.[229] + + "Now, St. Bridget had a pagan predecessor, Brigit, a poetess + of the Tuatha de Danann, and whom we may perhaps regard as a + female Apollo. Cormac in his _Glossary_ tells us she was a + daughter of the Dagda and a goddess whom all poets adored, + and whose sisters were Brigit the physician and Brigit the + smith. Probably the three sisters represent the same divine, + or semi-divine, person whom we may identify with the British + goddess Brigantia and the Gaulish Brigindo." + + [228] By E. Andrews, p. 18. + + [229] I would refer the reader to a most interesting article + on "Old English Clans" (_Cornhill_, Sept. 1881); this I had + not read when I wrote this chapter. The author holds that the + clan system was once common to the whole Aryan race. In the + Teutonic stock its memory died out in an early stage of + development, owing to the strong individuality of the + Teutonic mind. Yet it has left behind it many traces. + Numerous examples are given. Perhaps the most interesting is + the evidence showing that totemism seems to have existed; the + clan names being taken from animals or plants. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE SURVIVALS OF MOTHER-RIGHT IN FOLK-LORE, IN HEROIC LEGENDS, AND IN +FAIRY STORIES + + +In the preceding chapter we have found the former existence of the +maternal family, or some indication of it, in the early records of +many races, proving this by numerous survivals of customs entirely at +variance with the patriarchal conditions. Should it be thought that +this claim has not been supported by sufficient evidence, I must plead +the difficulties of such an inquiry. My survey has been very +incomplete. I am certain, however, that these survivals will be +recognised by any one who will undertake for themselves the collection +and interpretation of the facts from the records of the past. + +There is a point to consider here. The absence, or rather the rarity, +of mother-right survivals in some civilisations cannot be counted as +proof that the maternal system never existed. As I have shown in the +earlier chapters of this book, the mother-age was a transitional +stage, between the very early brute-conditions of the family and the +second firmly established patriarchate. Now, it is clear that the +customs of a transitional stage are very likely to disappear; they are +also very likely to be mistaken. Bearing this in mind, the number of +survivals that do occur are, I hold, extraordinary, and, indeed, +impossible to account for if the maternal family was not a universal +stage in the development of society. Moreover, I am certain from my +own study that these survivals are of much wider occurrence than is +believed, but as yet the facts are insufficiently established. + +It now remains to consider a new field of inquiry; and that is the +abundant evidence of mother-right to be found in folk-lore, in heroic +legends, and in the fairy-stories of our children. There is a special +value in these old-world stories, that date back to a time long before +written history. They belong to all countries in slightly different +forms. We have regarded them as fables, but there was never a fable +that did not arise out of truth--not, of course, the outside truth of +facts, but from that inward truth of the life and thought of a people, +which is what really matters. I cannot, then, do better than conclude +the evidence for the mother-age by referring to some few of these +myths and legends. + +In order to group the great mass of material I will take first the +creation myths. One only out of many examples can be given. The Zuni +Indians, who, it will be remembered, are a maternal people, give this +account of the beginning of the world. We read how the Sun-god, +withdrawing strength from his flesh, impregnated the great waters, +until there arose upon them, waxing wide and weighty, the "Fourfold +Mother-earth" and the "All-covering Father-sky." + + "From the lying together of these twain, upon the great + world water, so vitalising, life was conceived, whence began + all beings of the earth, men and creatures, in the four-fold + womb of the world. Thereupon the Earth-mother repulsed the + Sky-father, growing big and sinking deep into the embrace of + the waters below, thus separated from the Sky-father, in the + embrace of the waters above." The story states, "Warm is the + Earth-mother and cold the Sky-father, even as woman is warm + and man is cold." Then it goes on, "'So is thy will,' said + the Sky-father, 'yet not alone shalt thou helpful be unto + our children';" and we learn how the Sky-father assisted the + Earth-mother. "Thus in other ways, many diversed, they + worked for their offspring."[230] + + [230] Cushing, _Zuni Creation Myths_. + +There is one reflection only I desire to offer on this most beautiful +maternal version of the creation legend. Here we find complete +understanding of the woman's part; she is the one who gives life; she +is the active partner. The Sky-father is represented as her agent, her +helper. Why should this be? Contrast this idea with the patriarchal +creation story of the Bible. + + "And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be + alone; I will make him an help meet for him.... And the Lord + God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; + and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead + thereof: and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the + man made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And the + man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my + flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out + of Man."[231] + + [231] Gen. ii, 18, 21-23. + +I would again assert my strong belief that in the religious conception +of a people we find the true thoughts and the customs of the period in +which they originated. A patriarchal people could not have given +expression to a creation myth in which the female idea prevailed, and +the mother, and not the father, was dominant. For men have ever +fashioned the gods in their own human image, endowing them with their +thoughts and actions. The sharp change in the view of woman's part in +the relationship of the sexes is clearly symbolised in these creation +myths. Yes, it marks the degradation of woman; she has fallen from the +maternal conception of the feminine principle, guiding, directing, and +using the male, to that of the woman made for the man in the +patriarchal Bible story. + +Another group of legends that I would notice refer to the conflict +between the right of the mother and that of the father in relation to +the children. These stories belong to a period of transition. In +ancient Greece, as we have seen, the paternal family succeeded the +maternal clan. In his _Orestia_, AEschylus puts in opposition before +Pallas Athene the right of the mother and the right of the father. +The chorus of the Eumenides, representing the people, defends the +position of the mother; Apollo pleads for the father, and ends by +declaring, in a fit of patriarchal delirium, that _the child is not of +the blood of the mother_. "It is not the mother who begets what is +called her child; she is only the nurse of the germ poured into her +womb; he who begets is the father. The woman receives the germ merely +as guardian, and when it pleases the gods, she preserves it." Plato +also brings forward this view, and states that the mother contributes +nothing to the child's being. "The mother is to the child what the +soil is to the plant; it owes its nourishment to her, but the essence +and structure of its nature are derived from the father." Again the +Orestes of Euripides takes up the same theory, when he says to +Tyndarus: "My father has begotten me, and thy daughter has given birth +to me, as the earth receives the seed that another confides to it." +Here we trace a different world of thoughts and conceptions; the +mother was so little esteemed as to be degraded into the mere +nourisher of the child. These patriarchal theories naturally +consecrated the slavery of woman.[232] + + [232] McLennan, _Studies_, "Kinship in Ancient Greece"; + Letourneau, _Evolution of Marriage_, pp. 336-337, and + Starcke, _The Primitive Family_, pp. 115-116. + +Another point strikingly illustrated by many of these ancient legends +is the struggle for power between the two sexes--a struggle that would +seem to have been present at all stages of civilisation, but always +most active in periods of transition. One out of many examples is all +that I can give. In Hawaii, worship is given to the goddess Pele, the +personification of the volcano Kilauea, and the god Tamapua, the +personification of the sea, or rather, of the storm which lashes the +sea and hurls wave after wave upon the land. The myth tells that +Tamapua wooed Pele, who rejected his suit, whereupon he flooded the +crater with water, but Pele drank up the water and drove him back into +the sea.