Sexual Life in Ancient India: A Study in the Comparative History of Indian Culture v1.c5.374

v1.c5.374

The “cattle-girl” in Johannes Schlaf and her sly mate *in spe* is often far outdone. So, for instance, by many tribes in Algiers. There the father sends the daughter who is ripe out into the world, that she may gather as much together by her charms as possible. Then the girls get married, and those get a husband the quickest who can show by plenty of jingling money how greatly the treasures of their love have been sought after. This is reported particularly of the Uled Nail, and indeed the father, so it is said, there takes the money brought home (Robert, *XIV. Internat. Orientalistenkongress*, 3rd Sect., pp. 572 ff.; Schweiger-Lerchenfeld, *Die Frauen d. Orients*, p. 296). In the same way the fathers in Nicaragua used to send their daughters through the land, for them to get themselves a dowry by way of prostitution (Finck, 565, note; 610). And in old Grecian times on the island of Cyprus the girls earned their wedding-portion by going to the shore and giving themselves to seafarers and travellers (Brantôme, vol. ii, 375a). Cp. Lippert, *Kulturgesch.*, ii, 13-19; Ploss-Bartels, i, 413-15; ii, 17. Of very many peoples it is reported that the men make a full use of their wives as a source of income by giving them up to others. There is a particularly rich collection them.”¹ His wife is now overcome with anger, and in obedience to her bidding, the sons bind the blind man onto a raft, and leave him to be carried away by the Gaṅgā. Thus at last he comes into the land of King Bali, who rescues him, and, having heard his story, makes use of him in a way corresponding with the peculiar strength of the holy man and of which we shall hear later. We thus learn, too, from this episode who it is that has prostitution for money—that pillar of shame among mankind—on his conscience.