Appendix, Note A: Additional Examples of the Form of Capture

It is to be remarked of the examples of the Form of Capture in the text, as of those which follow, that they have never before been collated or made the subject of serious speculation. They are just noted as matters of curiosity where they occur, the authorities venturing no explanation, except in one or two cases, of their meaning or origin; and only in some cases noticing similar customs as having prevailed elsewhere than in the district reported upon. They are thus presented to us in a trustworthy shape as materials for an induction. It may be added, as regards the additional examples of the Form of Capture here appended, that, like the examples in the text, they, with two exceptions, show that the central idea in the symbol was the carrying off of the woman, in defiance of her kindred and of their efforts to protect her. The first of the following examples of the form is in some respects the most striking of any of which we have an account.

1. “In their marriages,” says Sir Henry Piers of the Irish, “especially in those countries where cattle abound, the parents and friends on each side meet on the side of an hill, or, if the weather be cold, in some place of shelter, about midway between both dwellings. If agreement ensue, they drink the agreement bottle, as they call it, which is a bottle of good usquebaugh, and this goes merrily round. For payment of the portion—which is generally a determinate number of cows—little care is taken. The father or next of kin to the bride sends to his neighbours and friends sub mutuæ vicissitudinis obtentu, and every one gives his cow or heifer, and thus the portion is quickly paid. Nevertheless, caution is taken from the bridegroom on the day of delivery for restitution of the cattle, in case the bride die childless within a certain day, limited by agreement; and, in this case, every man’s own beast is restored. Thus, care is taken that no man shall grow rich by frequent marriages. On the day of bringing home, the bridegroom and his friends ride out and meet the bride and her friends at the place of meeting. Being come near each other, the custom was of old to cast short darts at the company that attended the bride, but at such distance that seldom any hurt ensued. Yet it is not out of the memory of man that the Lord of Hoath on such an occasion lost an eye. This custom of casting darts is now obsolete.”—Vallency’s “Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis,” vol. i. p. 122, 1786, No. 1, Description of Westmeath, by Sir Henry Piers—written A.D. 1682.

2. We have an account from M. Huc of the constitution of marriage among the Mongols of the Ortous. After stating that marriage is with the Mongols a matter of sale and purchase; that this is clearly expressed, in their language, in such phrases as—“I have bought for my son the daughter of So-and-so;” “We have sold our daughter to such-and-such a family;” and that the lady for some time after the sale remains with her family, M. Huc proceeds to say that the day having arrived, “the bridegroom sends early in the morning a deputation to fetch the girl who has been betrothed to him, or rather whom he has bought. When the envoys draw near, the relations and friends of the bride place themselves in a circle before the door, as if to oppose the departure of the bride, and then begins a feigned fight, which of course terminates in the bride being carried off. She is placed on a horse, and having been thrice led round her paternal house, she is then taken at full gallop to the tent which has been prepared for the purpose, near the dwelling of her father-in-law. Meantime, all the Tartars of the neighbourhood, the relations and friends of both families, repair to the wedding-feast, and offer their presents to the newly-married pair.”—Hazlitt’s Translation of Huc’s “Travels,” vol. i. p. 185, illustrated library edition.

3. We find the following account of the constitution of marriage among the Toorkomans:—

“The most singular customs of these people (the Toorkomans) relate to marriage. The Toorkomans do not shut up their women, and there being no restraint on the social intercourse between the sexes, as in most Mussulman countries, love matches are common. A youth becomes acquainted with a girl; they are mutually attached, and agree to marry; but the young man does not dare to breathe his wishes to the parents of his beloved, for such is not etiquette, and would be resented as an insult. What does he do? He elopes with the girl and carries her to some neighbouring obah, where, such is the custom, there is no doubt of a kind reception; and there the young couple live as man and wife for some six weeks, when the Reish-suffeeds, or elders of the protecting obah, deem it time to talk over the matter with the parents. Accordingly they represent the wishes of the young couple, and, joined by the elders of the father’s obah, endeavour to reconcile him to the union, promising on the part of the bridegroom, a handsome bashlogue, or price, for his wife. In due time the consent is given, on which the bride returns to her father’s house, where, strange to say, she is retained for six months or a year, and sometimes two years, according, as it appears, to her caprice or the parent’s will, having no communication with her husband, unless by stealth. The meaning of this strange separation I never could ascertain. Afterwards the marriage presents and price of the wife are interchanged, and she goes finally to live with her husband.”—Fraser’s “Journey” (1838), vol. ii. p. 372.

