Newota replied, “A father would be kept informed but has no role to play in the process of mating. If the girl wants to indicate her consent, she will set a bowl of hominy outside her dwelling at a prearranged time. Then, if I want to proceed, I will ask for some, and she can agree or not. If the answer is yes, my clan will offer gifts to the girl, and sexual relations are then permitted.”

He paused, as if pondering the prospect, and Kindred asked, “What is the next step?”

“I would have to prove my manhood and my seriousness by building a dwelling in her clan area and then by killing an animal for food. When we share the food, which she will cook, this is the wedding ceremony, but it is only a trial marriage for a year. If either of us finds it to be a mistake, the man will move back to his clan, leaving the woman with the house.

“I don’t think this will apply to me, but if it proves to be a good marriage, the woman may give permission for the man to take other wives, who would most likely be the wife’s sisters or cousins. If another woman is chosen, she has the right to have a new dwelling.”

Kindred found that Newota did not share his embarrassment about discussing intimate issues. He explained, “Girls can have sex before marriage, but after marriage they are not expected to lie with any man except their husband. This is an act that can dissolve the marriage, still leaving a woman with the house but subjecting her to severe punishment by the tribe, such as the severing of an ear. A widow is expected to mourn for four years and not remarry, but can remarry earlier with permission of her husband’s clan.”

Kindred hesitated before asking, “And what progress did you make in this procedure?”

Newota smiled and said, “I decided not to eat the hominy.”

•  •  •

During their subsequent meetings the two young men exchanged information about general tribal affairs and the botanical specimens. Although Kindred could identify them from his books and his own knowledge, Newota knew how each might be used to advantage. He wanted to be both a warrior and a medicine man and had learned about curing plants from his mother and also through disciplined training from an exalted medicine man, known as a hillis haya.