Or how one's life partner was chosen in one community.
Some time ago while browsing through one of The Champlain Society's books, I came upon a piece that struck me ... prompting me to copy it out. It came from Travels in the Interior Inhabited Parts of North America in the Years 1791 and 1792 by Patrick Campbell, a Scotsman who traveled with his dog and servant across what is now Ontario, Canada, and Upstate New York.
After meeting the Moravian settlers there, he wrote this about their practice in choosing a life's mate:
"There is a large house or hall for the young women, apart, in which they work, and another for the young men in which they do the same. The sexes are never allowed to see one another. When a young man signifies a desire to marry, he and the first girl on the list are put into a private room together, and continue in it for an hour. If he agrees to marry her after this meeting, good and well; if not, he will not get another, and she is put the last on the list; so that all before her must go off before she gets any other offer. And though the parties had never seen one another before this meeting, which is rarely otherwise, they have no alternative, and must make up their minds and acquaintances in that short intercourse. If the parties are satisfied, and they marry, a house is built for them in the village where they live, and carry on business for the good of the community at large."
(With thanks to The Champlain Society, Toronto, for giving me permission to quote the above, edited by H. H. Langton, 1937, p. 153.)
No comments:
Post a Comment