2
THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
Fritjoff Nansen, the famous Danish explorer, states that in East Green
land the only method of contracting a marriage is still for the man to,
go to the girl's tent, catch her by the hair or anything else which offers
a hold, and drag her off to his dwelling without further ado.
But this custom of forcible abduction was slowly rooted out by the
gradual advance in civilization. It left, however, its traces and symbols
in the marriage ceremonies of hundreds of savage and civilized nations.
Among the Indians of South America the carrying off of the bride is
still an important part of a wedding. Thus, among the Mosquito In
dians, after the wedding is all arranged and the presents paid, the groom
seizes his bride and carries her off, followed by her female relatives;
while the Aracanians consider the carrying off of the bride by pretended
violence an essential prerequisite to the nuptials. The bride is expected
to resist, no matter how willing she may be to follow her future lord
and master. The same custom is found in Africa, Asia and Australia,
where the wife, after having been bought and paid for in a peaceful
manner, is carried off by force or strategem. Even the highest civilized
nations of ancient Europe show traces of this peculiar mode of contract
ing a marriage. Among the Greeks and Romans it was customary for
the-bride, after the marriage had been contracted, to take refuge in the
lap of her mother whence she was taken away by the bridegroom and
his friends; while the Welch groom, accomanied by his friends on horse
back, betook himself on the morning of the wedding-day to the house of
the bride and carried her off by force. The South Slavonians adhere to this
practice even today, and in some parts of Europe the bride is still being
forcibly lifted over the threshold by the bridegroom a ceremoy that
symbolizes beyond doubt the ancient habit of carrying off wives. Even
our own wedding ceremonies show clearly traces of this savage custom.
To our civilized minds the "bridesmaids", the "ushers" and the "best
man' ' are necessary, because they lend dignity to an up-to-date wedding,
while as a matter of fact, they are nothing but harmless, emasculated
successors to participants in a pre-historic marriage ceremony. The
"bridesmaids" represent the female relatives of the primitive bride,
who lamented and cried, wThile their dear companion was dragged away,
and the "ushers" and the "best man" symbolize the friends of the groom
who very often gave up their lives in order to aid him in the abduction
of the bride. The mere expression "best man" shows the contention
to be true. In savage speech "best man" means the "strongest man",
and in early days the "best man" fully justified his appellation. He
was chosen as the bravest warrior and fought next to the bridegroom in
the fierce struggle, that usually ensued between the abductors and the
male relatives of the kidnapped girl.
But as man advanced in civilization, his manners and customs under-