Bride wealth definition pdf

A bride price or bride wealth or bride token is paid by the groom to the bride s parents or family at the time of the marriage. According to chirawu 2006, the concept of lobola as it originally existed was noble but now the focus has shifted. Of those immigrants, the southeast asian population are considered as one of the many groups of. Bridewealth and dowry have certain obvious similarities in that they both involve the transmission of property at marriage, the usual interpretation suggesting that what distinguishes them is the direction in which the property travels in the case of bridewealth, from the husband and his kin to the wife and her kin, and in the case of dowry, vice versa.

The payment of bride price is a very common thing in many places in africa and certain parts of asia. First, there is bride price, a gift of money or goods given from a groom and his family to the family of the bride. Bridewealth, payment made by a groom or his kin to the kin of the bride in order to ratify a marriage. The concept requires a companys management team to continually search for the highest possible returns on funds invested in the business, while mitigating any associated risk of loss. The term brideprice is rarely used now because of the implication that the woman is being purchased. Bridewealth definition, in some nonindustrial societies the money or goods given to the family of a bride by the bridegroom or his family. Pdf in south african society, the custom of bridewealth in zulu. Bridewealth definition and meaning collins english. Jun 04, 2014 the terms bride price and dowry are often confused. Bride service has traditionally been portrayed in the anthropological literature as the service rendered by the bridegroom to a brides family as a bride price or part of one see dowry. But as each of these men prepares to battle the man in black, the reader learns the kidnappers name, his history, and how he became part of the most effective criminal organization in. The general anthropological interpretation is that the actual funds transferred are less significant as economic inducements or assets than as counters in a social exchange system that binds the brides and grooms families together in the course of the.

It also makes the children born to the woman full members of her husbands descent group. The united states has always been predominantly known as a nation of immigrants hilmer, 2010. Modernity functions as an economic and social tool to achieve some wealth, flexibility, and innovation for individuals and groups. Apr 16, 2019 bridge financing is an interim financing option used by companies and other entities to solidify their shortterm position until a longterm financing option can be arranged. The first european observers of bride wealth arrangements concluded that it constituted an actual purchase of wife akin to buying a slave. Brideprice and bridewealth article about brideprice and. Bridewealth in traditional african societies had some positive aspects but mostly negative consequences, as it was the foundation of patriarchy. Wealth maximization is the concept of increasing the value of a business in order to increase the value of the shares held by stockholders. Both traditional arranged marriages and modern marriages involve the lobola, or brideprice.

Tradition functions, partly and at times largely, as a mythological state which produces the sensation of larger connectedness and stability in the face. Wealth definition is abundance of valuable material possessions or resources. A bride price or bride wealth or bride token is paid by the groom to the brides parents or family at the time of the marriage. The payment of bridewealth is most often a matter of social. The anthropologist roger keesing defined bridewealth as marriage payments from the husband and his kin to the brides kin. The original normative meaning and role of bride wealth. However, it is the contention of this paper that lobola exacerbates gender based violence gbv in these marriages. Apr 06, 2016 the western attitude that marriage is the union of two people drawn together by love has had some influence in africa, especially in the cities. Personally, i think the most interesting part of the story was when akunnas father, ezekial, passed away. Cultural anthropologysocial institutionsmarriage wikieducator.

A bride price is a transfer at the time of marriage from the groom andor. Africa, gender, social norms, generalized exchange, bridewealth, marriage. Bridewealth and sexual and reproductive practices among. A lineage is a group of individuals who trace descent from a common ancestor. The bride price can also be referred to as the bride wealth.

A custom that requires a man and his relatives to transfer goods to the relatives of the bride. Chastity is of course an issue, but even chastity depends on a cultural definition of what is a marriage, and on when a marriage is actually a marriage. In some cultures the mother of the bride receives consent money, this is because she is considered to be the most emotionally affected by the departure of her daughter. Bride price can be compared to dowry, which is paid to the groom, or used by the bride to help establish the new household, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the. But as each of these men prepares to battle the man in black, the reader learns the kidnappers name, his history, and how he became part of the most effective criminal organization in the civilized world. Among the igbo, the bride price is more narrowly thought of as a payment to. Bride price is also referred to as bride wealth and progeny price. Evidence for dowry and bridewealth includes the r es pective. In others, it is viewed as compensation for the loss of a daughters economic services or for the children she adds to her new family. Apr 09, 2020 a sum of money, land, livestock or other assets given to the family of a bride in some cultures is known as a bride price or bride wealth. The terms bride price and dowry are often confused. The growth of an economic theory of what may be referred to as mar riage wealth i. This led us to research on bride wealth in our endeavor to help african christians understand biblical teaching regarding the practice.

Dowry and bride price are not the same thing jason staples. Chilowolachimalo bride wealth is the legal payment in a formal marriage. As families may be from different regions or cultural groups, marriage is a true opportunity for alliance between these groups. After initiation rites, a person is ready to marry. The perceptions of great zimbabwe university students. Bride service and bride wealth models frame anthropological discussions of kinship in many regions of the world. Bride price and female education scholars at harvard. Crossref micaela di leonardo, methodology and the misinterpretation of womens status in kinship studies. It is considered to be an inappropriate western metaphor for a practice that occurs in many cultures, usually those with patrilineal descent systems. Bride wealth definition of bride wealth by the free dictionary.

