The history of Sumatra : $b Containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitantsMarsden, William
History
The history of Sumatra : $b Containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitants
Marsden, William
Natural history -- Indonesia -- Sumatra; Sumatra (Indonesia)
The modes of marriage prevailing hitherto have been principally by jujur,
or by ambel-anak, the Malay semando being little used. The obvious ill
consequences of the two former, from the debt or slavery they entailed
upon the man that married, and the endless lawsuits they gave rise to,
have at length induced the chiefs to concur in their being as far as
possible laid aside; adopting in lieu of them the semando malayo, or
mardiko, which they now strongly recommend to their dependants as free
from the encumbrances of the other modes, and tending, by facilitating
marriage, and the consequent increase of population, to promote the
welfare of their country. Unwilling, however, to abolish arbitrarily a
favourite custom of their ancestors, marriage by jujur is still permitted
to take place, but under such restrictions as will, it is hoped,
effectually counteract its hitherto pernicious consequences. Marriage by
ambel-anak, which rendered a man and his descendants the property of the
family he married into, is now prohibited, and none permitted for the
future, but, by semando, or jujur, subject to the following regulations.
The jujur of a virgin (gadis) has been hitherto one hundred and twenty
dollars: the adat annexed to it have been tulis-tanggil, fifteen dollars;
upah daun kodo, six dollars, and tali kulo, five dollars:
The jujur of a widow, eighty dollars, without the adat; unless her
children by the former marriage went with her, in which case the jujur
gadis was paid in full.
It is now determined that, on a man's giving his daughter in marriage by
jujur for the future, there shall, in lieu of the above, be fixed a sum
not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars, to be in full for jujur and
all adat whatever. That this sum shall, when the marriage takes place, be
paid upon the spot; that if credit is given for the whole, or any part,
it shall not be recoverable by course of law; and as the sum includes the
tali kulo, or bond of relationship, the wife thereby becomes the absolute
property of the husband. The marriage by jujur being thus rendered
equivalent to actual sale, and the difficulty enhanced by the necessity
of paying the full price upon the spot, it is probable that the custom
will in a great measure cease, and, though not positively, be virtually
abolished. Nor can a lawsuit follow from any future jujur.
The adat, or custom, of the semando malayo or mardiko, to be paid by the
husband to the wife's family upon the marriage taking place, is fixed at
twenty dollars and a buffalo, for such as can afford it; and at ten
dollars and a goat, for the poorer class of people.
Whatever may be acquired by either party during the subsistence of the
marriage becomes joint property, and they are jointly liable to debts
incurred, if by mutual consent. Should either contract debts without the
knowledge and consent of the other the party that contracts must alone
bear them in case of a divorce.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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