homes.
The marriage portion being fixed (in Selangor) by an almost universal custom at
two bharas of dollars ($44), the amount is not usually mentioned at the
betrothal, it being understood that the usual amount is intended. But if the girl’s
parents should afterwards prove reluctant to proceed with the match, they forfeit
twice the amount of the pledge-money which they have received; whereas if the
youth refuses to proceed he merely forfeits the pledge-money ($11) already paid
to the girl’s parents. Some families pay a marriage portion of $30 only, and
others (such as the family of ’Toh Kaya Kĕchil of Klang) pay as much as $50,
but exceptions are rare, $44 being now generally recognised as the customary
wedding portion.
However, the girl’s family does not really receive anything like the full value of
the $44, because if the $44 is paid in full the proposer has a right to demand a
complete outfit (pĕrsalinan) of silk attire, to the value of about $20, so that the
amount which actually changes hands is seldom more than about $24.
PLATE 9.—BETROTHAL GIFTS.