in many respects the two are in sharp contrast to each other. Normal marriage is brought about by free choice, by trial; and by the gradual strengthening of bonds which assume a legal obligation only after marriage. In marriage by infant betrothal, a binding agreement is made by the parents in the children's infancy; the boy and girl grow up into the relationship, and find themselves bound to each other before they have had an opportunity to choose for themselves.
The great importance of this second type of marriage lies in the fact that infant betrothal is always associated with cross-cousin marriage. The two people who, according to native ideas, are most suited for marriage with each other — a man's son and the daughter of his sister — are betrothed in infancy. When the father's sister's daughter is too old to be betrothed to her male infant cousin, her daughter may replace her. By the native legal system the two are equivalent, for the purposes of this marriage.
The significance of this institution can be understood only if we return to a consideration of the compromise between father-love and matriliny.[1] Cross-cousin marriage is an arrangement whereby both tribal law, which enjoins matrilineal succession, and the promptings of paternal love, which incline the father to bestow all possible privileges on his son, find equitable adjustment and adequate satisfaction.
Let us take a concrete instance. A chief, a village headman — or, indeed, any man of rank, wealth, and
- ↑ Cf. also Crime and Custom.
