Great jealousy is met with among the Atkha Aleuts, according to
Father Yakof; among the Kutchin Indians, according to Richardson and
Hardisty; among the Haidahs, according to Dixon; among the Tacullis,
according to Harmon; among the Crees, according to Richardson.[635]
The Indians on the Eastern side of the Rocky Mountains visited by
Harmon, in their fits of jealousy, “often cut off all the hair from
the heads of their wives, and, not unfrequently, cut off their noses
also; and should they not in the moment of passion have a knife at
hand, they will snap it off at one bite, with their teeth.... The man
is satisfied in thus revenging a supposed injury; and having destroyed
the beauty of his wife, he concludes that he has secured her against
all future solicitations to offend.”[636] In California, if a married
native woman is seen even walking in the forest with another man
than her husband, she is chastised by him, whilst a repetition of
the offence is generally punished with speedy death.[637] Among the
Creeks, “it was formerly reckoned adultery, if a man took a pitcher
of water off a married woman’s head, and drank of it.”[638] The Moquis
allow their wives to work only indoors, afraid of having rivals.[639]
The Arawaks,[640] as also the Indians of Peru,[641] are stated to
commit horrible crimes of jealousy. The Botocudos, who are known to
change wives very frequently, are, nevertheless, much addicted to that
passion.[642] And, regarding the Coroados of Brazil, v. Spix and v.
Martius say that revenge and jealousy are the only passions that can
rouse their stunted soul from its moody indifference.[643]
In the Sandwich Islands, according to Lisiansky, jealousy was extremely
prevalent,[644] and, in Nukahiva, the men punish their wives with
severity upon the least suspicion of infidelity.[645] The Areois of
Tahiti, too, although given to every kind of licentiousness, are
described by Ellis as utterly jealous.[646] The same is said of the
New Caledonians and New Zealanders;[647] whilst, in the Pelew Islands,
it is forbidden even to speak about another man’s wife or mention her
name.[648] In short, the South Sea Islanders are, as Mr. Macdonald
remarks, generally jealous of the chastity of their wives.[649]
Among the Malays of Sumatra, the husband jealously guards his wife
as long as his affection lasts;[650] and, concerning several other
tribes of the Indian Archipelago, Riedel says that the men are very
much addicted to the same passion.[651] Captain Arnesen observed the
great jealousy of the Samoyedes.[652] Dr. A. O. Heikel informs me that
a Tartar may repudiate his wife if he sees her shaking hands with a
man. Among the nomadic Koriaks, many wives are killed by passionate
husbands. Hence their women endeavour to be very ugly: they refrain
from dressing their hair or washing, and walk about ragged, as the
husbands take for granted that, if they dress themselves, they do so in
order to attract admirers.[653]
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