XII

		Relations of the Sexes	733
		Position of Girls prior to Marriage	734
		Prohibitions applying to Marriages between Relatives	736
		Courting and serving for a Bride	739
		Marriage	741
		Position of Women in the Family	744
		Form of Property	746
		Levirate	748
		Polygyny	752
		Polyandry	755
		Treatment of Children	757
		Treatment of Old People	758
		The Killing of Old People	759
		Terms of Relationship	759

Relations of the Sexes. — The relations of the sexes among the Koryak present a striking contrast to those prevailing among the surrounding tribes. Among the Kamchadal, Chukchee, Yukaghir, and Tungus, unchastity has been more or less common as well in the case of girls before marriage as of women after marriage, the lack of wifely fidelity being based (at least, among the Chukchee) on a certain form of polyandry intermixed with polyg- amy. Among the Koryak, on the other hand, we see a striking example of moral purity (in the sense in which modern civilized nations understand it) in regard to sexual relations, if for the moment we leave out of consid-eration the Koryak custom of polygamy. I speak of sexual purity because the Koryak adhere to standards wich among civilized nations are too often violated. Of particular interest also, in the question of sexual relations, is the total absence of the Russian influence upon the Koryak. I speak of the Koryak who have been not at all or but little Russianized. In general, the Russian conquerors have exercised a disintegrating influence on the family life of the Arctic Siberian tribes. The first Cossacks and Russian traders had no Russian women, or few only, in their expeditions. The native women given by the conquered tribes of their own free will, or oftener taken by force, were passed from hand to hand as slaves or hostages. These circum- stances did not help to develop family virtues in the mixed bloods born of these casual unions, from which has mainly sprung the present population of the Russian hamlets in northeastern Siberia. The Russian conquerors have of course treated the primitive norms of sexual and marital relations of the northeastern tribes of Siberia not as definite institutions, involving domestic obligations and rights, but as convenient light morals. Thus the Russians made extensive use of the Yukaghir custom of allotting to guests a place on the bed of unmarried women, and of the Chukchee right of certain men to the wives of others.¹ Add to this the violence which was resorted to in many cases, and the process can easily be imagined whereby the primitive forms of marital and sexual relations were destroyed and replaced by mere dissoluteness. Sociologists who think that all mankind, without exception, have passed through the so-called period of promiscuity as a necessary stage in the evolution of marital relations, might find this stage in the free morals prevalent in the hamlets of the Russians or Russianized natives of northeastern

Siberia. It is difficult to find a girl that has reached or even approached the age of sexual maturity that is innocent; and the attitude of married women to conjugal fidelity is fully characterized by the proverb, "Woman is not a loaf, can't be eaten by one (man)" On the Kolyma, where often several families live together in one house, it is difficult to say who is whose wife. Likewise, cases of incestuous cohabita- tion of the nearest blood-relations are nowhere more frequent than here.

In bringing about the degeneration and final extinction of many Rus-sianized Siberian tribes, sexual dissoluteness, combined with the spread of syphilis, have played by no means the least important role.

I have here expatiated upon the unchastity of the Russian settlers and Russianized natives of the extreme northeast of Siberia, in order to show that the special position which the Koryak occupy among the neighboring tribes regarding the interrelation of the sexes cannot be due to the influence of the morals of the few representatives of a civilized people who have settled among them. On the contrary, the Koryak have waged an active struggle against the Russian influence which threatened to destroy their family life.¹

To what, then, is due the fact that the sexual relations of the Koryak stand, according to our notions, above those of the tribes which are related to them by descent, — tribes that live under the same economic conditions, and under the influence of the same external circumstances ? The explanation lies probably in the peculiar mental attitude of the Koryak.

Position of Girls prior to Marriage. — Girls, before marriage, must have no intercourse with men. This rule is pretty strictly observed by Koryak girls. Young men will not "serve" ² for a dissolute girl. He who would undertake to serve for such a girl would expose himself to ridicule on the part of the other youths. On the other hand, the girl's father and elder brothers "are angry," the Koryak say, if they notice that their daughter or sister is intimate with young men. All investigators familiar with the life of primitive tribes know that the anger of the elders has more influence upon the conduct of the younger members of a family than preaching in the higher classes or blows in the lower classes of civilized nations, for the wrath of the elders may do harm to those against whom it is directed.

In two myths³ we have characteristic episodes telling how a girl's brothers forced a young man to marry her when she complained that the young man had touched her or had addressed to her a request to give him water to drink.

Should a girl become pregnant before marriage, it is considered shame-ful, and her parents scold her. She goes off into the wilderness to be deliv-

ered of her child. She kills and buries it in the ground or in the snow. If the girl points out the father of her child, her father or brothers endeavor to pommel him. In olden times cohabitation out of wedlock with a girl sometimes led to wars between the families to which the young people belonged. After reaching maturity, the girl sleeps in her combination-suit, the make¹of which prevents unexpected violence. When strangers sleep in the house over night, girls do not undress at all, and sleep together in one bed. As we shall see later on, the bride also resists the bridegroom at the beginning of their married life, symbolizing her innocence and inaccessibility.

The girl is as inaccessible to the bridegroom while he serves for her as to a stranger. Intercourse of a bride with her bridegroom before the termination of his service is deemed a sin. Oftentimes, during the period of a young man's service, the girl goes away from her parental home to live with her relatives. In one myth it is told² that the sister of Cloud-Man was let down to earth pending her bridegroom's service.

Different rules for a girl's conduct are found among the tribes nearest to the Koryak. Maidenly chastity is valued very little among the Chukchee, says Bogoras.3 Krasheninnikoff says of the ancient Kamchadal, "Though fond of women, this tribe is not so jealous as the Koryak. In marriages the signs of virginity are not considered, and some claim that the young men find fault with their mothers-in-law when they discover their wives to be virgin, but this I cannot assert to be authentic." ⁴ In my work on the Yuka- ghir I shall speak more fully of their custom of placing guests on the beds of the girls.

Dittmar states that a Koryak girl who had intercourse with a man was severely punished, and that her own father shot her;⁵ but Krasheninnikoff asserts, in a passage which I shall touch upon again farther on, that the Maritime Koryak offered their wives and daughters to their guests.⁶ In another passage⁷ he says that among the Reindeer Koryak the bridegroom sleeps with his bride during the period of service. I think that these data were recorded by Krasheninnikoff on the authority of the Cossacks, who might have confused the Chukchee customs with those of the Koryak, or simply invented this statement. This seems the more probable, since not even the Chukchee offer their daughters to their guests.

In the myths of the Koryak we do not find a single allusion to such an order of things. On the contrary, we find episodes of an opposite character. The girls are generally kept in a secret place,⁸ or they are hidden during

3 See Bogoras, Brief Report on the Investigations among the Chukchee of the Kolyma District, p. 36.

6 See Krasheninnikoff, II, p. 202. 7 Ibid., II, p. 22.
8 See Part I, pp. 125, 176, 291, 302.

the sojourn of the bridegroom when fulfilling the period of service.¹ In one myth,² Yiñea-ñeut, daughter of Big-Raven, bears a child by Earth-Maker in a miraculous manner, not having seen him personally. Afterwards Earth- Maker comes to Big-Raven, owns up to being the child's father, and rides off to his own parents with Yiñea-ñeut as his wife, taken with her father's consent. But Earth-Maker's parents, on meeting them, express surprise that Yiñea-ñeut already has a child. Yiñea-ñeut turns into a stone for shame. This episode illustrates to a certain degree the attitude of the Koryak towards extra-marital relations of the sexes.

The character of these relations is confirmed not only by the tales and assertions of the Koryak themselves and from my impressions obtained in Koryak homes, but also by the testimony of such experts in love affairs as the Gishiga Cossacks. I often inquired of Cossacks with whom I chanced to drive, or whom I met on my journeys, about their relations with Koryak women; and they confirmed the Koryak statements as to their inaccessibility. Accord- in to them, there are exceptions, but these are rare. Thus, in the village Kamenskoye, consisting of thirty houses, the Cossacks pointed out to me but one girl of loose conduct, but none of the Koryak men would serve for her.

