Seventeen years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo; a ... - Sabrizain.org

THE DYAK CHARACTER 69
the first signs of pregnancy the marriage ceremony takes
place, and they are man and wife.
Divorce is very uncommon after the birth of a child,
but where there are no children, for such reasons as in-
compatibility of temper or idleness, divorce is obtainable
by either husband or wife by paying a small fine. The
women as a rule are faithful to their husbands, especially
when they have children, and adultery is very uncommon
when there is a family.
The Dyak law respecting adultery is peculiar and
worthy of notice. If a woman commit adultery with a
married man, his wife may make a complaint to the headman
of the house, and receive a fine from the guilty
woman ; or, if she prefer it, she may waylay the guilty
woman and thrash her ; but if she do so, she must forgo
one-half of the fine otherwise due to her. In the eyes of
the Dyak
the woman is alone to blame in a case like this.
" She knew," they say, " the man has a wife of his own ;
she had no business to entice him away from her." If a
married man commits adultery with an unmarried woman
the procedure is similar. The wife of the man may
punish the girl, but no one punishes
the man. The whole
blame, according to Dyak ideas, falls on the woman for
tempting the man.
If a married man commits adultery with a married
woman, the husband of the woman is allowed to strike
him with a club or otherwise maltreat him, while the
wife of the adulterer has the right to treat the adulteress
in the same way. The innocent husband supposes the
one most to be blamed is not his wife, but her tempter,
and vice versa. This striking must not, however, take
place in a house ; it must be done in the open. The club
used must not be of hard wood. Very often this striking