Marriage among Slaves

Married slaves were generally faithful to each other.

A couple intending to marry sought the sanction of their respective owners. In some cases, the owner of the man purchased the woman, or vice versa, while in other cases there was no change in ownership. Children belonged to the owner of the woman. A man living at the house of the woman's master, usually compensated his master for the loss of his services, and vice versa. Such situations usually occurred when the masters lived at a distance from each other. When this is not the case, they visited each other at their leisure hours, and were ready at their respective masters' houses at the usual time, to begin their daily labour.

A slave wishing to marry received 5 Pagodas (2 guineas) to defray the expense. The wife worked with the husband's master. If the wife was a slave, on the husband's death, her children belonged to her mother's master. If she was formerly free, she and all her children belonged to her husband's master.

When two slaves belonging to different masters wished to marry, they carried offerings to their respective owners. When the marriage took place, the owner of the male gave him two rupees and one moorah of rice, and the owner of the female slave gave her one rupee and one moorah of rice, and sometimes more.

The wife lived in her husband's house. She took up temporary service with his master, and was supported by him, but he had no right either to sell, mortgage, or lend her out to others. She still belonged to her former master, and was obliged to attend at his house twice in the year, at the time of sowing and harvest. She was paid the usual daily allowance. If she did not, she, or her husband’s owner, had to indemnify him by paying from half to one rupee, or from a quarter to one moorah of rice.

Either her former master, or her new one defrayed the expense of child-birth or sickness. The children born of this marriage belonged to the woman’s master; he could sell, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of them. The female slave continued to live at the house of her husband till she became old, or till his death, when she returned to spend the remainder of her life in her former owner's bondage.

Though there was no specific obligation, the owners of married slaves usually allowed them to live together, when the male and female belong to different masters. The master who prevented them from either living together, or visiting each other at reasonable times, was considered to act harshly, but not illegally.

In 1825, two cases involving the death of slaves due to severe chastisement inflicted by their masters were tried in Kanara. In one case, the slave was punished for frequent absence because of his visits to his wife who resided some distance away at her master's estate, and was not allowed to live with her husband.