In conclusion, I shall give one more proof of what I have said. I made registers of the families of the Maritime and Reindeer Koryak, in order to form a clearer idea of the number of family members and their marital relations. In making the census, I did not find a single child whose father was not known as the mother's lawful husband, according to Koryak customs. But among the Yukaghir, Tungus, northern Yakut, and Russian settlers of north- ern Siberia, it is hard to find a single family in which there are no children born out of wedlock or of entirely unknown parentage. Such children are called by the Russians "maiden children," — a term adopted from the Yuka- ghir ma'rxid-u'o; i. e., a child (born) by a maiden, and belonging to the clan or family of the latter, even if she should eventually marry into another family.

Prohibitions applying to Marriages between Relatives. — Relatives between whom intermarriages are prohibited are quite numerous, and may be divided into relatives by blood and relatives by affinity.

Blood Relatives. — A man is forbidden to marry (1) his mother, (2) daughter, (3) own sister, (4) cousin, (5) father's sister, (6) mother's sister, (7) brother's daughter, and (8) own sister's daughter. Between all other blood- relations, marriages are permitted. In answer to my questions covering second- cousins, some Koryak replied that they did not consider them relatives. From this the conclusion may be drawn that beyond that degree, no blood-relation- ship is recognized; but, on the other hand, in direct ascending and descending line, even very distant degrees, such as great-grandfathers, great-grandmothers, and great-grandchildren, are recognized as relatives.

Relatives by Affinity. — A man cannot marry the following relatives by affinity; (1) stepmother; (2) sister of living wife (i.e., simultaneously two sisters); (3) cousin of living wife (i.e., simultaneously two cousins); (4) youn- ger brother's widow; (5) deceased wife's elder sister; (6) nephew's widow, (7) sister of brother's wife (i.e., two brothers cannot marry two sisters); (8) cousin of brother's wife (i. e., two brothers cannot marry two cousins); (9) si- multaneously an aunt and her niece; (10) two brothers cannot marry, one an aunt, and the other her niece; (11) two ale cousins cannot marry, one an aunt, and the other her niece; (12) an uncle and nephew cannot marry two sisters, two cousins, or two women of whom one is an aunt and the other her niece; (13) a step-daughter.

The aversion to cohabitation between relatives in the first two degrees of blood-relationship — such as the cohabitation with a mother, daughter, or sister, which, with very rare exceptions, we find among the most primi- tive tribes — hardly requires explanation. As regards the prohibition of mar- riages among the other above-mentioned relatives, the Koryak replied to my questions on this point, that relatives of the categories mentioned would die soon if they should enter into cohabitation with one another. Unfortunately this answer gives no clew to the above-mentioned taboos. However, certain marital taboos between relatives by affinity are, as we shall see later, closely connected with the peculiarities of the Koryak levirate.

Krasheninnikoff states that among the Kamchadal "the forbidden kinds of marriage are with one's own mother and daughter only; while marriages between step-son and step-mother, step-father and step-daughter, and between cousins, are permissible."¹

Steller says² that if a Kamchadal married a widow who had a daughter, he lived with both as his wives. According to him, the Kamchadal allowed a man to marry his step-mother, or to have two sisters for wives simultane- ously. It seems to me hardly credible that the Kamchadal should differ so sharply in their marriage-taboos from the modern Koryak. It is regrettable that what has been said by Steller and Krasheninnikoff cannot now be verified, since the modern Kamchadal, having become Christians and been completely Russianized, observe the rules of the Orthodox Catholic Church in the matter of marriages, as far as their formal side is concerned. However, Krashenin- nikoff asserts even, with reference to the Reindeer Koryak, that they used to marry cousins, aunts, and step-mothers.3 It is hard to admit that in the brief period (about a hundred and fifty years) which has elapsed since Krash- eninnikoffs time, the marriage-laws of the Koryak should have changed to such an extent.

1 See Krasheninnikoff, II, p. 169. 2 See Steller, p. 347. 3 See Krasheninnikoff, II, p. 221.

certain of the marriage-prohibitions among relatives by blood or affinity were unknown in ancient times. Accepting the evolutionary theory in the develop ment of marriage¹ and family relations, we may view the data contained in myths as reflections of the customs which were prevalent in earlier times; i. e., as historical material.

Among the legendary tales of incestuous marriages, we find no episodes of cohabitation with a mother or daughter; i. e., with the first degree of blood- relationship. In one myth ² it is related how Illa', wishing to find the sleeping- tent of his former wife, in order to prevent her cohabitation with another husband, first came across his sister's bed, then across that of his mother; and they cried out, "See what he is doing, he comes to his sister and to his mother!"

In the myths we find the episode of the marriage of Eme'mqut and his own sister,³ but the narrative censures such cohabitation. From the course of the narrative it is clear that the incest had not been premeditated. The sister had grown up separately, and Eme'mqut finds her by chance. But, even after having learned that she is his sister, he insists on continuing the union; while his sister Yiñea-ñeut is ashamed of it, and finds a way out of the unnatural marriage by persuading another woman to exchange husbands with her.

On the other hand, marriages among male and female cousins occur quite frequently in the tales.⁴ These marriages meet with no reproaches from anybody. In only one story⁵ does Creator explain his decision to make his children marry the children of his sister by the absence of other people near by. This is, as it were, an excuse for his violation of taboos.

Of other cases of cohabitation between relatives which are now adays for-bidden, we find further, in the myths, the marriage of two brothers with two cousins. Thus the two brothers Kalat marry, one a sister of Eme'mqut, the other Kilu's sister; and two brothers from the Bear-People marry, one Yiñea- ñeut; and the other, her cousin Kilu'.⁶

It may therefore be supposed that certain marriage-prohibitions are of later origin than the myths, and that formerly these prohibitions were limited to a smaller group of relations by blood and affinity than they are now. Similar contradictions might result if these traditions had been borrowed and were told without those changes which correspond to the local customs.

Even now, in distant localities, the same prohibitions are not observed throughout. In some localities, cases are met with in which individual persons act contrary to public opinion and custom. Thus, in the village Kamenskoye

1 In speaking of the evolution of marriage, I do not mean to say that all tribes have passed through the
same successive stages in this development.

2 See Part I, p. 202. 3 Ibid., I, pp. 150, 294, 297. 4 Ibid., I, pp. 150, 294, 297.

I was told that the marriage of a nephew with his uncle's wife, or that of a widower with the elder sister of his deceased wife, is countenanced. It is possible that these deviations should be ascribed to the decline in the force of traditions, under the influence of the Russians, or, better still, of the Russianized Koryak of northern Kamchatka.

In the village Itkana a Koryak (E'igexmit by name) who was married to two cousins was pointed out to me; while among the Reindeer Koryak of the Taigonos Peninsula, I knew an elderly Koryak (Xoti'tto by name) who had mar- ried the widow of his deceased younger cousin. The old people told Xoti'tto that he should not do it, that it was a sin ; but he would not listen to them. These cases, too, may perhaps be ascribed to the weakening of the taboo.

Courting and serving for a Bride. — The custom of having the parents or other elder relatives of a young man go to the bride's parents as match- makers for him, was evidently practised in antiquity too. In the myths we meet with this custom.¹ The match-maker is called pañiLo'cetala'n (i. e., "the asking one"), since the essence of match-making consists in the bridegroom's father, mother, or other elder kinsman, asking permission for the bridegroom to serve for the girl. The customary formula of match-making is as follows: On entering the house, the match-maker says, "Here I've come." — "What for?" the girl's father asks. "I am looking for a wife," the match-maker replies. "For whom?" the match-maker is asked. "For so and so," he answers. "Well," says the father, after meditating a while, "we have girls, but they are bad; later on you may yet scold us." — "No, it is all right," the match-maker will say. "Then let him come, I will not harm him," the host will return.

It is curious to note the modesty with which the father speaks of the bride, not only without attempting to praise her, but even speaking disparag- ingly of her qualities. In this is partly expressed the desire of the bride's father to disclaim all responsibility for misunderstandings that may arise in the future between the young couple.

