In some of the islands of Melanesia marriages are arranged by the parents of the bride and bridegroom, and tho bride is bought, the price being paid in pigs. Once the price began to rise on one of tho islands until a bride was worth 40 pigs, the Bishop of Melanesia, the Rt. Rev. W. JT. Baqdeley, told his audience in Christchurch. Few could afford to pay so high a price, and the result was that many young men and women had to remain bachelors and spinsters. It was realised that this was not a good thing, so a conference was held and the standard price of a bride was fixed at 25 pigs. Everyone should have been happy, but the girls were furious, resenting the suggestion that they were worth less than their mothers.
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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18398, 16 May 1934, Page 13
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135Untitled Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18398, 16 May 1934, Page 13
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