[233] + + [233] Starcke, pp. 249-250, citing Bachofen's _Antiquarische + Briefe_, Vol. I, p. 140. + +Here a brief digression into the early mythologies may be made, +although this question of the connection between mother-right and +religious ideas is one on which I have already enlarged. The most +primitive theogony is that of Mother-Earth and her son. Goddesses are +at first of greater importance than gods. The Earth-mother springs +from chaos, and in the beginning her children have no father.[234] +Traces of such a goddess are to be found in many ancient religions. +Afterwards as a modification, or rather a development, of the +Earth-mother, we have the goddesses of fertility. This idea arose with +the development of agriculture, and was closely connected in the +primitive mind with the sex functions. Demeter is of this type; and +there are many of these mother-deities who once were universally +worshipped. Virgin goddesses are a much later creation, and must be +connected with the patriarchal ideals for women. The original god-idea +symbolised as woman is the free mother; she is the source of all +fertility; she is the goddess of love. The servants of these goddesses +were priestesses, or at a later date men dressed as women. At first +the gods, in so far as they had any existence, appear in the form of +temporary lovers of the goddesses; they are very plainly the +transitory male element needful for fertilisation, and then destined +to disappear.[235] We find very early the brother as the husband and +dependent of the Mother-goddess. Thus Isis did not change or lose her +independent position after her marriage to her brother Osiris; her +importance as a deity remained always greater than his.[236] Only at a +much later stage--the patriarchal stage--was the wandering lover-god +or dependent brother-spouse raised to the position of authority of the +All-Father. We may find in the religious sexual festivals, common to +all civilisations, abundant confirmation of these facts. As one +illustration out of many that might be chosen, I will refer to the +account given by Prof. K. Pearson[237] of the festival of Sakaees, held +in Babylon in honour of the great goddess Mylitta, who was essentially +a mother-goddess of fertility. The festival lasted for five days in +the month of July. It was presided over by the priestess of the +goddess, who represented the goddess herself. She sat enthroned on a +mound which for the time was the sanctuary of the deity, with the +altar with oil and incense before her. To her came the god-lover +represented by a slave, who made homage and worshipped. From her he +received the symbols of kingly power, and she raised him to the throne +by her side. As her accepted lover and lord of the festival, he +remained for five days, during which the law of the goddess prevailed. +Afterwards on the fifth day the god-lover was sacrificed on the pyre. +The male element had performed its function. + + [234] K. Pearson, _Chances of Death_, Vol. II, Essays on the + Mother-age Civilisation, etc. Many of the facts given in this + chapter are taken from these illuminative essays. + + [235] K. Pearson, _Ibid._, p. 102. + + [236] _The Truth about Woman_, p. 198. + + [237] _Ibid._, pp. 109-110. + +I cannot leave this subject without emphasising the importance of +these erotic-religious festivals, once of universal occurrence. They +afford the strongest evidence of the early privileged position of +women in the relationships between the two sexes. It is, I think, +impossible to avoid giving to this a matriarchal interpretation. For +it is by contrasting the religious-sex standpoints of the maternal and +the paternal ideals that the inferior position of women under the +later system can be demonstrated. Moreover, in much later periods, and +even to our own day, we may yet find broken survivals of the old +customs. Illustrations are not far to seek in the common festivals of +the people in Germany and elsewhere, and as I have myself witnessed +them in Spain, a land which has preserved its old customs much more +unchanged than is usual.[238] One example may be noted in England, +which would seem to have a very ancient origin; it is given by Prof. +K. Pearson.[239] "The Roman _Lupercalia_ held on February 15 was +essentially a worship of fertility, and the privileges supposed to be +attached to women in our own country during this month--especially on +February 14 and 29--are probably fossils of the same sex-freedom." + + [238] See _Spain Revisited_, and _Things Seen in Spain_. + + [239] _Ibid._, p. 158. + +Passing again to the old legends, we find not a few that attempt to +account for both the rise and the decline of the custom of maternal +descent. I will give an example of each. Newbold relates that in +Menangkabowe, where the female line is observed, it is accounted for +by this legend-- + + "Perpati Sabatang built a magnificent vessel, which he + loaded with gold and precious stones so heavily that it got + aground on the sands at the foot of the fiery mountains, and + resisted the efforts of all the men to get it off. The sages + were consulted, and declared that all attempts would be in + vain until the vessel had passed over the body of a pregnant + woman. It happened that the Rajah's own daughter was in the + condition desired; she was called upon to immolate herself + for the sake of her country, but refused. At this juncture + the pregnant sister of the Rajah boldly stepped forward, and + cast herself beneath the prow of the vessel, which instantly + put itself in motion, and again floated on the waves without + injury to the princess. Whereupon the Rajah disinherited the + offspring of his disobedient daughter in favour of the child + of his sister, and caused this to be enrolled in the + records of the empire as the law of succession in time to + come."[240] + + [240] Newbold, _Account of the British Settlements in the + Straits of Malacca_, Vol. II, p. 221. + +The second illustration is taken from the quarrel between Pallas +Athene and Poseidon to which already I have referred. The myth tells +us-- + + "A double wonder sprang out of the earth at the same + time--at one place the olive tree and at another water. The + people in terror sent to Delphi to ask what should be done. + The god answered that the olive tree signified the power of + Athene, and the water that of Poseidon; and that it remained + with the burgesses to choose after which of the two they + would name their town. An assembly was called of the + burgesses, both men and women, for it was then the custom to + let the women take part in the public councils. The men + voted for Poseidon, the women for Athene; and as there were + more women than men by one, Athene conquered. Thereupon + Poseidon was enraged, and immediately the sea flowed over + all the lands of Athens. To appease the sea-god, the + burgesses found it necessary to impose a threefold + punishment on their wives. They were to lose their votes; + the children were to receive no more the mother's name, and + they themselves were no longer to be called after the + goddess."