Very often the young people get along without match-makers. This is the case particularly when parents disapprove of a son's choice, and if he does not want to submit to their disapproval. Frequently a young man does not tell anybody of his intentions. He goes to the house in which the girl lives whom he desires to marry, and, without saying a word, remains there, performing all house-work becoming to a man. The house-owner receives
the suitor's services with the same silence as he renders them. If the bride-groom pleases him, the bride's father begins to intrust him with commissions. The Reindeer Koryak send the bridegroom to take care of the herd; and, in general, the future father-in-law tries to tire him out, and is over-exacting. If the bride's parents do not want the bridegroom, they suggest that he

leave their house. In such cases the Reindeer people catch the reindeer on which the undesirable suitor had come, harness the sledge, carry his belongings out, and place him on the sledge, saying simply, "Depart!" In such cases it happens that the young man goes off a short distance, and, coming back, stops at the tent, and patiently and silently sits on his hitched-up sledge without unharnessing his reindeer, which he starves until he is called back into the tent. By such stubbornness persistent suitors have often obtained the consent of the bride's parents.

The term of the bridegroom's service varies from six months to three years. In Kamenskoye, for instance, the bridegroom is kept for a long time before the bride is given to him. This depends on the pleasure of the bride's father or elder brother. Often the mother says to the father, or in his absence to the elder son, that the young man has been tortured long enough.

What is the character of the Koryak custom of serving for a bride ? By ethnologists a bridegroom's service is generally considered as payment for the bride; i. e., as a reward to the bride's father for his loss of a working-woman. In the present case this explanation seems inapplicable. Among the Reindeer Koryak, the wealthy reindeer-breeders would prefer to pay with reindeer, were service a payment for the bride; but this does not occur. Besides, the son-in-law, along with his wife, receives her reindeer, the value of which is not in any way equalled by the value of the bridegroom's services. As we shall see later on, in those cases in which the son-in-law remains in his father- in-law's house, he must still pass through a certainpreliminary term of service as a bridegroom. This service can in no wise be considered payment for the bride, as her father not only does not lose a worker when she marries, but even acquires an additional one in his son-in-law. Finally, if the suit is pressed by an elderly or wealthy man, the service is reduced to a minimum, and is performed in a formal manner only. In my opinion, the service for a bride among the Koryak is of the nature of a test of the bridegroom. A serving bridegroom is not an ordinary workman. The principal thought is not his usefulness, but the hard and humiliating trials to which he is subjected.The bridegroom is given a poor bed, he is ill-fed, he is not allowed to sleep late, he is sent on exhausting errands. As a herdsman he must pass his nights without sleep, while the proprietor of the herd and the bride's brothers are resting. In a word, during his term of service, his endurance, patience, and meekness, his adroitness as a hunter, and his zeal and frugality as a herds- man, are tested. The bride's father gives his assent to the marriage onlyafter the bridegroom has stood the probation well.

This view of the trial of a bridegroom, who must perform tests dangerous to his life, and win contests, is also found in Koryak tales.¹

In antiquity, as the Koryak relate, the match-maker, too, had to do all manner of house-work during the bridegroom's sojourn in the house of the bride's parents. This evidently was considered a test of the bridegroom's relatives. The custom of having the match-maker perform the duties of a servant in the house of the bride's parents is still widespread among many Chukchee.¹

A very characteristic story of match-making among the Indighirka Chukchee was related to me by a Reindeer Yukaghir who sued for the hand of a Chukchee girl in behalf of his brother. His brother had fallen in love with a Chukchee girl; but her father, a wealthy reindeer-breeder, did not want the bridegroom, not because the latter was a poor Yukaghir, but because he thought him a bad herdsman. Then the girl herself went to the Yukaghir family, and engaged there in household duties with the other women. By virtue of the custom of hospitality, she was not asked what she had come for. Thus three days had passed. The kinsman of the Yukaghir would have had no objection to this marriage, if they had not feared, that, owing to the girl's wilful leaving of her parental home, her father would refuse to give up her share of reindeer. On the third day the young man's elder brother said to the Chukchee girl, "We do not act the way you do. Go with me to your father's house, and I shall press the suit for your hand." The Chukchee girl went with him in silence. On the way he broke a quantity of dry wigs, placed them by the hearth, took the buckets, fetched water, and did other household work. "In vain do you, old man, do that which women can do," said the Chukchee host to the Yukaghir." — "I have come to press suit for your daughter's hand," the Yukaghir replied. "Why should you sue for it? She ran away to your house of her own accord," the Chukchee said, railing at the Yukaghir. After that the Yukaghir stubbornly persisted in doing all tasks about the house, and the Chukchee spoke to him no more. A few days later the Chukchee somehow said aloud to his house-fellows, as is their habit, "I am going out to stool." The Yukaghir went out after him; and, while the Chukchee was satisfying nature's demands, the Yukaghir tore up a quantity of soft grass and handed it to him. This humiliation at last touched the Chukchee. He put the bundle of grass to use. Then he entered the house and told the Yukaghir that he might send his brother to serve for his daughter.

Marriage. — When the bride's father has decided that it is time to end the probation service, he tells the bridegroom that he may seize the bride; i.e., marry her. There are no marriage rites or festivities whatever. Marriage proper is performed by the first cohabitation; but even prior to this, the marriage becomes legalized by means of a symbolic action. The

mother warns the bride that the bridegroom has obtained the right to take her. Custom requires that the bride shall not surrender without a struggle, even if she love her bridegroom. Should the bridegroom find his bride undressed in the separate sleeping-tent which she is given before marriage, he would not touch her, considering this accessibility as an offence to himself. The bride's resistance is a test of her chastity.¹

Accordingly, with the aid of her friends, the bride ties up with thongs the sleeves and trousers of her combination-suit, so that it cannot be taken off without untying or cutting the thongs. On the day when the bridegroom obtains the right to seize the bride, the latter goes about thus tied up, and tries to run away when her bridegroom approaches her. The bridegroom seizes an opportunity to attack her unawares, to tear or cut the garments with a knife, and touch her sexual organs with his hand. When he has succeeded in doing so, the bride ceases to resist, and submissively leads the bridegroom to her tent. If the bride loves her bridegroom, she runs straight to her sleeping-tent, where the young man, who follows her, can more easily manage her and tear her clothes. If she dislikes him, however, she endeavors to run out of the house, and hides in a neighboring house; but the parents, if the bridegroom is desirable, hinder her from running out. Being a symbol of copulation, the act of touching the bride's sexual organs makes her the man's wife. In one of the myths² we also meet with this custom. When Moon-Woman does not trust Eme'mqut's promise to marry her, he touches her sexual organs with his hand, and says that thenceforth he will not deceiveher, for this contact is the same as marriage. A similar symbolic act was performed also among the ancient Kamchadal.³

Sometimes the bride is aided by her friends and other women in the act of resistance. In this struggle a good thrashing often falls to the lot of the bridegroom. If unsuccessful, he repeats his attacks several times. If the bride does not want the bridegroom, it is hard to take possession of her; and at times the groom has to give up all further attempts, and let his service go for nought.

It is related that in former times, not women alone, but the bride's male relatives as well, used to defend her, and beat the groom when he tried to seize the bride. In this conduct of the bride's kinsfolk, some ethnol- ogists might see a symbol of the ancient practice of capturing wives. Without undertaking here to inquire into the question whether capture was at any period the exclusive or prevalent form of contracting marriages, I can

1 I think it is of interest to quote here Steller's curious explanation of the origin of the Kamchadal custom
(similar to that of the Koryak), in accordance with which the bride does not at once yield to the bridegroom. He
thinks that it is done in imitation of animals: a bitch, too, does not at once yield to the dog (Steller, p. 345).

3 See Krasheninnikoff, II, p. 195; and Steller, p. 344. According to Steller's statement, the bridegroom had
to put his finger into the bride's vagina.

only remark that I consider the thrashing of the groom as the final act in testing his adroitness, bravery, and endurance, and not as a symbolic remnant of marriage by capture.

Of course, along with the other methods of obtaining wives, the Koryak, in former times, resorted to carrying away women, or taking away by force both girls and married women, I have spoken of the "wife-snatcher-strong-men." ¹In Koryak mythology we find some tales of girls being carried away by force. In one tale² Big-Raven, the ancestor of the Koryak, carries off a girl from the kamak for his son Eme'mqut; and in another ³ Eme'mqut himself steals the daughter of the kamak. But if we take into consideration that among the Koryak marriage is rather endogamic than exogamic, and that in war the con- querors usually slew the children of the vanquished lest they should grow up to become avengers, and their women lest they should bear avengers,⁴ it seems plausible that the custom of capturing wives from foreign tribes or clans never prevailed among the Koryak to any extent.

