The Sulu Archipelago and its people, by Sixto Y. Orosa ...

CUSTOMS, MUSIC, AND SPORTS

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of the oldest brother or the nearest male relative
will do. A man old enough to support a wife may
make his own choice, but a woman is not privileged
to marry without the proper consent. If she does so,
she and her husband are ostracized socially and they
are no longer recognized by their parents. Recognition
can be restored only when the couple has submitted to
being whipped by a priest, each receiving fifty lashes
with a piece of rattan. Until pardon is secured, they are
not considered as Mohammedans and are everywhere
treated as outcasts. However, the severity of old
customs is relaxing, and it is coming to be more common for women to marry as they choose. The more
enlightened woman usually requires of her future husband the promise that he will take no additional wife.
A man is allowed by the Koran to have four wives and
as many slaves and concubines as he can support. The
chiefs and the well-to-do usually avail themselves of the
right, while poverty and the objections of the first wife
prevent the majority from doing so.
When a marriage has been properly arranged for, the
man gives the parents of his bride a sum that has been
agreed upon, usually from forty to one hundred pesos,
and besides makes the required gifts to the bride. He
also provides for the customary celebration, which may
cost thousands of pesos. It is the custom for guests to
make gifts to the couple.
The father of the bride usually performs the marriage
ceremony, but he may employ a priest. The bride and
groom are purified by ceremonial washings, as if to
enter the mosque; then the father or the priest grasps
the right hand of the groom and recites particular passages from the Koran; lastly, he asks the groom if he