In all but two cases mentioned the girl and her husband go to live with his people. In the first instance their failure to do so raises a protest; in the second, the girl's parents are of much more importance than those of the groom, and this may explain their ability to retain their daughter (pp. 138, 159).
When the bride reaches her future home, she sits on the bamboo floor with her legs stretched out in front of her. The slats which she covers are counted and a string of agate beads, equal in length to the combined width of the slats, is given to her. She now becomes a full member of the family and seems to be under the orders of her mother-in-law (p. 60).
The tales give constant sanction for the marriage of near relatives. Dumanau, we are told, marries his cousin, [19] while we frequently meet with such statements as, "We are relatives and it is good for us to be married," or "They saw that they were related and that both possessed magical power, so they were married (p. 35)." It appears that a man may live with his sweetheart and have children by her, yet leave her, and, without reproach, marry another better fitted to be his wife (p. 54). He may also accept payment for a wife who has deserted him, apparently without loss of prestige (p. 64). No objection seems to be raised to a man having two wives so long as one of these is an inhabitant of the upper world (p. 111), but we find Kanag telling his former sweetheart that he cannot marry her since he is now married to another (p. 138). Again, when two women lay claim to Aponitolau, as their husband, they undergo a test and the loser returns to her former home (p. 94). However, this rule does not prevent a man from having several concubines (p., 120). Gawigawen, we are told, is accompanied to a pakálon by eighteen young girls who are his concubines (p. 59).
Divorce is twice mentioned, but it seems to call out protest only from the cast off wife (pp. 63, 149).
Closely associated with the celebration of a marriage seems to be a ceremony known as Sayang, during the progress of which a number of small structures--the largest known as balaua--are built. Judging by their names and descriptions, we are justified in considering them "spirit houses" as they are to-day.