Marriage is accompanied by neither feast nor shamanistic ceremonies. The daughter and the son-in-law either leave at once for the young man's house, or they remain for some time in her father's house. In some localities, after a successful "bride-seizing," the bridegroom goes home and sends his parents, or other elder relatives, to fetch the bride. When the bride ap- proaches the house of her bridegroom's parents, the latter come out with fire- brands taken from the hearth to meet her. This reception symbolizes the acceptance of the bride into the family cult which the hearth represents. Beyond her clothes and appurtenances for woman's work, the bride brings almost nothing into her father-in-law's house. The bed and sleeping-tent for the couple are prepared by the bridegroom's family. However, the bride brings along presents of clothing, meat, and other things, for the bridegroom's mother and sisters, and her own reindeer if she be a Reindeer Koryak. If the bride is the first daughter-in-law in the house, the mother-in-law usually hands the whole household over to her care, and interferes only if the daugh- ter-in-law proves to be an inexperienced housewife. On entering the house, the bride immedately sets out to prepare the meal. The Maritime Koryak do not invite any guests, and the meal has purely a family character. Among the Reindeer Koryak, at the meeting of the bride, one or several reindeer are sacrificed to The-Master-on-High and his son, Cloud-Man, protector of married couples.5 From one myth⁶ it appears that non-performance of this duty brings punishment from the deity.In former times the bridegroom's mother or elder brother used to anoint the bride's forehead and abdomen with the blood of the sacrificial reindeer. This, too, evidently meant the adoption of the bride into the new family, and her introduction to the new hearth, by means of sacrificial

1 See pp. 561 and 754; and Part I, pp. 140, 145, 227. 2 See Part I, p. 210. 3 Ibid., p. 324.

blood. This rite was called "dying red," and, as I was told, it has been preserved among the Reindeer Koryak on the Palpal until now.

Although, as a rule, the bride goes to the house of her husband's parents, there are also cases where the son-in-law settles in his father-in-law's house; namely, when there are no sons in the bride's family. In such a case the future father-in-law says to the young man, "If you care to come to stay with me altogether in the place of a son, come; but if you intend to take the wife away with you afterwards, you need not come."

In order to determine the relative number of cases where the bridegroom goes over to his father-in-law's house, I registered 181 marriages; and among these, in II cases only (6%) did the son-in-law settle in his father-in-law's house.

After the bride has lived for some time in her father-in-law's house, she and her husband go to visit her parents, where they are also met with fire- brands from the hearth; and the bridegroom, on his part, brings presents, so that the two families exchange gifts. A similar exchange of presents and visiting of the bridegroom's parents by the young couple, take place when the young man settles in the bride's house.

Position of Women in the Family. — The family organization of the Koryak is of patriarchal character. The father is the head of the family, though his power over wife and children is not absolute. The mutual rela- tions of the other members of the family rest on the principle of seniority. If the father grows feeble or dies, his brother or eldest son, or, in the absence of these, his adopted son-in-law who is married to the eldest daughter, be- comes the head of the family. The principle of seniority influences also the interrelations of the female members of the family. The authority over household affairs belongs to the mother, to the eldest sister if married to the adopted son-in-law, or, if any brothers, to the wife of the eldest brother.

Though nominally the father can marry off his daughter on his own authority, he nevertheless not only consults his wife and eldest son, but often takes into consideration even the likes or dislikes of his daughter. Cases occur where the daughter does not submit to the father's or elder relative's authority in the choice of a bridegroom. Their will is not forced upon her. This attitude is also mirrored in the myths. Thus, Root-Man wanted to give his daughter in marriage to Eme'mqut; but she would not yield, and the bridegroom had to give up service.¹ Young men often go to serve for a bride, in spite of the non-approval of the "elder" or "elders" of their own families. Should a girl run away to her lover's house against the will of her kindred, her parents would not demand her return, as she went of her own accord. When asked what their guiding principle is, in theirchoice of a bride or a bridegroom, the Koryak answer that they pay no attention to looks; what is

expected of the bridegroom is that he should be a good hunter or herdsman, and the bride must be a good housekeeper and skilled in handiwork. Never- theless, sexual attraction based on sesthetic sense, or physical attraction, un- doubtedly plays an important role in the mutual inclination between young men and girls. This shows itself in the relation between husband and wife. As in the relations of the members of the family the principle of senior- ity plays its part, so in the relation between the male and female members of a family the principle of the supremacy of men's authority undoubtedly dominates. Thus, at the bidding of the family's elder (father, uncle, or eldest brother), the Reindeer camp is removed to another locality, or, among the Maritime Koryak, the place of hunting or fishing is changed. The men get the best pieces of food, the women receive what is left over. Thus, among the Reindeer Koryak, only the men sit around the food which is served in the inner tent; and, besides the children, only the mother or the eldest wife is present, who distributes the food or treats the guests. The other women and girls receive the leavings, which they eat in the outer tent. Among the Maritime Koryak, too, the women and irls eat separately, by the hearth, after the men have eaten. Nevertheless the attitude of men towards women is protective rather than severe. Cases of wife-beating are very rare. On the other hand, it happens that the wife not only returns in kind to her husband, but often appears to be the aggressive party. In general, complete- accord reigns in families. I even had occasion to witness touching displays of devotion between husband and wife. Thus, I saw a smith from Kuel, somewhat tipsy with whiskey, leaning his head on the shoulder of his wife, who supported him by the waist. When my attention was attracted to this scene, the smith said to me with a smile, "This is my kind wife." I was still more impressed with the treatment which the Koryak Oomya' from Kamen- skoye accorded to his blind wife. When making a trip anywhere, he takes her along, and even takes care of her most tenderly; he takes her down into the underground house, takes her out, hands her the food, and sits by her side all the time. Such relations are possible only in cases of deep attachment. In former times, men not infrequently killed themselves upon the death of a beloved wife. On the Taigonos Peninsula I saw a Reindeer Koryak who had attempted suicide after the death of his wife. Entering the tent after the cremation of his deceased wife, he sharpened his belt-knife, told his relatives to divide his property among them, and went out of doors. There he buried the knife in his breast, but missed the heart. He came into the house groaning, and then the people learned that he had attempted to stab himself. He recovered, and did not attempt suicide again; but his relatives afterwards railed him, saying that he had not seriously meant to kill himself. Though in following her husband the young woman becomes a member of his family, and subject to the authority of her father-in-law or other senior

member of the family, and although she becomes affiliated to the hearth and joins her husband in the cult of his family ancestors, nevertheless she continues to dwell under the protection of her blood-relatives. It is told in one myth¹that Eme'mqut drives off with his sister, who is being tortured by her husband the Ringed-Seal, and his relatives; so, also nowadays, the young woman's relatives still have the right to take her away from her husband if he treats her cruelly. This proves that woman is not considered to be her husband's property. If a woman flees of her own accord to her relatives, they will not surrender her. Sometimes the husband comes to ask her to come back, promising better treatment. On the other hand, the husband may cast out his wife without any explanation, if he dislikes her for one reason or another; but by this act he forever breaks up the union which marriage had established between the two families. Henceforth he cannot court any relative of his disowned wife. No girl relative of the latter will be given to him in marriage.

A Koryak widower on the Taigonos Peninsula, soon after his marriage, sent his second wife back to her relatives. I asked him why he had turned her out. He replied that she had not attended him when he had been ill, and did not take care of his children by his first wife.

In this simple manner, Koryak divorce is performed. If there are children at the separation of the spouses, the girls remain with the mother, the boys with their father. Disputes concerning the children do occur, but they are settled without anybody's intervention.

Form of Property. — Despite the fact that the proprietary right to clothing, household effects, houses, and domestic animals, has already become strongly lodged in the tribal consciousness, we still meet remnants of communal ideas in this sphere. These chiefly concern articles of hunting- and fishing. The principle of property in the produce of labor is not as yet completely applied to the food procured by the hunter and fisherman. People in need of food may lay claim, as we shall see in the next chapter, to the game obtained by the successful hunter or fisherman. .The social union among separate families is based on this.

