WEEPING BRIDEGROOMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15398, 5 September 1913, Page 4

WEEPING BRIDEGROOMS.

: queer WEDDING ', CUSTOMS.; I l. . * . : " [PBOM OTJR OWN COESESPONDENT.] ■. I Sydney, August 30; ' Some of the queer customs of the natives ' of' the little island of Badu, in Torres •Straits, were described the other day." fa- - a storekeeper there, Mr. 0. H. Walker; a brother of the Rev. F. W. Walker, oi Papuan Industries fame. One of these is the application of th«seniority rule to marriages "That is to say," Mr. Walker explained, "if tiers •- are, for example, three girls in a familyone, say, of 20 years of age, acother of 18, and another of 16—it is considered exceedingly. bad form to ask for or to give in marriage one of the younger ones"till \ the eldest has gone off. That would bo' .-. a very good plan in civilised communi-. * ties, wouldn't it?" The natives of Badu, like the other' -. islanders, do not, as a rule, wear footgear An exception is made on the day of their marriage. It is the correct form in Badu ' to grace that occasion by appearing in a pair of boots— "rather, two pairs,- for both bride and bridegroom have to be bo - fitted out. Though Mr. Walker did not ~ say so, this is a custom that has obviously been introduced by,"some enterprising J-. I trader, and it is evidently not discouraged " - by the mission people, who now control.;. lbs one Badu store. * ,' "The squeezing of their feet into boots . " is lather a painful process," Mr. Walker .. i observed, but it is Badu etiquette, and : ; | the ordeal is Ixwne bravely, thought the boots come off as soon as possible.after ■ ■:..;{ the event is over. Another amusing thing ' '.'■« about these weddings is that the bride- '■:£ groom must weep when the knot is„■ tied.. ; The tears flow copiously a shower of them! It is extraordinary how the >;.; natives can produce tears just whenever . they are wanted. The bride doesn't weep; - ; She is Tull of mirth. It is her day out! ~ | Everybody grips her by the hana, and ' ,V| says nice things, while her tear-stained < partner stands apart, a picture of abjectmisery." - * *' j»