Cousins were allowed to marry but not nearer relatives. As a rule a widow was not permitted to remarry except a brother of her deceased husband and in case she had children by the first marriage, then it was the duty of the brother-in-law to marry her that the children might not be without the care and protection of a father. Divorce was allowed but only after a careful hearing by the tribunal on marriage, and when a divorce was granted the couple could not under any circumstances be reunited. Concubinage was practiced and it might occur even with young people under marriageable age upon the consent of the parents. In this there was no contract or ceremony, the two simply living together. In case a child was born to them a marriage was performed or else the woman returned to her parents' house, taking the child with her which was then considered as belonging to her parents. This was not considered dishonorable on the part of the girl nor were her chances for marriage in any degree lessened by her having thus lived in a state of concubinage. Polygamy was permitted but perhaps it was not greatly indulged in and it was chiefly among the wealthiest people. The necessity for monogamy seemed to be understood, as a record is given of a father counselling his son that for the proper perpetuation of the race but one man is ordained but for one woman. =Birth.= As soon as a woman was found to be pregnant the relatives and friends were informed of it and a feast was prepared, to which all were invited who had been present at the wedding. Speeches of congratulations and of admonition were made to the future parents. During the period before the birth of the child, the mother was careful and she observed many rules. "Thus, sleeping in the daytime would contort the child's face; approaching too near the fire or standing in the hot sun would parch the fœtus; hard and continued work, lifting weights, running, mental excitement, such as grief, anger, or alarm, were particularly avoided; in case of an earthquake all the pots in the house were covered up or broken to stop the shaking; eating _tzictli_, or _chicle_, was thought to harden the palate of the unborn child, and to make its gums thick so that it would be unable to suck, and also to communicate to it a disease called _netentzzoponiztli_; neither must the edible earth, of which, as we shall see in a future chapter, the Mexicans were very fond, be eaten by the mother, lest the child should prove weak and sickly; but everything else the woman fancied was to be given her, because any interference with her caprices might be hurtful to her offspring."[2] When the time of confinement drew near another feast was given and speeches and suggestions were made. Among the higher classes a midwife was procured and careful preparation was made for the confinement. A woman dying in childbirth was honored by a burial with great ceremony. When the child was born, there was rejoicing with praises to the mother