Among the Maritime Koryak, clothing and ornaments alone are considered personal property. Wooden guardians and other amulets, household appurte- nances, the house, nets, and skin boats, are family property. I have already said² that the boat, being a "guardian" of the family, cannot belong to two different families. All these things pass on by inheritance from father to son, and, in their absence, to brothers. Daughters or sisters who have not been married into other families remain with their brothers or uncles. If one of the brothers sets up a separate house, he receives a part of the movable property, dishes and implements, and may continue to share with his brothers

in the common use of the skin boat, if he remains in the same village. In case of the death of the father or of a childless brother, the brother who keeps house for himself receives a portion of the inheritance, even if his broth- er's widow passes on to another, younger brother. I have already said that girls, on marrying into other families, take with them nothing but their clothes. The reindeer which the bride takes along are often delivered by her kinsfolk to her father-in-law, not immediately after the wedding, but according to the most convenient moment, considering what season is most favorable for the welfare of the herd.

The reindeer are the property of all the members of the family, but the movements of the herd are directed by the father. According to custom, each newly born child, irrespective of sex, receives one reindeer-heifer or more with a special mark on the ear.¹ This gives each member of the family a share in the herd later on. Under favorable conditions, a whole herd may be formed by the yearly increase of the herd of these heifers, before the child is ready to marry. Of course, the original herd belongs to the father; but considering that each child has its own reindeer, and that the wife and daughters-in-law retain as their property the reindeer which they brought in marriage, the whole herd of a large family belongs to a group of interrelated proprietors, under the direction of the eldest male. This elder may be the eldest brother or paternal uncle. On the father's death, the original herd is divided up among the sons, and, in the absence of children, among the brothers of the deceased. At marriage, daughters usually receive a share of the original herd from their father, in addition to their own reindeer. Some Koryak divide their deer equally among their sons and daughters, and give a proportionate part to the daughter at the time of her marriage; ² but then the daughter is no longer entitled to inherit part of the herd on her father's death. If an unmarried girl is at home when her father dies, her brothers give her the reindeer at the time of her marriage. If a wife leaves her hus- and or is cast out by him, her relatives take back her reindeer. I have already said that divorces are very rare. After the birth of children, who are heirs to both their mother's and father's reindeer, the husband manages his wife's reindeer more independently. In general, the eldest member of the family manages the common herd of the family entirely without control. He designates which reindeer are to be killed for meat, clothing, sacrifices, and sale. He oversees the pasture and herdsman, and picks out the reindeer to be trained for harness. Of course, he often consults his wife or eldest son.

2 In Tale 86 Yiñea-ñeut marries Magpie-Man. They eat up all the reindeer which Big-Raven had given
em. Yinea-neut comes to her father to ask for food; and Big-Raven says, "You ate your share of reindeer, I
have nothing else to give you" (Part I, p. 259).

paternal family, rarely occurs. This happens, in the first place, among people very rich in reindeer. The division of too large a herd may become a neces- sity for the care of the reindeer. The widow's reindeer pass over to her brother-in-law with whom she lives; but if she has children, her brother-in-law manages the reindeer only temporarily. A widow who does not re-marry remains with her sons, together with her reindeer; but if she has no sons, she joins her brothers, or manages the herd herself, with the help of herds- men. The lately widowed sister of the Taigonos elder figured on Plate XXXII, Fig. 2, has remained single; and, with her two adult daughters, she person- ally directs a herd of eight hundred reindeer. For this purpose she keeps two herdsmen, of whom one was in the position of a bridegroom doing service for her eldest daughter.

Levirate. — The institutions known under the general term of "levirate" embrace marriage-customs which, though similar but not wholly uniform, are found among various tribes. I retain this name also for the Koryak institu- tion of this category, although it is not quite broad enough in its strict sense. The word "levirate" denotes the custom by virtue of which a brother (or other relative) marries the widow of his elder brother (or relative). Among the Koryak an analogous custom extends also to the widower. The younger sister or relative of the defunct wife must become his wife. Thus the Koryak levirate may be summed up as follows: —

1. The widow must be married to the younger brother, younger cousin
or nephew (son of sister or brother), of her deceased husband.

2. The widower must marry the younger sister, younger cousin or niece
(daughter of sister or brother), of his deceased wife.

I have recorded twelve cases of marriage through levirate. Of these, the widower was married to his deceased wife's sister in one case, to her cousin in two cases, and to her niece in two; the widow married her deceased husband's younger brother in two cases, his younger cousin in four cases, and his nephew in one case.

From the relations of levirate marriage, it becomes clear why two brothers or male cousins, or an uncle and nephew, cannot be married to two sisters, two cousins, or an aunt and her niece. In case of the death of the elder brother, cousin, or uncle, the younger brother, cousin, or nephew would be unable to take the widows of the first three for wives, unless one man might be married to two sisters, cousins, or aunt and niece. As stated before, such a polygynous marriage is not permitted by custom.¹

The latter custom must be supposed to be of less ancient origin than other marriage taboos, and I think is the foundation for woman's increased modesty. A Koryak who has two or more wives sleeps in one sleeping-tent

with all of them, and shares his bed, now with one, and then with another. The sense of shame forbids a woman to be present at the acts of the intimate life of her sister. What, then, is the origin of this, which I should call "two- sided Koryak levirate"?

McLennan' and his followers consider the custom of levirate among other tribes as a survival of polyandry. Westermarck² demolishes this view with great conclusiveness. But if we admit that McLennan is right, whatever he says applies to the one-sided levirate usually spoken of by the ethnologists and sociologists; i. e., when the younger brother marries the elder brother's widow. But, of course, nobody considers the marriage of a widower with the younger sister of his deceased wife a survival of polyandry.

Lubbock's and Spencer's explanation of levirate is, that woman is viewed as a property which the brother-in-law inherits along with other possessions. Possibly the explanation may apply to the levirate custom of some tribes; but in cases where the widower takes the younger sister of his deceased wife, there can be no question of proprietary title to her; also in the passing of the widow to her deceased husband's younger brother, the family right does not always coincide with the right of property, as it appears from the Koryak order of inheritance. Besides, according to the customs of the Koryak, the elder brother, although he receives part of the inheritance left by his younger brother, cannot marry his widow.

The view that levirate is connected with the cult of ancestors — such as prevailed among the ancient Hindoos and Hebrews, through the necessity of having an heir in the interests of salvation and bliss in heaven — does not apply to the Koryak levirate either, not only because it is two-sided, but also because among the Koryak any widow of the elder brother, and not alone one without any offspring, or without male offspring, passes over to the younger brother.

Nevertheless I do think that Koryak levirate, though from another point of view, is connected with the cult of ancestors, or rather with the cult of the family hearth. I have pointed out before 3 that each Koryak family has its guardians and its incantations. The family hearth, the chief family guar- dian, is averse to admitting strangers. Since primitive man views every stranger as a possible foe, the family guardians are inimically disposed toward every stranger, and are ready to guard the family against the evil eye, word, and other magic acts of strangers. Access to the family hearth is had with difficulty only. Besides, the family hearth is connected with the deceased relatives whose souls return in new-born children. Marriages between two

1 See I. J. McLennan, The Levirate and Polyandry (The Fortnightly Review, London, 1877, Vol. XXI,
pp. 694—707).

families give free access to the hearth, not only to the members of strange families, but also to the souls of their deceased members. The soul of a deceased relative, both on the father's and on the mother's side, may enter the new-born child ; and each child borne by the daughter-in-law or engendered by the son-in-law may become the possessor of the soul of a deceased relative of a strange family. Thus a marriage contracted between two families brings nearer not only the living, but also the souls of the dead members, and the guardians of both families. The Koryak like to strengthen the union by new marriages. Thus the brother of a married woman will court her husband's sister, if there be such. These are favorite unions. We meet such cases, not only in every-day life, but also in myths.¹ In my opinion, the Koryak levirate has for its object the maintenance of the union between two families: a widower marries the sister or relative of his deceased wife, and a widow is married to the relative of her deceased husband, in order to maintain the family union which has been interrupted by death.

