In the tribe of the Naires, on
the coast of Malabar, the men can have only one wife, while a woman, on
the contrary, may have many husbands.
[10]
The origin of this custom is
not I believe difficult to discover. The Naires are the tribe of nobles,
who are the soldiers of all those nations. In Europe soldiers are
forbidden to marry; in Malabar, where the climate requires greater
indulgence, they are satisfied with rendering marriage as little
burdensome to them as possible: they give one wife amongst many men,
which consequently diminishes the attachment to a family, and the cares
of housekeeping, and leaves them in the free possession of a military
spirit.
