Hence all the sanctity and seriousness of a religious rite was thrown around these dances, and though the Indians of to-day have lost many of their old customs, this is one that is still rigorously observed.
Another singular custom that still obtains is where, after the birth of a first child, the _husband_ and _father_ is required to fast and work arduously from the day of the birth until the child's navel shrivels off.

This is to make him strong and vigorous, so that he may be able to give as much strength to his second and later children as he did to the first.
As soon as a girl matures she is marriageable.

Several and simple are the ways in which a Washoe youth shows his preference and desire for marriage.

Equally simple are the girl's signs of acceptance or rejection.

There is no ceremony as the White Race understands that term, though to the Indian there is everything that is necessary to make the rite as binding as it is to his white brother and sister.
Though polygamy has always been practiced, the custom to-day limits the wives to two, and only a few men have more than one wife.