posal to the girl's clan
mother. If this is entertained, the question of marriage is
discussed at length by the matrons of the two clans. The
girl herself is consulted; a _jacal_ is erected for her, and
after many deliberations, the bridegroom is provisionally
received into the wife's clan for a year under conditions of
the most exacting character. He is expected to prove his
worthiness of a permanent relationship by demonstrating his
ability as a provider, and by showing himself an implacable
foe to aliens. He is compelled to support all the female
relatives of his bride's family by the products of his skill
and industry in hunting and fishing for one year. There is
also another provision of a very curious nature. The lover
is permitted to share the _jacal_, or sleeping-robe,
provided for the prospective matron by her kinswomen, not
as a privileged spouse, but merely as a protective
companion; and throughout this probationary time he is
compelled to maintain continence--he must display the most
indubitable proof of his moral force."

This test of the Seri lover must not mistakenly be thought to be
connected, as might appear, with the modern idea of continence. As is
pointed out by McGee, it arose out of the primitive sexual taboos, and
is imposed on the young man as a test of his strength to abstain from
any sexual relationships outside the proscribed limits. Such a moral
test may once have been common, but seems to have been lost except
among the Seri; though a curious vestige appears in the anti-nuptial
treatment of the bridegroom, in the Salish tribe. The material test is
common among many peoples, and must not be confused with the later
custom of payment for the wife by presents given to her family. Still
this Seri marriage is one of the most curious I know among any
primitive peoples. And the continence demanded from the bridegroom
appears more extraordinary if we compare it with the freedom granted
to the bride. "During this period the always dignified position
occupied by the daughters of the house culminates." Among other
privileges she is allowed to receive the "most intimate attentions
from the clan-fellows of the group." "She is the receiver of the
supplies furnished by her lover, measuring his competence as would-be
husband. Through his energy she is enabled to dispense largess with a
lavish hand, and thus to dignify