WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
the couple, who undergo a simple ceremony, and eat rice together.[1]
The use of rice in marriage symbolism is common in many parts of the East. Rice, the staple diet of millions, is the most nourishing and plentiful of all the cereals, and it stands for an emblem of increase. Thus, the throwing of rice at bride and bridegroom in England is a survival of a ceremony of invocation to the gods to bless the pair with fertility. Confetti is now often substituted for rice in the towns, but the grain is still used in country districts of the United Kingdom.
There is no problem of celibacy amongst the Burmese. A man or a woman is considered quite incomplete until married. And as marriage is made very easy, and divorce no less facile, there is no reason why men and women should remain single. The abundant soil and the general prosperity of the country also favour marriage at an early age.
Divorce, though easily arranged, is as rare here as in other parts of the Indian Empire. Family life is usually very happy. There appears to be little marital incompatibility. Women are free within the home, and indeed, they usually rule in the domestic circle. Their influence in political and social affairs is not so palpable, but in business matters they often take the lead.
- ↑ Gwendolen Trench Gascoigne, Op. Cit.
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