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Chapter Three. Phases of Life |
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inheritance rights, land always passed on through men |
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Land never passed in the female line. A man's eldest son inherited his entire holding, but he was obliged to allow his younger brothers the right to cultivate a part of their father's land. Gradually, they would acquire land of their own, and by the time the eldest brother died, younger brothers usually had holdings of their own. As the population was more or less stationary, and some clans shrank or died out, while others increased, there was no great pressure on land. Hence, younger sons did not experience much difficulty in acquiring land of their own for cultivation. |
