The Nairs constitute the ruling caste on the Malabar coast, and live as rajahs or warlike nobles. Like other Indian peoples, the Nairs jealously maintain their purity of caste, and their women are only allowed to marry men of their own or of a higher caste. Incest is abhorrent to them; all sexual relations are forbidden to members of the same household, which generally includes the whole family. But within these limits of the caste and the family the greatest liberty in sexual relations prevails. The family group that is, the "joint family" which is so common throughout India-includes many allied families, which not only live together in large common houses, but also possess everything in common. There is a common tenure of land, over which the eldest male member of the community presides, while the mother, and after her death the elder sister, is in charge of the household. If a brother separates from the rest he is generally accompanied by his favourite sister, who takes charge of his house. The movable property which a man leaves behind him is divided among his sisters' children. The men do not marry, but may frequent other houses as suitors, without ceasing to live at home, and without being in any degree detached from the maternal family. As soon as a girl is marriageable, the mother invites her kinsfolk and friends, and presents herself with her daughter, arrayed in all her ornaments. She asks whether any one is willing to marry the girl, and if a suitor is found the wedding is solemnized with great splendour. The chief ceremony consists in winding a silken cord, to which a coin worth about two shillings is attached, round the necks of both, and the bridegroom then hangs the coin round the bride's throat. He is thus entitled, if so disposed, and if he is not too nearly related to the girl, to regard her as his wife for the space of one day; but thenceforward they see no more of each other than if no such union had taken place. He may have love passages in many houses: she chooses

two, four, even as many as twelve husbands, on whom she bestows her favours, and receives in return small gifts for herself and her mother. Each lover remains at her command for twenty-four hours, and he must make himself useful to her during this period by fetching wood and the like, and he also enjoys the rights of a husband. Both parties are free to break off the connection without ceremony, and divorces are very frequent. The paternity of every Nair is unknown.1

McLennan believes that these conditions represent the first stage in the primitive life of man. We do not now undertake to examine this author's theory, but we are able to give our reasons for not regarding the Nairtype as primitive. This people is in no respect one of primitive culture, but has been developed in one direction by very varied external conditions. It is therefore probable that the singular customs we have described are final rather than primitive. Their promiscuous intercourse is not the primitive condition, maintained in some strange fashion, nor has it produced the female line of descent; this line is more probably due to the extreme concentration of the family group, and the fact that it had prevailed so long probably paved the way for promiscuous intercourse.

Our readers must have observed that the Nairs solemnize weddings, although they do not recognize the validity of marriage. It is impossible not to regard the ceremony by which a girl is dedicated to what is, according to our ideas, an unchaste life, as a wedding ceremony which has been degraded into a mere formality. The tying of the knot is found elsewhere as the symbol of the marriage union, and the coin is the symbol of the bridegroom's wedding gift. These symbols become quite unintelligible if the dedication ceremony is placed on the same plane as the festivities with which primitive men celebrate the advent of puberty. Even Bachofen 1 Buchanan, vol. ii. p. 412. See Bachofen, Ant. Br., vol. i. chs. xxviii-xxx.

recognizes a symbolical marriage in the ceremony we have described. We need not now consider the surprising assertion that the Nairs' marriage contract serves as the preliminary condition of his claim to sexual liberty; this follows from the mythological theory, which we shall discuss later on.

Among the northern Nairs, the women hold intercourse with the men as their lovers, and are very faithful to them, but they have nothing to do with the household management as long as the man's mother is alive. He may, if he chooses, send the woman away at any time, and on his death she goes back with her children to her brother, takes charge of his house, and her children become his heirs.1 The same mode of life prevails among the Buntar, the highest class of the Sudras Tulavas; except that the eldest daughter of a Tulavan Rajah never marries, but takes now one, now another Brahman as her lover; her sons become Rajahs, and her eldest daughter carries on the family. Similar conditions exist among the Mogayen (Tulavan fishermen) and the Biluares, who extract juice from palm-trees. These are certainly transition forms either of a waning or of a waxing Nair-type; and since it is difficult to obtain any certainty about them, they are of no use for our present purpose.

Lubbock's account of the Limboos will serve as an example of the inaccurate way in which these kinds of customs have sometimes been described. Limboo sons

2 Ibid., vol. iii. pp. 16-18.

1 Buchanan, vol. ii. p. 513. 3 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 492; vol. iii. pp. 22, 53. "The wife works for her husband's master, who must maintain her and her children, until they are able to work; the eldest son then belongs to him, but all the other children belong to their mother's master, and return to the hut of her parents." The children of Catal or Curumbal slaves all belong to the mother's master (Ibid., vol. ii. p. 498). We are told of the Corar slaves to the Tulavas, who were formerly in possession of the country: "The master pays the expense of the marriage feast. When a man dies, his wives, with all their children, return to the huts of their respective mothers and brothers, and belong to their masters" (Ibid., vol. iii. p. 101).

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belong to their fathers if a small sum of money has been paid to the mother; the child then receives a name and is admitted into his father's tribe, while the daughters abide with their mother.1 In this custom Lubbock traces a survival of an extinct female line of descent. It is hardly necessary to say that we should rather trace in such a custom the dawning of a female line; but the custom itself has no existence. Campbell, to whom Lubbock refers, only states that the Limboo bride is purchased, and, if such a stipulation has been previously made, is taken to her husband's home. Labour is often substituted for the purchase money. His account goes on to say that children born out of wedlock, and those born of a connection between Limboo men and Lepcha women, are called Koosaba. The father may obtain possession of the boys by purchase and by naming them, but the girls belong to the mother.3 Here we are, in the first place, only concerned with children born out of wedlock, and, secondly, with the children of persons of distinct tribes, which are by the mode of naming them placed on a level with the illegitimate. It should be noted that the Limboos are strictly endogamous, the only exception being made in favour of the Lepchas.*

The existence of the female line among the peoples of Western Asia has been ascertained with respect to some ancient tribes; in other cases the inference of its existence is not wholly justified.5 It does not now prevail in any part of that country. It would be lost labour

1 Lubbock, Origin of Civ., p. 149. Appendix XXIV.

2 Lubbock quotes Campbell, Trans. Ethno. Soc., New Series, vol. vii., which I have had no opportunity of consulting; but I think the same reference may be found in Journal Asiat. Soc. of Bengal.

3 Journal Asiat. Soc. of Bengal, 1840, vol. ix. p. 603; Campbell. Appendix XXV.

4 Ibid., p. 596.

5 Lycians (Herodotus, i. 173). In Northern Africa we may also cite the Ethiopians (Bachofen, Mutterrecht, p. 21), the Bega ancestors of the Bischari, and the Messophites (Ibid., p. 108), Barea and Bazer (Munzinger. pp. 481, 484), Touaregs (Duveyrier, pp. 337 340).

to say more of these various accounts, since they afford no material of any value in solving the question as to the motives for preferring the one or the other line. They are capable of being interpreted in whichever sense has previously been adopted as the right one.1

I may here direct attention to Wilken's attempt to trace the female line among the Arabs. His conclusions are based upon the following facts: 1. That polyandry and unchaste customs throw doubt upon the paternity, so that it would be most natural to adopt the female line. 2. That the Arabs call the clan Batu, or belly, which points to the mother. 3. That some clans are called after the mother's tribe. 4. That the character of the mother's brother is supposed to devolve upon the sister's children. Wilken himself is of opinion that each fact, taken singly, proves nothing, but that in the aggregate they are of weight. We shall subsequently show that Wilken's opinions are untenable.