ABSTRACT

In the olden days an unmarried girl who became pregnant was the object of universal scorn and suffered numerous public humiliations. Her child was often enough killed at birth, or if allowed to live always laboured under a pronounced social stigma. The child of an unmarried woman belongs to her own family. Sometimes the lover wishes to take the child without marrying its mother. This is generally the case when he is a married man whose wife is barren, and he is therefore prepared to acknowledge his child by a concubine. The nature and extent of parental control varies considerably according to the personal characteristics of the people concerned. Some parents are notoriously strict with their children, others indulge them considerably; and the children themselves differ equally in the respect and obedience they show to their parents. Children are expected from a fairly early age to assist in the routine occupations of the household, their elders acting as their mentors.