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Volume 5 29 |
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SUNSHINE FALLS ON BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM IN SAMOA AT THE OUTSET OF THEIR MARRIED LIFE Although theoretically they are a monogamous people, the Samoans wear their marriage bonds very lightly. Polygamy as such is not recognized by the Samoan code, but divorce is so easily arranged that there is hardly any limit to the number of wives a man may have in succession. Legal divorce can be secured on the ground of desertion, and actual divorce is often effected by the simple process of "running a wife home." The husband then takes another woman into his house, and offers a sop to the outraged majesty of the law by paying a fine |