I
then went to inspect the inside of the cage out of which she had
come, but could scarely put my head inside of it, the atmosphere was
so hot and stifling. It was clean and contained nothing but a few
short lengths of bamboo for holding water. There was only room for
the girl to sit or lie down in a crouched position on the bamboo
platform, and when the doors are shut it must be nearly or quite
dark inside. The girls are never allowed to come out except once a
day to bathe in a dish or wooden bowl placed close to each cage.
They say that they perspire profusely. They are placed in these
stifling cages when quite young, and must remain there until they
are young women, when they are taken out and have each a great
marriage feast provided for them. One of them was about fourteen or
fifteen years old, and the chief told us that she had been there for
five years, but would soon be taken out now. The other two were
about eight and ten years old, and they have to stay there for
several years longer."
In Kabadi, a district of British New Guinea, "daughters of chiefs,
when they are about twelve or thirteen years of age, are kept
indoors for two or three years, never being allowed, under any
pretence, to descend from the house, and the house is so shaded that
the sun cannot shine on them.
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