[241] + + [241] McLennan, _Studies_, "Kinship in Ancient Greece," p. + 235. + +The origin of these myths is perfectly clear. There is no reason to +force their interpretation by regarding them as historical evidence of +a struggle taking place between the maternal and the paternal custom +of tracing descent;[242] rather they are poetical explanations, +plainly invented to account for women's predominance at a time when +such power had come to be considered as unusual. The same may be said +of many of these old myths. Man's fancy begins to weave poetic +inventions around anything he considers abnormal or is not able to +understand. The idea or custom for which an explanation is being +sought must, however, have been present for long in the common life +and thought of the people. Without realising this, all these old +stories become unintelligible. I believe they have been greatly +misinterpreted in the thought of writers bound by patriarchal ideas. + + [242] This is done by Bachofen, and also, to some extent, by + McLennan. + +The limitation of my space does not allow me to enter into the great +amount of evidence provided by these mythical stories of the +privileged position of women. One instance, however, may be referred +to as an illustration. We find a wide range of stories connected with +the mythical Amazons. Now, if I am right, the frequency of these +legends among so many races points to the acceptance of the Amazon +heroines as an historical fact. Fancy, without doubt, wove the details +of their stories, occurrences would be chosen or imagined to give +colour to the narratives, but such poetic inventions, with all their +repetitions, all their reproductions of what is practically one +situation, would take only definite form from conditions so impressed +on the popular mind by facts that must have had a real existence. +Bearing this in mind, special significance attaches to a discovery +recently made by Prof. d'Allosso. In the ancient necropolis of +Belmonte, dating from the iron age, are two very rich tombs of women +warriors with war chariots over their remains. Prof. d'Allosso states +that several details given by Virgil of the Amazon Camilla, who fought +and died on the field of battle, coincide with the details on these +tombs. The importance of this discovery is thus very great, as it +certainly seems to indicate what I am claiming--that the existence of +the Amazon heroines, leaders of armies and sung by the ancient poets, +is not a poetic fancy, but an historic reality.[243] + + [243] See _The Truth about Woman_, p. 228. + +I must turn now to the last group of evidence that I am able to bring +forward; to find this we must enter that realm of fancy--the world of +fairyland. We shall see that this land has its own customs, and its +own laws, entirely at variance with all those to which we are +accustomed. How is this to be explained? These stories are founded +really on the life of the common people, and they have come down from +generation to generation, handed on by the storytellers, from a time +long before the day when they were ever collected and written in +books. It is the popular and social character of these stories that is +so important; they are records of customs and habits long forgotten, +but once common in the daily life of the people. In them the past is +potent with life, and for this reason they claim the most careful and +patient study. I speak of the most familiar stories that we have +regarded as foolish fables. Nowhere else can we gain so clear and +vivid a picture of the childhood of civilisation, when women were the +transmitters of inheritance and the guardians of property. + +Let me try to prove this. I have before me a collection of these +folk-stories, gathered from many countries. Now, the most popular +story (whose theme occurs again and again, the details varied in the +different renderings) is concerned with the gaining of a princess as a +bride by a wooer, usually of humble birth. This lover to obtain his +wife achieves some mighty deed of valour, or performs tasks set for +him by the parents of the bride; he thus inherits the kingdom through +the daughter of the king. Hans, faring forth to seek his luck; the +Dummling in the Golden Goose story; the miller's son, who gained his +bride by the wit of his cat, and Aladdin with his magic lamp are +well-known examples of this story. The Scottish and Irish legends are +particularly rich in examples of these hero lovers. Assipattle, the +dirty ash-lad, who wins the fair Gemdelovely and then reigns with her +as queen and king, is one of the most interesting. Similar stories may +be found in the folk-lore of every country. Ash-lad figures in many of +the Norwegian tales. There is a charming version in the Lapp story of +the "Silk Weaver and her husband," where we read, "Once upon a time a +poor lad wooed a princess and the girl wanted to marry him, but the +Emperor was against the match. Nevertheless she took him at last and +they were wed together."[244] + + [244] K. Pearson, _The Truth about Woman_, p. 70 _note_. + +This "fairy theory" of marriage is really the maternal or _beenah_ +form: such a marriage as was made by Jacob and is still common among +all maternal peoples. The inheritance passes through the daughters; +the suitors gain their position by some deed of valour or by service +done for the bride's family; sometimes it is the mother who sets the +task, more often it is the father, while, in some cases, the girl +herself imposes the conditions of marriage. It is possible to trace a +development in these stories. We can see the growth of purchase-marriage +in the service demanded by the parents of the bride, this taking the +place of the earlier custom of the bridegroom proving his fitness by +some test of strength. Again, those stories in which the arrangement +of the marriage remains with the mother or with the girl, and not with +the father, must be regarded as the older versions. This change +appears also in the conditions of inheritance; in some cases the +kingdom passes at once with the bride, in others the half of the +kingdom is the marriage portion, while in the later stories the full +authority to rule comes only after the death of the king. But always +sooner or later the daughter of the king conveys the kingdom to her +husband. The sons of the king do not inherit; they are of much less +importance than the daughters; they are sent forth to seek their own +fortunes. This is the law where the inheritance passes through the +daughter. + +This law of female inheritance must at one time have been universal. +We are brought, indeed, constantly back to that opinion--so amply +evidenced by these folk-relics. In the old West country ballad "The +Golden Vanity" or "The Lowland's Low," the boy who saves the ship from +the Spanish pirate galleon is promised as a reward "silver and gold, +with the skipper's pretty little daughter who lives upon the shore." +Similarly in the well-known folksong "The Farmer's Boy," the lad who +comes weary and lame to the farmer's door, seeking work, eventually +marries the farmer's daughter and inherits the farm. Again, Dick +Whittington, the poor country lad, who faithfully serves his master in +London, marries his employer's daughter. This theme is very frequently +found in ballads, romances, and dramas; in all cases the way to +fortune for the lover is through marriage--the daughter carries the +inheritance. + +Let us take Assipattle of the Scottish legend as a type of these hero +wooers. He is represented always as the youngest son, held in contempt +by his brothers, and merely tolerated by his parents. He lies in the +ashes, from which he gains his name. Some emergency arises; a great +danger threatens the land or, more often, a princess has to be +delivered from a position of peril. Assipattle executes the deed, when +his brothers and all others have failed; he frees the land or rescues +the king's daughter, and is covered with honour. He marries the +princess and inherits the kingdom. Assipattle always begins in the +deepest degradation, and ends on the highest summit of glory. There is +a special interest in this story. The reader will not have failed to +notice the similarity of Assipattle with Cinderella. In both stories +the circumstances are the same, only the Ash-lad has been replaced by +the Cinder-girl. There is no doubt which version is the older:[245] +the one is the maternal form, the other the patriarchal. + + [245] In this connection, see K. Pearson in the essay already + quoted, p. 85 _et seq._ + +The setting of these stories should be noticed. We see the simplicity +of the habits and life so vividly represented. All folk-legends deal +with country people living near to nature. So similar, indeed, are the +customs depicted throughout that these folk-records might well be +taken as a picture of the social organisation among many barbarous +tribes. I should like to wait to point out these resemblances, such, +for instance, as the tendency to personify natural objects, the +identification of human beings with animals and trees, found so often +in the stories, as well as many other things--the belief in magic and +the power of wise women. And what I want to make clear is the very +early beginning of these folk-tales; they take us back to the social +institutions of the mother-age. Thus there is nothing surprising to +find that kingdoms and riches are won by hero-lovers, and that +daughters carry the inheritance. This is really what used to happen. +It is our individual ideas and patriarchal customs that make these +things seem so strange. + +I wish I had space in which to follow further these still-speaking +relics of a past, whose interest offers such rich reward. In his essay +"Ashiepattle, or Hans seeks his Luck" (_The Chances of Death_, Vol. +II, pp. 51-91), Prof. Karl Pearson has fully and beautifully shown the +evidence for mother-right to be found in these stories. To this essay +the reader, who still is in doubt, is referred. All that has been +possible to me is to suggest an inquiry that any one can pursue for +himself. It is the difficulty of treating so wide and fascinating a +subject in briefest outline that so many things that should be noticed +have to be passed over. + +The witness afforded by these folk-stories for mother-right cannot be +neglected. For what interpretation are we to place on the curious +facts they record? Are we to regard this maternal marriage with +descent through the daughter, and not the son, as idle inventions of +the storytellers? Do these princesses and their peasant wooers belong +to the topsy-turvy land of fairies? No: in these stories, drawn from +so many various countries, we have echoes of a very distant past. It +is by placing the customs here represented by the side of similar +social conditions still to be found among primitive maternal peoples, +that we find their significance. We then understand that these old, +old stories of the folk really take us back to the age in which they +first took form. We have read these "fairy stories" to our children, +unknowing what they signified--a prophetic succession of witnesses, +pointing us back to the ripening of that phase of the communal family, +before the establishment of the individual patriarchal rule, when the +law was mother-right, and all inheritance was through women. + +I would add to this chapter a notice I have just recently lighted +on[246] of the ancient warrior, Queen Meave of Ireland. She is +represented as tall and beautiful, terrible in her battle chariot, +when she drove full speed into the press of fighting men. Her virtues +were those of a warlike barbarian king, and she claimed the like large +liberty in morals. Her husband was Ailill, the Connaught king; their +marriage was literally a partnership wherein Meave, making her own +terms, demanded from her husband exact equality of treatment. The +three essential qualities on which she insisted were that he should be +brave, and generous, and completely devoid of jealousy. + + [246] "Ancient Irish Sagas," _Century_, Jan. 1907. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +CONCLUDING REMARKS + + +My investigation of the mother-age might fitly have terminated with +the preceding chapter; but the immense interest which attaches to the +subject, and the amount of misconception which prevails regarding the +origin and conditions of the maternal family, as well as my own +special views upon it, induce me to devote a brief final chapter to a +few observations that to me seem to be important. + +In my little book (which must be regarded rather as a sketch or design +than as a finished work) an attempt has been made to approach the +problem of the primitive family from a new and decisive standpoint. I +am well aware that in certain directions I have crossed the threshold +only of the subjects treated. I hope that at least I have opened up +suggestions of many questions on which I could not dwell at length. +All this may bring the hesitation that leads to further inquiry. And I +believe that those of my readers who will follow out an investigation +for themselves in any direction--either in the collecting of maternal +customs among existing primitive peoples, or in noting the relics of +such customs to be met with in historical records and in folk-lore, +will find an ever increasing store of evidence, and that then the +discredited mother-age, with its mother-right customs, will become for +them what it is for me, a necessary and accepted stage in the +evolution of human societies. + +Many of the conclusions to which I have come are so completely opposed +to those which generally have been accepted as correct, that now, I am +at the end of my inquiry it will be well to sum up briefly its result. + +The facts I have so rapidly enumerated have a very wide bearing; they +serve to destroy the accepted foundations on which the claim for +mother-right has hitherto been based. The first stage of the family +was patriarchal. All the evidence we possess tends to show that +tracing descent through the mother was not the primitive custom. +Throughout my aim has been to bring into uniformity the opposing +theories of the primeval patriarchate and the maternal family. The +current view, so often asserted, and manifestly inspired by a +Puritanical ideal, insists that mother-descent arose through uncertain +fatherhood, and was connected with an early period of promiscuous +relationships between the two sexes. This view has been proved to be +entirely wrong. The system of maternal descent was a system framed for +order, and had in its origin, at least, no connection with sexual +disorder. Further than this, it is certain that marriage in some form +has always existed, and that the sexual relationships have never been +unregulated. We must renounce any theory of primitive promiscuity. +And there is more than this to be said. Such freedom in love and in +marriage as we do find in barbarous societies is so strong a proof of +friendly feeling and security that it is certain it could not have +existed in the first stage of the jealous patriarchate; rather it must +have developed at a subsequent period with the growth of the +social-tribal spirit, and the liberty of women from the thrall of +sexual ownership. In these particulars my opinion differs from all +other writers who have sought to establish a theory of matriarchy. I +venture to claim that the position of the mother-age has been +strengthened, and, as I hope, built up on surer foundations. + +Let us cast a brief glance backward over the way that we have +travelled. + +Our most primitive ancestors, half-men, half-brutes, lived in small, +solitary and hostile family groups, held together by a common +subjection to the strongest male, who was the father and the owner of +all the women, and their children. There was no promiscuity, for there +could be no possible union in peace. Here was the most primitive form +of jealous ownership by the male, as he killed or drove off his +rivals; his fights were the brutal precursors of all sexual +restrictions for women. These customs of brute ownership are still in +great measure preserved among the least developed races. This explains +how there are many rude peoples that exhibit no traces at all of the +system of mother-descent. In the lowest nomad bands of savages of the +deserts and forests we find still these rough paternal groups, who +know no social bonds, but are ruled alone by brute strength and +jealous ownership. With them development has been very slow; they have +not yet advanced to the social organisation of the maternal clan. + +From these first solitary families, grouped submissively around one +tyrant-ruler, we reach a second stage out of which order and +organisation sprang. In this second stage the family expanded into the +larger group of the communal clan. The upward direction of this +transformation is evident; the change was from the most selfish +individualism to a communism more or less complete--from the +primordial patriarchate to a free social organisation, all the members +of which are bound together by a strict solidarity of interests. The +progress was necessarily slow from the beginning to this first phase +of social life. Yet the change came. With the fierce struggle for +existence, association was the only possible way, not only to further +progress, but to prevent extermination. + +It has been shown that the earliest movements towards peace came +through the influence of the women, for it was in their interest to +consolidate the family, and, by means of union, to establish their own +power. Collective motives were more considered by women, not at all +because of any higher standard of feminine moral virtue, but because +of the peculiar advantages arising to themselves and to their +children--advantages of freedom which could not exist in a society +inspired by individual inclination. And for this reason the clan +system may be considered as a feminine creation, which had special +relation to motherhood. Under this influence, the marital rights of +the male members were restricted and confined. A system of taboos was +established, which as time advanced was greatly strengthened by the +sacred totem marks, and became of inexorable strictness. In this way +association between the jealous fighting males