As the headman now stands, he is the successor of the village "captain" or presiding elder, who had no other functions but to represent the community on the arrival of ships, and to regulate barter. His office and title were instituted by the natives when relations with European vessels became frequent, in order that they might have some representative to correspond to the commanding officer. Before this epoch, everybody seems to have been on a footing of complete social equality, as, with the exceptions above-noted, is the case to-day. Everyone, even children, is his own master; but persons who have been abroad, by virtue of their experience, are respected and have some authority, as also have the aged and wealthy. But there is no one who has power to exercise control over even a single village, save in the way of carrying out popular ideas. A "primitive form of socialism exists. Chiefs are unknown. Certain individuals, by force of character ... have more influence than others ... but this influence seems to be at best but slight, and each person is obedient to himself alone, or to some unwritten code of public opinion"[171]--really the essence of the whole system. The position of women is, and always has been, in no way inferior to that of the other sex. They take their full share in the formation of public opinion, discuss publicly with the men matters of general interest to the village, and their opinions receive due attention before a decision is arrived at. In fact, they are consulted on every matter, and the henpecked husband is of no extraordinary rarity in the Nicobars. In Kar Nicobar, where the villages are divided into groups of several houses, a woman occasionally succeeds her late husband as sub-chief, on account of the knowledge she may possess of the regulations in vogue, the property and customs of her neighbours. Women take a fair share in the day's work. They do the cooking, and the whole family eats together; the men build the houses, canoes, etc.; both sexes may be seen working in company in the plantations, fishing on the reefs, and paddling the canoes. It is only the women in Chaura who manufacture pottery; but as the art is a monopoly, they must be looked on as rather privileged than otherwise. In fine, there is no actual division of labour, but all assist in whatever has to be done, from their earliest years. Although scarcely any obedience seems due from children to their parents, most of the ordinary tasks of life are undertaken by young people of both sexes, and much deference is paid to age, especially when it is combined with wealth.