Should the debtor marry - and the Rajah will in all probability find him
a wife - then the debtor's wife, his children, his grandchildren, all
become equally bound with himself to the payment of this debt.
Should the debtor be originally married, then not only he, but his wife
and children, are taken into the Rajah's house, and are his to order
until the debt is paid.
Should the debtor be a woman, unmarried, or a widow, the same course is
taken, and whoever marries her becomes jointly responsible for the
debt; and this goes on through generations - the children and
grandchildren of the debtor being held in the same bondage by the
children and grandchildren of the creditor.
Should at any time the debtor succeed in raising the amount of the debt
and proffer it to the creditor, then it would be customary to accept
it. If, however, a large family were in bondage for the debt, one whose
numbers seemed to the Rajah to add to his dignity, then he would
probably refuse to accept payment, not absolutely, but would say
"wait," and the waiting might last for years.
Debtors once absorbed into the Rajah's household are looked upon as his
property, just as his bullocks or his goats, and those who alone would
have the power to interfere look on and say nothing, because they do
the same themselves.
