Читать книгу Hatches, Matches and Despatches - Jenny Paschall - Страница 18

PERHAPS no other society honours friendship with the unselfishness of the Hawaiians. Those who are blessed with infants give them to those who are not, a practice known as hanai. Hanai takes place between close friends and family, the children know who their genetic parents are and see them regularly. The children are considered temporary gifts, not possessions.

THE first record of adoption by childless couples has been found in ancient Sumerian law codes dating from 1800 BC. The laws enabled childless couples to adopt a child so that their worldly possessions could be passed to an heir.