WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
ship of a beautiful woman, or of more than one woman, affords them intense pleasure, apart from amatory reasons. This lust for the exclusive ownership of several women dominated the masterful barbarian, and was one of the influences in the institution of the primitive harem system.
The typical polygamous man might be described as highly masculine in all his secondary sexual characteristics. He is predominantly male in a love of authority and of ownership. His instinct is for fighting and subjugation. The early polygamous nations were chiefly martial.[1] The men delighted in warfare, extension of territory, and capture of women, slaves, and spoil.
During this militant period, women conducted those peaceful and pastoral industries which are at the basis of civilisation. They tamed and domesticated animals; they wove the garments, prepared and cooked the food, and tended the infants and the sick. The warrior devoted to Mars returned triumphant from battle to reap his reward in the tenderness and caresses of woman.
Wherever maleness predominates in the man, we shall find the polygamous form of marriage among the ancient races as in the primitive communities of to-day,
- ↑ There are modern exceptions, such as the Iroquois Indians, who are monogamic.
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