was made possible. + +Here, then, are the reasons that led to the formation of the maternal +family and the communal clan. It was a movement that had nothing about +it that was exceptional; it was a perfectly natural arrangement--the +practical outgrowth of the practical needs of primitive peoples. The +strong and certain claim for the acceptance for the mother-age, with +its privileged position for women, rests on this foundation. + +Let us be quite clear as to the real question involved, for it is a +crucial one. I refer to the complete disturbance arising through this +change in the family organisation in the relationships between the two +sexes. A wife was no longer the husband's property. Her position was +unchanged by marriage, for her rights were safeguarded by her kindred, +whose own interests could be protected only through her freedom. + +If we turn next to the status of men--of the husband and father--in +the maternal kindred group, we find their power and influence at first +gradually, and then rapidly, decreasing. It was under these conditions +of family communism that the rights of the husband and father were +restricted on every side. Not only does he not stand out as a +principal person from the background of the familial clan; he has not +even any recognised social existence in the family group. This +restriction of the husband and father was clearly dependent on the +form of marriage. We have seen that the individual relationships +between the sexes began with the reception of temporary lovers by the +woman in her own home. But a relationship thus formed would tend under +favourable circumstances to be continued, and, in some cases, +perpetuated. The lover became the husband; he left the home of his +mother to reside with his wife among her kin; he was still without +property or any recognised rights in her clan, with no--or very +little--control over the woman and none over her children, occupying, +indeed, the position of a more or less permanent guest in her hut or +tent. The wife's position and that of her children was assured, and in +the case of a separation it was the man who departed, leaving her in +possession. + +Under such an organisation the family and social customs were in most +cases--and always, I believe, in their complete maternal +form--favourable to women. Kinship was reckoned through the mother, +since in this way alone could the undivided family be maintained. The +continuity of the clan thus depending on the women, they were placed +in a very special position of importance, the mother was at least the +nominal head of the household, shaping the destiny of the clan through +the aid of her clan-kindred. Her closest male relation was not her +husband, but her brother and her son; she was the conduit by which +property passed to and from them. Often women established their own +claims and all property was held by them; which under favourable +circumstances developed into what may literally be called a +matriarchate. In all cases the child's position was dependent entirely +on the mother and not on the father. Such a system of inheritance may +be briefly summarised as "mother-right." + +There is another matter to notice. Every possible experiment in sexual +association has been tried, and is still practised among various +barbarous races, with very little reference to those moral ideas to +which we are accustomed. It is, however, very necessary to remember +that monogamy is frequent and indeed usual under the maternal system. +We have seen many examples where, with complete freedom of separation +held by the wife, lasting and most happy marriages are the rule. When +the husband lives with his wife in a dependent position to her family +he can do so only in the case of one woman. For this reason polygamy +is much less deeply rooted under the conditions in which the communal +life is developed than in patriarchal communities. In the complete +maternal family it is never common, and is even prohibited.[247] + + [247] It is significant that in Sumatra polygamy occurs with + the _djudur_ marriages, where the wife is bought and lives + with her husband, while it is unknown in the maternal + marriages. It is frequent in Africa and elsewhere, when the + marriage is not the maternal form. + +As we might expect, the case is quite opposite with polyandry. This +form of marriage has evident advantages for women when compared with +polygamy; it is also a form that requires a certain degree of social +civilisation. It clearly involves the limitation of the individual +marital rights of the husband. Polyandry in the joint family group was +not due to a licentious view of marriage; far otherwise, it was an +expression of the communism which is characteristic of this +organisation. This fact has been forgotten by many writers, who have +regarded this form of the sexual relationships as a very primitive +development, connected with group-marriage and promiscuous ownership +of women. It is very necessary to be clear on this point. Under the +maternal conditions, nothing is more certain than the equality of +women with men in all questions of sexual morality. In proof of this +it is necessary only to recall the facts we have noted. We find little +or no importance attached to virginity, which in itself indicates the +absence of any conception of the woman as property. Thus no +bride-price is claimed from the husband, who renders service in proof +of his fitness as a lover, not to gain possession of the bride. The +girl is frequently the wooer, and, in certain cases, she or her mother +imposes the conditions of the marriage. After marriage the free +provision for divorce (often more favourable to the wife than to the +husband) is perhaps of even greater significance. There can, I think, +be no doubt that this freedom in love was dependent on the wife's +position of security under the maternal form of marriage. + +I hold that the facts brought forward entitle us to claim that the +maternal communal clan was an organisation in which there was a freer +community of interest, far more fellowship in labour and partnership +in property, with a resulting liberty for woman, than we find in any +patriarchal society. For this reason, shall we, then, look back to +this maternal stage as to a golden period, wherein was realised a free +social organisation, carrying with it privileges for women, which even +to-day among ourselves have never been established, and only of late +claimed? It is a question very difficult to answer, and we must not in +any haste rush into mistakes. We found that the mother-age was a +transitional stage in the history of the evolution of society, and we +have indicated the stages of its gradual decline. It is thus proved to +have been a less stable social system than the patriarchate which +again succeeded it, or it would not have perished in the struggle with +it. Must we conclude from this that the one form of the family is +higher than the other--that the superior advantage rests with the +patriarchal system? Not at all: rather it proves how difficult is the +struggle to socialise. Human nature tends so readily towards +individualism; it yields itself up to the joy of possession whenever +it is possible. + +The impulse to dominate by virtue of strength or property possession +has manifested itself in every age. It cannot be a matter of surprise, +therefore, that at this period of social development a rebellion arose +against the customs of maternal communism. Within the large and +undivided family of the clan the restricted family became gradually +re-established by a reassertion of individual interests. In proportion +as the family gained in importance (which would arise as the struggle +for existence lessened and the need of association was less +imperative) the interest of the individual members would become +separated from the group to which they belonged. Each one would +endeavour to get himself as large a share as possible of what was +formerly held in common. As society advanced property would increase +in value, and the social and political significance of its possession +would also increase. Afterwards, when personal property was acquired, +each man would aim at gaining a more exclusive right over his wife and +children; he would not willingly submit to the bondage of the maternal +form of marriage. + +In the earlier days the clan spirit was too strong, now men had shaken +off, to a degree sufficient for their purpose, the female yoke, which +bound the clan together. We have seen the husband and father moving +towards the position of a fully