As marriage, with the exception of the above-mentioned degrees of kinship, may be contracted between parties of the same village or family even, — for instance, any second-cousins, — it happens very rarely that the match-maker or bridegroom goes to a remote village or nomad camp in search of a bride. Most frequently marriages are contracted between inhabitants of neighboring villages. On the Palpal I once met an elderly Koryak from the village Mikino driving to the Opuka River, and asked him why he was going there. He replied that he was going to get some relative of his deceased wife to marry him. "Can't you find a wife for yourself anywhere nearer?" 1 asked. "I can," he replied; "but the union between my family and the family of my children's mother must not be interrupted. Besides, the relatives of my deceased wife know me and won't make me serve for a bride."

As I look at it, the Koryak levirate is an institution having for its object the continuation of the union between families related by affinity. This union is necessary in order that the spirits of the ancestors, the hearth and other family guardians, of the two families entering into relationship, may abide in peace and unity. In former times, when separate groups of a tribe waged war with one another on the slightest occasion, families united by marriage formed defensive and offensive alliances. Often the marrying-off of a girl into a family with which there had been war, made peace between the spirits of the deceased of both families, and put an end to blood-vengeance.

In certain cases, an extensive league of families may be formed through intermarriage. If there are several sons in one family, and several daughters in another, these two families cannot confine themselves to intermarrying with each other, for brothers of one family cannot marry sisters of another. Some

must seek brides in different families, and daughters must be married into different families. Only in the case of the death of a married son or of a married daughter of one family or the other is a second marriage, through levirate, possible.

Of course, if the 'nature of the Koryak levirate has for its purpose the strengthening of family alliances, it may be asked why a widower cannot marry his deceased wife's elder sister, or why a widow cannot become the wife of her deceased husband's elder brother. I have put the question, but to my regret I have received no satisfactory answer from the Koryak. Person- ally I think that in this case the legal position of the elder brother in the family supersedes the considerations of blood-relationship. When father or mother die or become too old, the eldest brother and eldest sister take their places. By force of this position, sexual intercourse of the eldest brother (who enjoys the right of agnate) with his sister-in-law, or of the eldest sister with her brother-in-law, seems to be imagined to be the same kind of incest as the cohabitation of a father with his daughter-in-law or of a mother with her son-in-law.

I will add here a few details illustrating the application of the levirate in the every-day life of the modern Koryak. From these it appears that in several places this custom is coming to lose vigor and to assume the form of a right instead of involving an obligation. Attention must also be drawn to the subjection of woman in this custom. In Kamenskoye I was told that a younger brother may marry his eldest brother's widow, or a widower the younger sister of his deceased wife, while in other places they must do it. On the other hand, if disinclined, the relatives may not give a widow or deceased wife's younger sister to her brother-in-law in marriage. From this it is evident that in Kamenskoye the custom leaves to either side, if such be desired, the choice of not renewing the family union by a new marriage.

But if the nearest relatives of a woman have died, and she has thus lost her natural protectors, the widower or brother-in-law can enforce the observ- ance of the levirate against her will. However, men rarely make use of this right. Shortly before my arrival, an elder in Kamenskoye (Opilli by name) had lost his wife and eldest brother. The wife of the latter, with her children, went to his home to live; but when asked whether he had married her, he answered that as yet she was not ready to do so. I know of another case from the village Kamenskoye, where a Koryak, married to a young woman, received into his house two old widows, the wives of his deceased elder brother, but he did not live with them because they were too old.

I met with a similar case on the Paren River. A Koryak, Ewpicõ, who had a young wife, had taken his uncle's widow into his house, but did not live with her, as she was sickly.

ence of Ievirate among them,¹ but a more detailed discussion of their customs may be expected in his description of the social organization of the Chukchee in this series. From certain passages in Steller's book on the Kamchadal,²the conclusion may be drawn that among them a Ievirate similar to that of the Koryak existed; í. e., that it was two-sided.³ It is a matter of great regret that he does not dwell in detail on this institution. An interesting feature of the marriage customs of the Kamchadal is mentioned by both Steller and Krasheninnikoff.⁴ It is evidently connected with the Ievirate, and is quite similar to the Jewish rite of khaliche, which is a substitute for actual marriage with a relative's widow. According to these travellers, nobody would marry a widow before an outsider had had sexual intercourse with her, which was called "removing the sin from her." By that intercourse a woman was evidently freed from the union with her deceased husband's family; and her new husband could take her to his own family hearth without incurring vengeance on the part of her first husband's spirit. This explana- tion is favored by another passage in Steller, in which he states that a man may take his deceased brother's widow without any ceremonies.⁵ The person who would undertake to "remove sin" from a woman was paid for this service; and prior to the coming of the Cossacks, it was difficult to find among the Kamchadal men who would volunteer for this undertaking, which, according to their belief, was fraught with danger.

Polygyny. — In some myths the heroes have two wives, and in two of them they have three; but the majority of marriages recorded in the myths are monogamous. The Supreme Deity and Big-Raven have each but one wife. In contemporary Koryak life as well, we find that monogamous marriages prevail, although custom places no limits on the number of wives.

Among the Maritime Koryak, I questioned 95 married men. Of these, 13 (i.e., 13.6 %) had two wives each, and not a single one had more than two. Among the Reindeer Koryak I recorded the family conditions of 65 married men; and of them, but 3 had two wives each, and 1 had three wives; i. e., the percentage of men having more than one wife was but 6 %, or but half as much as among the Maritime Koryak. Some of the men with two wives had taken a second wife because the first one was barren; others had married a second time because their first wife, who was obtained

3 Customs similar   to   what   I   call   "two-sided   levirate"   are   known   also   among other tribes.    Some of them
are enumerated by Kohler (Urgeschichte der Ehe, p. 144), who regards this custom as a survival of former "group-
marriages."     The   same   custom is also   met   with   among   North   American   tribes.    For instance,   of the Ojibwas,
W. Jones says (Central Algonkin, Annual Archaeological Report, Toronto, 1906, p. 136), "It was usual for a man to
marry the widow of his brother, and a widower might marry the sister of his dead wife."    The same is stated by
Teit with reference   to   the Thompson   Indians (see Teit,   p. 325), and   by   Dorsey   to   the   Skidi Pawnee (Congrès
Intemational des Américanistes, XV e Session, Quebec, 1907, Vol II, p. 73).    No explanation, however, is given by
the last three authors as to the origin of this custom.

through levirate, was too old. In some cases the second wife, who was obtained through levirate, is the younger of the two. Only in two cases did I find that both wives had children, and in neither of these cases were levi- rate customs involved. On the other hand, in three cases of men having two wives, neither wife had children. Their barrenness, accordingly, must be attributed to the husband. The only man with three wives whom I saw was the elder of the Taigonos Reindeer Koryak.¹ He had children by his first wife; but she became ill, evidently with hereditary syphilis, and her face is so deformed that she covers it up whenever an outsider enters the tent. His second wife is barren; and from the youngest, the third wife, he has offspring. In one case, a young man who married an old woman,his uncle's widow, through levirate, took into his house a little girl, and began to live with her after she had grown older. She seemed about sixteen years old when I saw her, and she was pregnant at the time. Such mar- riages with minors were more common in former times. Generally speaking, girls marry when twenty years old, or even older.

It is interesting to note that the greater number of monogamous marriages among the Reindeer Koryak coincides with the greater number of men as compared with women among them.

The statistics of the official census for 1897 have been discussed before (p. 445). I myself made a detailed census of the Maritime Koryak from the village of Kamenskoye to the three Itkana villages, inclusive, and of the Reindeer Koryak on the Taigonos Peninsula and along the Tilqai River. According to my count, there were 102 women to every 100 men among the Maritime Koryak, and but 89 women to every 100 men among the Reindeer Koryak. The ratio of women to men which I obtained among the Maritime Koryak was identical with the one I found in the official census of all the Maritime Koryak. But the percentage of women among the Rein- deer Koryak which I obtained was even below the census of 1897, which gives 90,8 females for each 100 males. This may possibly be explained by the fact that I took the census after an epidemic of measles which had carried off more women than men, and left many widowers.

