They say, 'We have three or
four men to help us instead of one,' and sneer at the dulness and
monotony of European monogamous life!
A woman said to me, 'If I had
only one husband, and he died, I should be a widow; if I have two or
three I am never a widow!' The word 'widow' is with them a term of
reproach, and is applied abusively to animals and men. Children are
brought up to be very obedient to fathers and mother, and to take
great care of little ones and cattle. Parental affection is strong.
Husbands and wives beat each other, but separation usually follows a
violent outbreak of this kind. It is the custom for the men and
women of a village to assemble when a bride enters the house of her
husbands, each of them presenting her with three rupees. The Tibetan
wife, far from spending these gifts on personal adornment, looks
ahead, contemplating possible contingencies, and immediately hires a
field, the produce of which is her own, and which accumulates year
after year in a separate granary, so that she may not be portionless
in case she leaves her husband!
It was impossible not to become attached to the Nubra people, we
lived so completely among them, and met with such unbounded goodwill.
Feasts were given in our honour, every gonpo was open to us, monkish
blasts on colossal horns brayed out welcomes, and while nothing could
exceed the helpfulness and alacrity of kindness shown by all, there
was not a thought or suggestion of backsheesh.
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