who captured her, if she were of the proper class. Nearly all their fights were the result of the capture of women, either after the ceremonial combats, or in raids made for that special object.
A brother of a deceased man could take the widow, and he might be either the elder or the younger brother, but he must be of the same father and mother, or of the same father and another mother, of the same mother and another father, and not merely a tribal brother. When a man took his deceased brother's widow he was compelled to support the children who went with her to his camp. A widow without children was looked upon as the same as an unmarried girl. A widow with children was considered as independent of the control of father or mother. A widow always remarried, but was not considered such a prize as an unmarried girl.
A man and his wife's mother would never look at or in the direction of each other. The man would hide himself anywhere or anyhow if she were about. This relation was called Mulong.
Such were the marriage customs of the tribes within a radius of about fifty miles from Maryborough. On the coast northwards, and in the Wide Bay district, the customs were as follows:[1]—
Female children were always allotted to certain men when they were very young by their parents, and a girl so allotted was obliged to go with the man when he came for her. This relationship was called Kunki. If the girl had no Kunki, and her father was a vigorous fighting-man, the young men on the look-out for a wife would solicit his consent; and he giving it to some one, his daughter, if she liked the young man, would comply. But sometimes she liked a man to whom her father objected, and the difference was settled by a fight between the men. If the girl had been promised to another man, the suitor had to settle matters with him. But eloping with a woman, and then keeping out of the way as long as possible, was as common a way as any of obtaining a wife. Even if such a couple
- ↑ E. Palmer.
