[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

4
MARRIAGE AND RELATIONS OF SEXES I71
and sexual intercourse, but whether they belong to the dialect
of Lambumbu or Lagalag is not certain.
Nelnai. This signiï¬Åes marriage in the legal sense, and may be
used of the marriage of girls before puberty, when the con»
summation of the marriage is postponed for some years.
Ila. This is the verbal form of the above; to go through the
ceremonial of “ legal " marriage.
Imi. This signiï¬Åes to consummate a " child " marriage, and it
is used also for performing the ritual of the “ legal â€ù marriage
together with its subsequent consummation in adult marriage.
Itï¬Ågh, iboghons. These signify“ to have sexual intercourse â€ù;
they are used reciprocally between a man and a woman in
polite conversation.
Inggzmg. To perform the sexual embrace; this is a word not
used in polite conversation.
lap. To have intercourse with a woman ; this is an indecent
word, used only by men, and it cannot be used openly except
among men ; it is never spoken in the presence of a woman
or of small boys and girls. In private it may be used by a man
to his wife or mistress, and by awornan to her husband or lover.
Nam nimomogh. A virgin.
N imamagh iiliil. A woman who is not a virgin ; not necessarily
a term of reproach, but used for any woman who has been
married or has had experience of men.
I em. This is used for making indecent gestures inviting a woman
to commit adultery: these include giving a short whistle,
sucking the lips with a smacking sound, and breaking a stick.
If the woman to whom these are made refuses the offer and
lets her husband know of it, public opinion would approve the
husband if he killed the man who had thus accosted his wife.
It is very unfortunate that Deacon was unable to obtain
any information about the regulation of marriage or the relations
of the sexes in any other of the districts of Malekula. From the
Big Nambas alone, it is reported that lesbianism is common, and
that male homosexuality has been raised to the rank of “ an
organized male monogamy with incest tabus between men,
concomitant jealousies and insignia for the male ‘ husband ’ and
' boy lover ' This subject, however, is one so closely linked
with the initiation rites of these people that it will be described
fully in that context.
‘ —