Note 329 — Chapter III · THEORY OF THE ORIGINAL PAIRING OR MONOGAMOUS FAMILY

There are in the villages "men destined to be viri viduarum. These individuals have no other duty; they are supported by the tribe and do not, like the others, engage in the exercises of long trips which they all make annually, each in his turn." This indulgence was justified on the ground that "the peace which the families enjoyed, and which they would not enjoy without these individuals, or rather without this institution, compensated largely for the work that fell upon the others in supporting them."—Magalhães, loc. cit.