acknowledged legal parent by a system +of buying off his wife and her children from their clan-group. The +movement arose in the first instance through a property value being +connected with women themselves. As soon as the women's kindred found +in their women the possibility of gaining worldly goods for +themselves, they began to claim service and presents from their +lovers. It was in this way for economic reasons, and for no moral +considerations that the maternal marriage fell into disfavour. The +payment of a bride-price was claimed, and an act of purchase was +accounted essential. As we have seen, it was regarded as a condition, +not so much of the marriage itself, but of the transference of the +wife to the home of the husband and of the children to his kindred. +The change was, of course, effected slowly; and often we find the two +forms of marriage--the maternal and the purchase-marriage--occurring +side by side. What, however, is certain is that the purchase-marriage +in the struggle was the one that prevailed. + +This reversal in the form of the marriage brought about a +corresponding reversal in the status of women. This is so plain. The +women of the family do not now inherit property, but are themselves +property, passing from the hands of their father to that of a husband. +As purchased wives they are compelled to reside in the husband's house +and among his kin, who have no rights or duties in regard to them, and +where they are strangers. In a word, the wife occupies the same +position of disadvantage as the man had done in the maternal marriage. +And her children kept her bound to this alien home in a much closer +way than the husband could ever have been bound to her home. The +protection of her own kindred was the source of the woman's power and +strength. This was now lost. The change was not brought about without +a struggle, and for long the old customs contended with the new. But +as the patriarchate developed, and men began to gain individual +possession of their children by the purchase of their mothers, the +father became the dominant power in the family. Little by little +individual interests prevailed. Moral limits were set up. Women's +freedom was threatened on every side as the jealous ownership, which +always arises wherever women are regarded as property, asserted +itself. Mother-right passed away, remaining only as a tradition, or +preserved in isolated cases among primitive peoples. The patriarchal +age, which still endures, succeeded. + +Yet in this connection it is very necessary to remember that the +reassertion of the patriarchate was as necessary a stage in human +development as the maternal stage. Whatever may have been the +advantages arising to women from the clan organisation (and that the +advantages were great I claim to have proved) such conditions could +not remain fixed for ever. For society is not stable; it cannot be, as +the need for adjustment is always arising, and at certain stages of +development different tendencies are active. No one cause can be +isolated, and, therefore, it is necessary in estimating any change to +take a synthetic view of many facts that are contemporaneous and +interacting. Yet, it would seem that the social and domestic habits of +a people are decided largely by the degree of dominance held either by +women or men; and almost everything else depends on the accurate +adjustment of the rights of the two sexes. + +The social clan organised around the mothers carried mankind a long +way--a way the length of which we are only beginning to realise. But +it could not carry mankind to that family organisation from which so +much was afterwards to develop. It was no more possible for society to +be built up on mother-right alone than it is possible for it to remain +permanently based on father-right. + +But there is another aspect of this question that I must briefly touch +upon. The opinion that the reversal in the position of authority of +the mother and the father arose from male mastery, or was due to any +unfair domination on the part of the husband must be set aside. To me +the history of the mother-age does not teach this. I believe that the +change to the individual family must have been regarded favourably by +the women themselves, for such a change could not have arisen, at all +events it would not have persisted, if women, with the power they then +enjoyed, had not desired it. Nor need this bring any surprise. An +arrangement that would give a closer relationship in marriage and the +protection of a husband for herself and her children may well have +come to be preferred by the wife. Nor do I think it unlikely that she, +quite as strongly as the man, may have desired to live apart from her +mother and her kindred in her husband's home. Individual interests are +not confined to men. + +With all the evils father-right has brought to women, we have got to +remember that the woman owes the individual relation of the man to +herself and her children to the patriarchal system. The father's +right in his children (which, unlike the right of the mother, was not +founded upon kinship, but rested on the quite different and insecure +basis of property) had to be re-established. Without this being done, +the family in its complete development was impossible. The survival +value of the patriarchal age consists in the additional gain to the +children of the father's to the mother's care. I do not think this +gain will ever be lost. We women need to remember this lest bitterness +stains our sense of justice. It may be that progress could not have +been accomplished otherwise; that the cost of love's development has +been the enslavement of women. If so, then women will not, in the long +account of Nature, have lost in the payment of the price. They may be +(when they come again to understand their power) better fitted for +their refound freedom. + +Such is the history of the past, what is the promise of the future? + +We have traced three stages in the past evolution of the family--two +individual and patriarchal, one communal and maternal. Is the +patriarchal stage, then, the final stage? Has the upward growth, ever +yet continuous, been arrested here? The social ideal of the mother-age +was a transition and a dream--but as a moment of peace in the records +of struggle, following the bloody opening drama in man's history, and +then passing into a forgetfulness so complete that its existence by +many has been denied. Yet the feet of the race were in the way, +though men and women let it pass, blindly unknowing. + +Our age is working for scarcely yet formulated changes in the +ownership of property and in the status of women. The patriarchal view +of woman's subjection to man is being questioned in every direction. +What do these movements indicate? If, as seems probable, the +individual evolution, already for so long continued, is perishing, +what is to take its place? What form will the family take in the +future? These are questions to which it is not possible for me here +even to attempt to find the answer.[248] + + [248] I hope to do so in a future book on _Motherhood_. + +Let us look for a moment in this new direction, the direction of the +future, because it is there that the past becomes so important. In our +contemporary society there is a deep-lying dissatisfaction with +existing conditions, a yearning and restless need for change. We stand +in the first rush of a great movement. It is the day of experiments, +when again the old customs are in struggle with the new. We are +questioning where before we have accepted, and are seeking out new +ways in which mankind will go--will go because it must. + +Social institutions alter very slowly as a rule; for long a change may +pass unnoticed, until one day it is discovered that a step forward has +been taken. Those changes that appear so new and are bringing fear to +many to-day, are but the last consequences of causes that for long +have been operating slowly. The extraordinary enthusiasm now sweeping +through womanhood reveals behind its immediate feverish expression a +great power of emotional and spiritual initiative. Wide and radically +sweeping are the changes in women's outlook. So much stronger is the +promise of a vital force when they have refound their emancipation. To +this end women must gain economic security, and the freedom for the +full expression of their womanhood. The ultimate goal I conceive--at +least I hope--is the right to be women, not the right to become like +men. There can be no gain for women except this. To be mothers were +women created and