| caption: |
Chapter Three. Phases of Life |
| caption: |
women's roles, especially when men absent |
| text: |
In the absence of her husband a woman acted as head of the house. She received and entertained guests, and if a friend of her husband arrived unexpectedly from another village, she could ask him to stay overnight and await her husband's return. Though hostess and guest would, as a matter of course, both sleep in the main room of the house, this situation aroused no adverse comment. In the presence of the husband too, the entertainment of guests fell mainly to the wife, who poured the beer and distributed betel. |