Judging from both myths and actual observation, it seems that the prevailing form of marriage among the Koryak is monogamic, and that polygyny kept up by the custom of levirate and the desire of having an offspring when the first wife is barren. However, in certain traditions which I heard, relating to a past by no means remote, stories are told of strong men, who were good warriors and skilful hunters, and who had harems of women taken by force from their fellow-tribesmen. A cavern on the rocky coast of Penshina Bay was pointed out to me as the dwelling-place of such

1 According to Dittmar, when he visited the Taigonos Peninsula, the elder had four wives (Dittmar, Die
Koräken, p. 25).

a "woman-snatcher." He would lie in wait for Koryak boats passing by, and would take away the wives of the oarsmen. A similar tale¹ is found among the myths. Worm-Man, who carried away many women after slaying their husbands and brothers, takes away the wife of Eme'mqut. He is slain by the latter. Eme'mqut brings back to life the husbands and brothers of the women whom Worm-Man had captured, and restores to their families the wives and sisters, whom he sets free. Many of the brothers give their sisters to Eme'mqut. He retains only three of them : the others he distributes among his brothers and his cousin Illa'.

In a household with more than one wife, the first is considered the mistress of the house. The second wife consults the first in everything, and carries out her instructions. In the majority of cases the wives live in har- mony. When intending to take a second wife, the husband usually consults with the first one. An old woman who has grown-up daughters to help her in housekeeping, often asks her husband to take a second, younger wife. But some women are jealous, especially if the second marriage was contracted against their will, and quarrel with the second wife. In myths, too, we find cases of hostile relations between wives, and even of the murder of one wife by another. In one case the first wife cuts off the second wife's nose.²Here I will relate a characteristic case from the life of a man who had two wives. A Koryak from Kamenskoye, Oacilqut by name, whom I have men- ioned several times, and whose first wife was childless, courted the young- widow of a deceased distant relative of his. For a long time he could not take her to his house, as his first wife was opposed to their marriage. Finally, despite the objections of the first wife, he brought his second wife to his house. During the husband's absence, the first wife often beat and tortured the second one. Sometimes she would prick her face with a needle. The second wife bore everything in silence, and did not complain to her husband. This finally appeased the jealousy of the first wife, and they now live in peace. All this was told me by Oacilqut's first wife herself. She is a very bright, energetic woman, and still young. Her husband is a mer- chant. When he goes on a business trip to the Reindeer Koryak, she accom- panies him as his clerk, and always brings some present for her friend, the second wife. Like the other polygynous Koryak, they all sleep in one sleeping-tent, — the husband in the middle, the first wife to his right, the second to his left.

In connection with this subject should be mentioned the cases of men transformed into women, which in former times were not uncommon, and
were called qava'u or qeve'u.³ Like the ancient Kamchadal koe'kcuc ⁴ and

the present Chukchee irka'la'ul, Koryak "transformed men" contracted marriage with men, or, when there was another real wife, would be kept as concubines, and lived with the so-called husband in improper intimacy. This, of course, cannot be treated as a normal institution of marriage. Such cases were few in number. Bogoras states that among three thousand Kolyma Chukchee he registered five cases of men who were believed to be transformed into women; but of these, only two were "married" to other men.¹ I think abnormal sexual relations have developed under the influence of the ideas concerning shamanistic power, which the "metamorphosed" men obtain from the spirits at whose bidding and with whose help the change of sex is accomplished. These beliefs have found fertile soil in individuals of abnormal physical and psychical development. With the decadence of shamanism among the Koryak, and the Russianization of the Kamchadal, these practices have disappeared in both tribes.

Polyandry. — I had occasion to observe among the Reindeer Chukchee of the Kolyma tundra that they would exchange wives for the night, or that the wife would be placed at the disposal of the transient guest, while the husband would go off to his herd. Mr. Bogoras, who has studied this question more closely, considers this wife-exchange among the Chukchee as a form of group-marriage. The right of two men to each other's wife is stipulated by the mutual agreement of the husbands.² This marriage-union is contracted mainly among kinsmen (excepting brothers), such as cousins and second-cousins. A union like this may be contracted among unrelated men as well. Not infrequently this contract is entered into by a married man and a bachelor, who thus pledges his future wife to his friend. Each Chukchee may contract such a union with several persons, who are called "friends in wives." The result of such a union is a polygynic-polyandric group-marriage. The families participating in such a marriage-union retain, nevertheless, their own economic independence, and the children are considered as belonging to the head of the family in which they are born.

In Steller's 3 description of Kamchatka we find a passage in which it is stated that friends sometimes agree to exchange wives. It is to be regret- ted that Steller gives no detailed information concerning the character of such agreements.

Krasheninnikoff says that the Reindeer Koryak are jealous beyond measure, and may kill their wives on the mere suspicion of faithlessness.⁴ On the other hand, he compares the Maritime Koryak with the Chukchee, and alleges that among them the host's wives and daughters are given over to

the guests, and that the host feels deeply offended should the guest not accept them.¹

I think that his statement is based on a misunderstanding, or on reports of Cossacks who confounded the Maritime Koryak and the Chukchee. I should find difficulty in deciding who is more jealous, the Maritime or the Reindeer Koryak. If exchange of wives existed among the Koryak in former times, as it did among the Kamchadal, Chukchee, and the northwest Ameri cans, like the Aleut, Eskimo, and Athapascan² tribes, I have found no traces of such a custom. True, in one myth two kalat have one wife, ³ but such actions, which men deem evil, are always attributed to evil spirits. In another myth ⁴ Yiñea-ñeut strikes her husband's younger brother with a cut- ting-board because he wooed her in his brothers absence. The Koryak them- selves deny ever having had the custom of exchanging wives. They assert that a married woman had to go in a dirty dress and with unwashed face, that she might not attract the attention of strange men. Once I asked the elder of the Taigonos Reindeer Koryak, who has three wives, what he thought of the Chukchee custom of exchanging wives. He replied that he would gladly avail himself of the Chukchee hospitality in this regard, but would never consent to reciprocity in the matter. Krasheninnikoff says ⁵ that the Reindeer Koryak have two and three wives each, and keep them in different places, giving them separate herds and separate herdsmen, as do the reindeer- breeding Chukchee. The above-mentioned elder asserted that neither at present nor in earlier times did any such custom prevail. He says that he would not leave his wife alone with the herd for other men to come and avail themselves of her. If there are two or more wives, they always live in one tent with the husband, as they live in the same house, among the Maritime Koryak. Among the Reindeer Koryak, the senior wife sometimes has a separate sleeping-tent; for instance, that of the Taigonos elder. On the northern side of the Palpal Ridge, where the Reindeer Koryak come into contact with the Reindeer Chukchee, with whom they enter into marriage- relations, the Chukchee marriage-customs may have been adopted to some extent by the Koryak; but, on the other hand, the Chukchee, who roam at present among the Koryak of the Parapol Dol, and whom I had occasion to see, exchange their wives with neither relatives nor neighbors, having adopted the Koryak views on this subject.

Of course, even among the Koryak, adultery is met with, though less frequently than among civilized peoples, but never with connivance of the husband. In former times, a wife's faithlessness would often lead to bloody retribution. Nowadays the husband casts out or thrashes the faithless wife without mercy, but he does not touch her lover. I know of one case in

1 See Krasheninnikoff, II, p. 202. 2 A.G.Morice, The Canadian Dénés (Annual Archaeological Report,

Toronto, 1905, p. 196). 3 See Part I, p. 134. 4 Ibid., I, p. 248. 5 See Krasheninnikoff, II, p. 221.

which the husband shut his eyes to his wife's liaison with their herdsman; but the husband was a sickly man, and, besides, the herd belonged to his wife. I learned of another curious case on the Taigonos Peninsula. A man, being informed that his wife was visited by his neighbor while he himself was absent, said to the offender, "If you like my wife, don't visit her secretly, but take her altogether, only give me your daughter in exchange." The neighbor complied with so wise a proposal, and they exchanged the women; the neigh- bor, as luck would have it, having a grown-up daughter.

Treatment of Children. — The birth of a child is a joyous event, and marked by a feast, to which guests are invited from other houses, or, among the Reindeer Koryak, from other camps. This festivity is called Añanavis- xatín ("woman's feast"). Among the Maritime Koryak, all women and girls of the village are invited in. Men are not admitted at all; even the master of the house leaves his home. The main dish consists of gruel or pudding made of flour, blood, meat, and fat. This pudding is called ta'knañoika ("bearing-blessing"), symbolizing the future welfare of the child. The Reindeer Koryak, on the occasion of the birth of a child, kill one or more reindeer, and invite men and women to the feast; but the women eat apart from the men, in the sleeping-tent of the young mother, while the house-master enter- tains the men in the outer tent. The Reindeer Koryak make the same kind of pudding as the Maritime Koryak, and call it by the same name.