to be fathers men. This rightly considered is the +deepest of all truths. + +What is needed at present is that women should be allowed to +rediscover for themselves what is their woman's work, rather than that +they should continue to accept perforce the role which men (rightly or +wrongly) have at various times allowed to them throughout the +patriarchal ages. This necessity is as much a necessity for men as it +is for women. + +I do not think that women will fail (even if for a time they stumble a +little) in finding the way. The vital germinal spot of each forward +step in women's position must be sought with the women who are the +conscious mothers of the race. The great women reformers are not those +who would have women act just like men in all externals, but those who +are conscious that all men are born of women. In this lies women's +strength in the past and in this must be their strength in that glad +future that is to be. But only if motherhood is regarded as an +intrinsic glory, and children are born in freedom. Think what this +means. The birth of a child, in so far as its mother has not received +the sanction of a man, is subject to the fire and brimstone of public +scorn. And this scorn is the most pitiful result in all the +patriarchal record. A woman's natural right is her right to be a +mother, and it is the most inglorious page in the history of woman +that too often she has allowed herself to be deprived of that right. +Women have this lesson first to learn. We, and not men, must fix the +standard in sex, for we have to play the chief part in the racial +life. Let us, then, reacquire our proud instinctive consciousness, +which we are fully justified in having, of being the mothers of +humanity; and having that consciousness, once more we shall be +invincible. + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Absorption by the male of female ideas, 75 + +Advance of the family to the clan and tribe, 36, 67-91, 170, 256 _et seq._ + +Africa, 174-176, 204-205 + +Agriculture and women, 60 _et seq._, 116, 158, 194-208 + +Ahitas of Philippines, 152 + +Alladians of Gold Coast, 185 + +Allison, Mrs., 198 + +Amazons, 34, 36, 38, 228, 245-246 + +Amazons, revolt of, 31, 32, 36, 38 + +_Ambel-anak_ marriage, 147, 182 + +American aborigines, 27, 95-131, 148, 198, 206 + +Andamanese, women's work among, 197 + +Andombies, women's work among, 201 + +Apes, anthropoid, 72, 80, 81 + +Arabia, 178, 206 + +Arabs, 179-180, 189 + +Architects, women as primitive, 117, 203 + +Arruwimi tribe, 201 + +Aryans, mother-descent among, 230 _et seq._ + +Athens, 216, 220 + +Atkinson, Mr., 24, 47, 51, 52, 56, 69, 71, 72, 73, 76, 77, 80, + 81, 82, 84, 85, 86 + +Australia, 102, 167-170, 178 + +Australia, work of women in, 197, 200, 210 + + +B + +Babylon, position of women in ancient, 214-215 + +Bacchanalian festivals, 38, 241, 243 + +Bachofen, 26 _et seq._, 40, 97, 154, 165, 216, 240, 245 + +Bachofen's theory of matriarchy, 26-44 + +Bancroft, 116, 119, 124, 125, 184 + +Bandelier, 207 + +Banyai tribe, 183 + +Barton, 178 + +Basques, 229 + +Batu tribe, 175 + +Bavili tribe, 185 + +_Beena_ marriage, 178, 182, 183, 223, 248 + +Benefits of marriage law for women, 32 + +Beni-Amer of Africa, 211 + +Berbers, 222-227 + +Bonwick, 195 + +Brewers, women as, 203 + +Bride-price, 159, 184, 190, 260, 263 + +Brute-force of male, 44. + _See_ Father as tyrant. + +Buckley, 197, 198 + + +C + +Californian Redskins, 124 + +Campbell, 183 + +Capture of wives, 51, 64, 74, 80, 83, 169, 181 + +Celts, 233, 234 + +Ceylon, 173, 182 + +Charleroix, 114 + +Chavanne, 160, 161 + +Chivalry, 162 + +Choice in love, the right of the female, 64, 113, 151-153, 177, 260 + +Clan, primitive, 18, 103, 166, 167, 176, 190, 209, 257 _et seq._ + +Communal living, 75, 88, 103 _et seq._, 116, 117 _et seq._, 148 + _et seq._, 154, 166, 174, 231, 256 _et seq._ + +Contrast between the work of women and men, 195 _et seq._ + +Conventional morality, 36 + +Courtship, 45, 120 _et seq._, 151-153. + _See_ Choice in love. + +Couvade, 206, 228 + +Crawley, 47, 77, 82, 95, 96, 209 + +Creek Indians, 118-119 + +Crete, matriarchy in ancient, 216, 217-218, 220 + +Criticism of mother-right, 19, 21, 23, 24, 27, 35, 40, 42, 48, + 95-96, 170, 192, 210, 253 + +Curr, 128 + +Cushing, 117, 237 + + +D + +D'Allosso, Prof., 246 + +Dalton, 133, 152 + +Dances, 100 + +Dargun, 230, 231 + +Darwin, 45 + +_Deega_ marriage, 182 + +De Mailla, 150 + +Deniker, 198 + +Dennett, 185 + +Dependence of the human child, 58 + +Descent through the mother, 17, 26, 33, 88, 119, 160, 162 _et seq._, + 163-165, 213-214, 220 _et seq._, 224, 227, 230, + 232-233, 249 _et seq._, 257, 258 _et seq._ + +Diodorus, 211, 212 + +Divinities, women as, 136 _et seq._, 154, 214, 217, 219, 229, 231, 240 + +Divorce, 113, 121, 141-143, 157, 179, 206, 260 + +_Djudur_ marriage, 182, 259 + +Doctors, women as, 203 + +Domestication of animals, 203 + +Duveyrier, 160, 161, 162 + + +E + +Economic matriarchy, 159 _et seq._ + +Egypt, position of women in ancient, 162, 211-214, 227 + +Ellis, Havelock, 153, 192, 199, 201, 203, 205, 215 + +Euripedes, 239 + +Exogamy, 76-77, 87, 119, 123, 135, 141, 154 + +Expansion of the family into the clan, 67 _et seq._, 79 _et seq._, + 86-87, 97, 256 _et seq._ + + +F + +Fairy stories, their evidence for mother-right, 246-252 + +Family, primitive, 41, 48 _et seq._, 54-55, 68 _et seq._, + 168-169, 256 _et seq._ + +Fanti of Gold Coast, 175 + +Father as tyrant, 34, 44, 48, 50, 54, 57, 63, 68, 70, 72, 74, + 81, 83, 168, 255 + +Father the true parent, 38, 39, 239 + +Father-right dependent on purchase, 182 _et seq._, 185-186, 188, + 190, 262-263 + +Female dominance, 35, 111, 133, 156, 159. + _See_ Gynaecocracy. + +Ferrass, Max Henry, 80 + +Fison, 193, 200, 206 + +Folk-lore as evidence of mother-right, 233, 234, 236 _et seq._, 249, 251 + +Food and women, 59 _et seq._ + _See_ Industry and women. + +Forbes, 183 + +Formosans, 150-151 + +Frazer, 133, 179, 187, 215, 220, 233 + +Fuegians, 203 + + +G + +Garos, 151-152 + +Germans, mother-descent among, 230-231 + +Giraud-Teulon, 28, 176, 216 + +Greece, ancient, traces of mother-right in, 216-222 + +Grimm, 231 + +Grote, 216 + +Guinea, 181 + +Gurdon, P. R., 132, 135, 137, 139, 140, 143 + +Gynaecocracy, 27, 30, 34, 38, 97, 112, 133, 156, 159-162, 176 + + +H + +Haddon, 153, 196 + +Haidis, 187 + +Hale, Horatio, 205 + +Hall, J. R., 217, 218 + +Hammurabi, Code of, 214 + +Hartland, 114, 123, 125, 172, 177, 186 + +Hassanyah Arabs, 179-180 + +Haydes, 198 + +Hearne, 178 + +Hebrew patriarchs, 13, 222 _et seq._ + +Heriot, 110, 113, 120 + +Herodotus, 211, 217, 221 + +Herrera, 117 + +Hodgson, 159, 177 + +Hoffman, 208 + +Home, woman's connection with the, 34-35, 36, 59, 84, 150, + 193 _et seq._, 263 + +Homer, 219 + +Hooker, Sir J., 133 + +Hopis, 122-123 + +Hospitality, American-Indian, 108, 230 + +Howitt, 193, 200 + +Husband as "consort guest," 15. + _See_ Maternal marriage. + +Husband visiting the wife by night, 81, 83, 140-141, 220, 258 + + +I + +Iberians, mother-right among, 226-227 + +Ibn Batua, 178 + +Illegitimacy, 122, 184, 185, 189 + +Im Thurn, 196, 200 + +Importance of mother-descent, 17, 20, 21, 27, 32-33, 88-89, 99, + 100, 119, 121, 133, 139, 143, 149 + _et seq._, 153, 155, 156, 166, 170, + 173, 175, 258-259, 261 + +Incest, paternal, 79, 176-178 + +India, 102. + _See_ Khasis. + +Indians of Guiana, 195, 200 + +Industry and women, 60-62, 102, 116, 117, 134, 135, 150, 175, 192-208 + + +J + +Jealousy, 45 _et seq._, 51-53, 54, 60, 62, 65, 67, 68, 73, 86, 90, 104, + 157, 170, 191, 253 + +Johnstone, H. H., 201 + +Joint tenement houses, 106, 117, 148-149, 230 + +Joyce. + _See_ Torday. + +Justin, 228 + + +K + +Kaffirs, 203 + +Kamilaroi and Kurnai tribes, 193, 201 + +Kamtschatdals, 203 + +Khasis, 132-146, 177, 218 + +Kingsley, Miss, 175 + +Kinship through women. + _See_ Descent through mother. + +Koochs, 176-177 + +Kubary, 155-156 + +Kurds, 204 + + +L + +Laing, 176 + +Lang, Andrew, 24, 47, 51, 56, 95 + +Legends, 33, 101, 137, 217, 219, 232, 236-240, 243-246 + +Letourneau, 162, 172, 176, 215, 233, 239 + +Liburni tribes, 188, 231 + +Limboltz, 152 + +Limboo tribe, 183 + +Lippert, 176 + +Livingstone, 183 + +Logan, J. R., 133 + +Lyell, Sir Chas., 132, 137 + + +M + +Macdonald, 183, 200 + +McGee, 16, 27, 117, 126, 133, 149, 152, 201 + +McLennan, 26, 27, 33, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 52, 76, 105, 155, 181, + 183, 185, 187, 220, 229, 244, 245 + +McLennan, theory of mother-right, 40 _et seq._ + +Madagascar, 189, 226 + +Maine, Sir H., 18, 223 + +Malay States, 147 _et seq._ + +Malwlo tribe, 185 + +Mang'anja tribe, 188 + +Manyuema tribe, 201 + +Maoris, 186 + +Marsden, 182 + +Marvana Islanders, 180 + +Mason, O., 197, 200, 202 + +Maternal love, 69, 70 _et seq._, 263 + +Maternal marriage, 15, 17, 41, 85, 86, 87, 100, 112 _et seq._, 114, + 119, 123, 127, 147, 149, 158, 166, 176, 177, 183, + 223, 232, 233, 247 _et seq._, 258 + +Matriarchal theory, mistakes in, 15, 16, 19, 39 _et seq._, 90-91, 97, 98. + _See_ Criticism of mother-right. + +Matriarchate. _See_ Gynaecocracy. + +Meave, Queen of Ireland, 252 + +Menomini Indians, 207 + +Monogamy, 119, 122, 123, 125, 149, 259 + +Monopolist desire of male, 186-187. + _See_ Unsocial conduct of males. + +Moore, 152 + +Moral prohibition, primitive, 119. + _See_ Taboos. + +Morgan, 27, 40, 103, 104, 105, 109, 111, 117, 118 + +Mueller, 216 + +Musical faculty of women, 161 + + +N + +Nairs of Malabar, 171-174 + +Newbold, 243 + +New Caledonia, women's work in, 197 + +New Guinea, 152-153 + +New theory of mother-right, 35, 43-44, 48 _et seq._, 72, 90-91, 96, 97, + 170, 212, 254, 257 + +Nicaraguans, 125 + + +O + +Origin of the human family, 21, 24, 25, 41-42, 50 _et seq._, 77, + 90, 255 _et seq._ + +Origin of the maternal system, 16, 41, 43, 88-89, 166, 257 _et seq._ + +Owen, 115, 197 + +Ownership of children, 115, 141, 183 _et seq._, 187 + + +P + +Pakpatan, 189 + +Pani Kotches, 158-159 + +Papuans of New Guinea, 201 + +Paraguay, 152 + +Parenthood, 37, 268-269 + +Parke, 201 + +Passivity of female in love, 153 + +Patriarchal authority of father, 19, 35, 48, 51, 63, 68, 72, 74, 81. + _See_ Father as tyrant. + +Patriarchal family, 35, 45, 91, 215, 222, 255 _et seq._ + +Patriarchal theory, 24, 26, 35, 45 _et seq._, 254 + +Pearson, K., 231, 240, 241, 243, 248, 250, 251 + +Pecuniary matriarchy, 159 + +Pedangs of Sumatra, 148-150 + +Pelew Islanders, 152-159, 207-208 + +Petherick, 180 + +Picts, mother-descent among, 232 + +Pike, W., 198 + +Plato, 239 + +Plutarch, 216, 220 + +Polyandry, 42, 51, 112, 125, 136, 173, 260 + +Polygamous males, 49, 50, 52 + +Polygamy, 112, 125, 157, 259 + +Polynesians, 203 + +Position of the father, 13, 15, 17, 21, 58 _et seq._, 141, 143, 149, + 165, 170, 173, 191, 225, 238, 242, 257 + +Position of the mother, 13, 15, 17, 21, 58 _et seq._, 111, 165, 176, + 191, 225, 238, 257 + +Position of women, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 106, 143, 152, 158, 192, 204, 238 + +Powell, 114, 116 + +Power, 202, 224 + +Pre-matriarchal period, 35, 169, 255 + +Present social and economic condition, 14, 267-269 + +Prevalence of mother-descent, 17, 128-129, 209-210, 233 + +Primal law, 24, 47, 52, 73, 74, 75, 77 + +Promiscuity, 23, 25, 27, 31, 32, 40 _et seq._, 43, 45 _et seq._, 76, 97, + 99, 168, 209-210, 255 + +Property ownership, its importance for women, 43, 45 _et seq._, 77, 97, + 99, 168, 209-210, 255 + +Pueblos, 116 _et seq._, 200, 207 + +Purchase marriage, 124, 177, 182, 233 + +Puritan spirit, 36, 96, 255 + + +Q + +Quissama women, 203 + + +R + +Race, responsibility to, 37, 268-269 + +Ratzel, 206 + +Religions, position of women in primitive, 29, 37, 238, 241. + _See_ Divinities, women as. + +Religious festivals, 241, 242-243 + +Religious myths, 29-30, 33, 236-238 + +Revolt of women, 31, 34, 35, 44, 267 + +Rhys and Brynmor-Jones, 233 + +Riedel, 183 + +Rome, ancient, traces of mother-right in, 215-216 + + +S + +Sai tribe, 123-124 + +Salish tribe, 127 + +Samoa, 187 + +Santals, 177 + +Schellong, 201 + +School craft, 110, 112, 116 + +Semper, 157 + +Senecas. _See_ Iroquois. + +Seri Indians, 126-128 + +Service marriage, 147-150, 184, 222-223 + +Sex antagonism, 36, 55, 264 _et seq._ + +Sexual egoism of male, 61, 67. + _See_ Unsocial conduct of males. + +Sexual freedom for women, 120, 127, 171, 173, 178, 179-180, 260 + +Sexual subjection of female, 53, 63, 68, 189, 191, 265-266 + +Similarity of sexes, 129-131, 218 + +Similkameen Indians, 198 + +Slavs, the clan among the, 231 + +Social conduct of women, 31, 34, 55 _et seq._, 59-65, 68, 70, 72, 75, + 81, 90, 107, 193, 256 _et seq._ + +Social habits, primitive, 23, 49, 58 _et seq._, 67, 81, 107 _et seq._, 170. + _See_ Maternal marriage. + +Soulima women, 176 + +Spain, position of women in, 227-230 + +Sparta, 220, 222 + +Spencer, H., 180 + +Spiritual quality in women, 31, 56, 68 + +Stages in the development of the family, 17, 23, 97, 168, 174, 194, + 254 _et seq._ + + +T + +Taboos, primitive sexual, 73, 77-78, 107, 168, 170, 257 + +Tacitus, 230 + +Tarrahumari Indians, 152 + +Tasmanian women, 195 + +Thebans, 220 + +Thibet, 173 + +Thomas, C., 129 + +Thomas, I. T., 181, 202 + +Thomas, N. W., 95 + +Torday and Joice, 184 + +Torres Straits, women's work in, 196 + +Totem names, 77,87, 119, 168, 257 + +Touaregs of the Saraha, 159-162, 227 + +Transition period, 12, 23, 151, 169, 184 _et seq._, 187, 235, 261 + +Tribal ancestresses, 135, 155, 226, 231, 233, 234 + +Turner, 188, 197 + +Tylor, 25, 98, 104, 117, 152 + + +U + +Uncertainty of paternity, 27, 41, 42, 99, 141, 254 + +Unsocial conduct of males, 55 _et seq._, 61-64, 68, 71, 72, 75, 90, + 193, 256 + + +V + +Visiting wife in secret, 140-141, 147, 220, 222-223, 258 + +Volti, 123 + + +W + +Wade, 189 + +Waitz-Gerland, 181 + +Wamoimia, 175 + +War and women, 115-116, 197-198, 246 + +Watubela tribe, 183 + +Wayao tribe, 183 + +Wells, Mr. H. G., 24, 52, 192 + +Werner, Alice, 175, 204 + +Westermarck, 18, 35, 42, 47, 76, 95, 99, 125, 152, 168, 209 + +Wheeler, J. M., 152 + +Wilkin, 188, 189 + +Woman as food-giver, 60, 202 _et seq._ + +Woman's movement, 11 _et seq._, 267-268 + +Women, primitive, not ill-treated by men, 200 _et seq._ + +Women, spiritual superiority, 30 + +Wright, Asher, Rev., 111 + +Wyandots. _See_ Iroquois. + + +Y + +Yahgan of Tierra del Fuego, 198 + +Yaos of Africa, 175 + +Ymer, 157 + +Yokia women of California, 202 + + +Z + +Zuni Indians, 117-118, 120-122 + +_Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London and Bungay._ + + + + +_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_ + +THE TRUTH ABOUT WOMAN + +By C. GASQUOINE HARTLEY + +(Mrs. Walter Gallichan) + +_Fourth Edition 7s. 6d. net_ + +_SOME PRESS OPINIONS_ + +"_The best written and the most profitable of the many recent books +upon the woman's movement._ It is distinguished alike by the scope of +its learning, the skilful way in which evidence is marshalled, and, +above all, by the independence of thought and temper brought to the +interpretation of the modern issues.... The discussion of sex +differences and of the social problems which spring therefrom shows +not only wide and deep personal acquaintance with modern men and +women, but a singular freedom from some of the squeamishness of +thought and feeling which hampers most discussion ... _an exceedingly +important contribution to the most difficult problem of our and every +other time_."--J. A. HOBSON in _The Manchester Guardian_. + +"_The book shows a fearless intellectual honesty and a deep sympathy +and tolerance; it is the work of a serious student and of a woman who +knows life as well as libraries...._ The chapter on 'Sexual +Differences in Mind' is absorbingly interesting, and based on the +latest research. She writes finely and truly on the absurd and +indecent cruelty of penalising divorce; on the cherished superstition +of feminine passivity in love, and the origin of the chastity taboo on +women with its waste of life and love. She even has a sane and humane +chapter on prostitution, recognising the complexity of its causes, and +the kindness and generosity of these scapegoat women to one another, +as well as their erotic insensibility. _The book should be read by all +educated men and women._ It will probably be greeted with screams of +denunciation from those persons whose hostility forms a hall-mark of +mental honesty and social value."--_The English Review._ + +"We very heartily commend this remarkable book.... Every chapter +abounds in challenges to thought, and we must thank a woman who has +dared and cared to think and dared to say."--_The Pall Mall Gazette._ + +"One of the most thoughtful books about women I have yet read.... The +book is certainly of an advanced feminism, yet the author is found +most strongly on the side of marriage, of love, of women's femininity +as their strength; in fact, of all the things which shallow observers +suppose the woman movement is actively denying."--_Truth._ + +"Sane, sound, and well reasoned ... she has more capacity than any +other woman writer of the kind we have yet come across for regarding +all questions of sex from the man's point of view."--_Glasgow Herald._ + +EVELEIGH NASH, 36 King Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Position of Woman in Primitive +Society, by C. 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