“Matches are also made occasionally by the parents themselves, with or without the intervention of the Reish-suffeeds, but the order and ceremonies of the nuptials are the same. There is a regular contract and a stipulated price; the young people are permitted to enjoy each other’s society for a month or six weeks; and the bride then returns, as in the former case, to spend a year or more with her parents.”—Idem., vol. ii. p. 375.

This case illustrates a stage of transition from the system of actual capture to a symbolism, of which stage traces remained in Sparta in historic times. In Sparta the young wife was not, immediately after the marriage, domiciled in her husband’s house, but cohabited with him for some time clandestinely, till he brought her, and frequently her mother also, to his home. (Xenophon, Rep. Lac. 1-5). And the same custom prevailed in Crete. (Strabo, x., p. 432.) In example No. 7 we shall again see these peculiarities in combination with the Form of Capture.

4. Among the Soligas (India), “when a girl consents to marry, the man runs away with her to some neighbouring village, and they live there until the honeymoon is over. They then return home, and give a feast to the people of their village.”—Buchanan’s “Journey from Madras,” vol. ii. p. 178.

5. “The marriage ceremony is very simple among the Aenezes... The marriage-day being appointed (usually five or six days after the betrothing), the bridegroom comes with a lamb in his arms to the tent of the girl’s father, and there cuts the lamb’s throat before witnesses. As soon as the blood falls upon the ground the marriage ceremony is regarded as complete. The men and girls amuse themselves with feasting and singing. Soon after sunset, the bridegroom retires to a tent pitched for him at a distance from the camp; there he shuts himself up, and awaits the arrival of his bride. The bashful girl meanwhile runs from the tent of one friend to another till she is caught at last, and conducted in triumph by a few women to the bridegroom’s tent; he receives her at the entrance, and forces her into it; the women who had accompanied her then depart.”—Burckhardt’s “Notes,” vol. i. p. 107.

6. Burckhardt, after noticing that, among the Bedouins of Mount Sinai, marriage is a matter of sale and purchase, in which the inclinations of the bride are not consulted, proceeds:—“Among the Arabs of Sinai the young maid comes home in the evening with the cattle. At a short distance from the camp she is met by the future spouse and a couple of his young friends, and carried off by force to her father’s tent. If she entertains any suspicion of their designs, she defends herself with stones, and often inflicts wounds on the young men, even though she does not dislike the lover; for, according to custom, the more she struggles, bites, kicks, cries, and strikes, the more she is applauded ever after by her own companions.” She is then taken to her father’s tent. There follows the throwing over her of the abba, or man’s cloak, and a formal announcement of the name of her future husband; after this she is dressed in bridal apparel, and mounted on a camel, “although still continuing to struggle in a most unruly manner, and held by the bridegroom’s friends on both sides.” She is led in this way to, and three times round, and finally into, the bridegroom’s tent. The resistance is continued till the last. The marriage, of course, ends in a feast, and presents to the bride.—Burckhardt’s “Notes,” vol. i. p. 263.

7. Among the Mezeyne, marriage appears to be a matter of sale and purchase, and to be constituted, as among the Aenezes, through capture as a form. It is attended, however, by a peculiar custom, which we have already met, though not in so striking a shape. “A singular custom,” says Burckhardt (“Notes,” vol. i. p. 269), “prevails among the Mezeyne tribe, within the limits of the Sinai peninsula, but not among the other tribes of that province. A girl having been wrapped in the abba at night (i.e., after the capture as in the preceding case), is permitted to escape from her tent and fly into the neighbouring mountains. The bridegroom goes in search of her next day, and remains often many days before he can find her out, while her female friends are apprised of her hiding-place, and furnish her with provisions. If the husband finds her at last (which is sooner or later, according to the impression that he has made upon the girl’s heart), he is bound to consummate the marriage in the open country, and to pass the night with her in the mountains. The next morning the bride goes home to her tent, that she may have some food; but again runs away in the evening, and repeats these flights several times, till she finally returns to her tent. She does not go to live in her husband’s tent till she is far advanced in pregnancy; if she does not become pregnant she may not join her husband till after a full year from the wedding-day.” Burckhardt says the same custom is observed among the Mezeyne Arabs elsewhere.