WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
admitted as the Sultan's guest, Mrs. Sheldon tells us that she was introduced to five young princes, all of them loaded with resplendent jewels and decorations. The whole of the sovereign's concubines passed before the visitor in a long procession. Some of the women bathed her feet as a mark of honour, and each one presented her with a ring. She received in all one-hundred-and-forty-two of these mementoes. Many of the concubines seemed to Mrs. Sheldon "sad-eyed and full of sorrow"; others, presumably the favourites, were "defiant and triumphant." The eunuchs of the royal palace of Zanzibar have their tongues removed to ensure their silence and secrecy. Polygamy here appears to survive in a somewhat primitive form.
The Wa-Taveta tribe of the mainland, visited by Mrs. French Sheldon, practise polygamy chiefly for economic reasons. I have referred in earlier chapters to this common primary origin of a plurality of wives; and in this community we have a modern example of the survival. These people are industrious, and the wives are excellent helpmates to their husbands.
Apparently no jealousy exists among the wives, for we are told that when a new wife comes into the family all the women welcome her warmly. But it is instructive to note that the harem system is not strictly followed by these people. The wives are not all thrown together in one house. Each woman has a right to her
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