I have already spoken 1 of the taboos to which the young mother is subjected, of the care taken to guard the child against evil spirits, and of the divination ceremony while giving a name to the new-born. According to the statements of Koryak women, confinement is easy. In each settlement there is an experienced woman who acts as a midwife. The navel-string is cut with an ordinary iron knife. This knife is not used again until the child is able to walk. The new-born child is rubbed with moss, and immediately placed in a combination-suit,² which takes the place of a cradle. The child is rocked by the mother in her arms, or placed in bed by her own side. On the flap³ between the child's legs moss is laid, which is frequently changed. he child is nursed up to the age of two or three years, unless a second pregnancy of the mother prevents her from doing so. At a very early age the child is given pieces of fat of reindeer or seal to suck. I was told that, if the mother dies during or soon after confinement, the child is killed and cremated with the mother, as artificial feeding is impossible with the Koryak's means of existence.

The Koryak are very fond of children. They take good care of them and fondle them. Children are beaten very rarely, and yet they are meek and obedient. I have often marvelled at the authority exercised by the elders over the children. I related the case 4 of a girl of about nine who consented

to be photographed by my wife without the upper coat, but immediately refused the presents when her aunt shouted to her, "Don't take your coat off, your uncles will be angry." The girl was an orphan, and lived with her father's brothers.

From the age of ten to twelve, children begin to work, and boys join their father in his daily pursuits. They assist him in fishing, carrying wood for the hearth, and, among the Reindeer Koryak, tending the herd. Boys in their teens are made to go through a rigorous training to accustom them to withstand privations, cold, and fatigue. Lads usually wear the clothing cast off by the old people. Girls, beginning at the same age, help in household duties, skin-dressing, and the sewing of clothing.

When grown up, the attachment of children to their parents becomes weaker, and they become more independent, particularly so in the case of sons. Girls are more subjected than boys to the regime of the older members of the family. Young men at times engage in disputes with their fathers.

Treatment of Old People. — The power of the old people rests to a considerable degree on their strength and energy. If an old man can no longer perform the duties of a herdsman or direct the hunt, he ceases to be an authority. In the majority of cases, children treat their elders with respect and listen to their advice, even when they no longer manage the household. Thus I have seen an old man of from seventy to eighty years, who could no longer hold the reins in his hands, and was carried in a special sledge driven by his nephew. The latter would take him off and put him on the sledge, would tuck him up warmly, etc. In another case I saw the cruel treatment of an old father by his son, a wealthy reindeer-breeder. The father had had a small herd, and the son married a rich girl, who brought in a large herd. The two lived together. Once they were with the herd near the village Itkana, and the old man began to press his suit for the hand of a girl of the Maritime Koryak, who consented to marry him. The son objected to his father's marrying a Maritime woman; and when the father would not listen to his son, the latter separated from him.

In passing, I should like to mention here that marriages between the Maritime and Reindeer Koryak are very rare.¹ This is a consequence of the different forms of housekeeping carried on by the two groups of the Koryak. A daughter-in-law from a Maritime village will be a poor housekeeper in a Reindeer camp, and a son-in-law from the coast will be a poor herdsman. However, the pastoral life of the reindeer-breeders has not led to any changes concerning the customs relating to the bridegroom's service, marriage, levirate, etc.; but the new form of household economy has developed the principle of personal property more sharply, and has made woman more subject to man.

1 Excepting the Reindeer Koryak who constitute one group with the inhabitants of the villages about Bering
Sea (see p. 434).

This latter circumstance is explained by the influence of the severe life which the herdsman leads. While the Maritime Koryak does almost nothing during the winter, living as he does in a comparatively warm house, the Reindeer Koryak must undergo all the hardships of winter while tending the herd.

But to return to the old man of whom I spoke before. Having entered into relationship with the Maritime Koryak, he remained near the coast, wandering about near their village. One year happened to be a poor one •, no sea-animals were caught, the Maritime Koryak were starving during the winter, and the Reindeer Koryak killed his reindeer for food for the coast people. When all his reindeer were gone, he left his wife and returned to the Reindeer Koryak; but his son would not have him, advising him to go and live with the Maritime Koryak. The old man was finally taken in by a very poor kinsman, where I saw him in a pitiful condition. He was assisting the women in drying fish in the sun, and was dressed in tatters.

The Killing of Old People. — The custom of having the nearest of kin kill an old person at the latter's desire, which is still extant among the Chukchee,¹ is no longer met with among the Koryak; but in some localities the memory of this custom has been preserved. In the district-commander's report for 1886 ² to the Governor of the Maritime Province, mention is still made of such murders, though it does not clearly appear whether Chukchee or Koryak are referred to. For details of this custom I refer to Bogoras.¹Generally speaking, however, the motives of the old people in desiring to be killed were decline of strength, disease, or simply dissatisfaction with life.The executors of the old people's desire were their sons or other nearest of kin. The killing was done either by strangling with a thong or by stabbing the heart with a spear.

Terms of Relationship. — From the list of terms of relationship given below, it appears that the system corresponds to the regulation of marriages, described before.

Acì'ce (Paren), a'pa (Kamenskoye), apa'pel (Reindeer Koryak)	}	{	Grandfather and great-uncle, paternal and maternal.
Yi'lñy-aci'ce, yi'lñi-apa ("linked grandfather")			Great-grandfather.
A'ma a'n-a		{	Grandmother and great-aunt, paternal and maternal.
Yi'lfii-a'n-a ("linked grandmother")			Great-grandmother.
Enni'w (Chukchee, Endi'w).			Uncle, paternal and maternal.
itcei'.			Aunt, paternal and maternal.
A'pa (Paren), ta'ta (Kamenskoye), E'npic (Reindeer Koryak) 3	}		Father.

1 See Bogoras, Brief Report, p. 38. 2 Gishiga Archive Records, File No. 404, 1886.

3 E'npic is used also at Kamenskoye. Literally it means "eldest." E'npicö (plural) denotes "fathers" and
"old men."

Ella' (va'va, a'mma, terms of endear- ment used by Reindeer Koryak)	}	Mother.
E'npiciket (dual of e'npic, "the fathers").		Parents.
Qaitaka'lñin		Brother.
Eni'nela'n		Eldest brother.
etea'in		Younger brother.
Öã'kit		Sister.
Enpi'ci-cã'kit		Eldest sister.
Ñenca-cã'kit		Younger sister.
Yila'lñi-tu'mgin (female cousin, na'u-yila'lñi-tu'mgrn)		Cousin, paternal and maternal.
Kmiñin 1 or akik		Son.
Yi'lñi-kmi'ñin ("linked son")		Grandson.
Ñava'kik		Daughter.
Yi'lñi-ñavakik ("linked daughter")		Grand-daughter.
Illawa' (niece, ña'u-illawa') ²^.		Brother's or sister's child.

Mata'la'n				Father-in-law and brother-in-law.
Ña'u-nata'la'n				Mother-in-law and sister-in-law.
Inti'wulpi.				Son-in-law.
Inte'				Daughter-in-law.
Taka'lñin.				Husband of wife's sister.
Ña'u-taka'lñin				Wife's sister.
Ña'ul "female friend )				Term of address used by one wife to another wife.

We see from the preceding list that the nomenclature of the Koryak relationship is nearer to our own system, called by Morgan the descriptive, han to the classificatory one. Father and uncle, mother and aunt, son and nephew, daughter and niece, brother or sister and cousins, have different names. Only the brothers and sisters of grandparents are termed "grandparents."

It is also of interest that the Koryak terms for grandson, grand-daughter, great-grandfather, and great-grandmother, are formed by a combination of the word "linked" with primary terms for son, daughter, etc., just as ours.

The distinct denomination of the elder brother and sister shows their position in the family.

The name mata'la'n, which embraces a whole group of relatives by affinity (with the prefix ña'u for females), must be regarded as a classifying term. The word mata'la'n is derived from the verb mata'ikin, meaning "to take" and also "to marry," and therefore designates a certain group of relatives by marriage.