Bride price, bridewealth, or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bridewealth and dowry jack goody, john rankine goody, s. This institution specifies that a prospective husband, usually with the help of his relatives, must provide a substantial sum of money or highly. Culwick the analysis of bridewealth among the wahehei by dr. Bride service could take several months or even years. But african cultures emphasize that the union of two individuals must fit into the larger picture of social networks known as kinship, clan or tribal groups. Bride wealth definition of bride wealth by the free. The chief sources of our knowledge about the institution. Other terms associated with the exchange of wealth during a marriage are bride price and dower. Bridewealth and norms constraining female reproductive autonomy. Given, of course, in principle in all cultures, that a man and a woman are faithful to their committed relationship. Brideprice, sometimes referred to as bridewealth, is a form of marriage payment in which the brides group receives a payment of goods, money, or livestock to compensate for the loss of a womans labor and the children she bears. Bride price is the most common form of economic transaction used in marriage. Ogbuuniversity of california, berkeley i discuss two related phenomena in this paper.

A sum of money, land, livestock or other assets given to the family of a bride in some cultures is known as a bride price or bride wealth. Essentially this means that bridewealth marriages are those in which the groom and often his family remit a payment in some form to the brides family in order to officialize a marriage. The bride price or bride wealth system constitutes assumes an important role in the distribution of family property and the arrangement of exchanges and alliances among families in many socieities. Future, largescale studies on the relationship between bridewealth practices and hiv risk need to be studied in diverse african populations. Many speak of bridewealth as a token of respect for the girl and her family, and a form of appreciation for the hard work they put into raising her.

The definition and significance of a wedding dowry the spruce. The research will be mainly based on secondary sources and wherever necessary material will also be obtained from limited primary sources. Pdf one of the early conflicts between western missionaries and africans was the payment of bridewealth. In such cultures, a marriage is not reckoned to have ended until the return of bridewealth has been acknowledged, signifying divorce. The goods will be that which is most highly valued in the society. Bride service has traditionally been portrayed in the anthropological literature as the service rendered by the bridegroom to a bride s family as a bride price or part of one see dowry. This is why childbearing is stressed throughout the initiation rites. The mother of the bride was the one to receive ayie consent money. This is in fact the practice in many parts of africa where the bride price i.

Matrilineal society, group adhering to a kinship system in which ancestral descent is traced through maternal instead of paternal lines. This tradition was common in many cultures, including early biblical societies, and it continues to endure in some nations around the. A dowry is the money or goods that a bride s family gives to her new husband andor his family when they are married. These exchange relations between families may persist over many years and in some societies constitute the chief. The main aims of getting married is to have children. May 05, 2010 the dowry, on the other hand, is the wealth a woman brings to her husband as a part of the marriage. Pdf bridewealth is fundamental to marriage in africa. This study was conducted almost exclusively with shonaspeaking women 97. Bride wealth article about bride wealth by the free.

This entails the groom performing a service for the family of the bride. It was given to her because she would be the one being most affected by her daughter being taken away from her. An analytical study of definitions of the term marriage. Types include 1 bride wealth, 2 bride service, 3 dowry, 4 gift exchange. What are some of the problems that emerge from attempting to apply a single definition across cultures. In all societies the choice of partners is generally guided by rules of exogamy the obligation to marry outside a group. The princess bride study questions mrs taylorgarcias. A bride price refers to money that a groom would pay to his bride s father in exchange for her hand in marriage. This paper discusses the cultural factors behind the practice of child marriage such as bride wealth, value of virginity among others.

The functions of bridewealth in ubena of the rivers. Many studies have documented changes in nuptiality patterns among africans in south africa in recent decades, and specifically, an increase in age at first marriage and a decline in marriage rates cf. For example, high bride wealth payment is said to result in marriage stability because kinsmen find it difficult to. The purpose of giving bride wealth is to give honor to wife giver mayu and to create strong relationship.

It is also a way of validating the grooms right to future offspring. The bride wealth system is extremely important for kinship system in kachin society. Bride price, sometimes referred to as bride wealth, is a form of marriage payment in which the bride s group receives a payment of goods, money, or livestock to compensate for the loss of a womans labor and the children she bears. Jay szklut, bride wealth, an alternate view, behavior science research, 16, 34, 225, 1981. The dowry prohibition act, 1961 makes the giving and taking of dowry void and illegal. From this paper, culture continues to perpetuate and entrench the practice of child marriage in most communities. The alliance theory of marriage maintains that the circulation of women and cattle. Gift exchange a custom in which relatives of both bride and groom exchange gifts of approximately equal value with one another. Table 3 refers to studies pertaining to marriage transfers from the grooms side, while table 4 refers to studies pertaining to marriage transfers from the bride s side. Many african cultures have more than one possible definition. The amount of a bridewealth payment is set by a brides parents and can be influenced by a number of factors, including their investment in tradition and the wealth of the groom. In africa, the visits between families to negotiate and remit bridewealth payments are a crucial part of marriage and the larger social life of the community. Polygynous marriages multiple wives were permitted where the husband had the means to pay the lobolo bride wealth for each, and to maintain them properly.

The correlation between bride wealth and stability of. The general anthropological interpretation is that the actual funds transferred are less significant as economic inducements or assets than as counters in a social exchange system that binds the bride s and grooms families together in the course of the. This tradition was common in many cultures, including early biblical societies, and it continues to endure in some nations around the world, often in a token form. The bride wealth however is seen as the custom of presenting a gift to the brides people 1. Marriage is a very important stage in the life of the ghanaian. Perhaps for this reason, and be cause it was less bizarre than the other proposed terms, bridewealth came to prevail over alternative terms and was widely though not universally. For example, among the tlingit of north america in return for the bridewealth, the parents of the bride give such valuable objects as a return gift to the parents of.

May 07, 2018 chastity is of course an issue, but even chastity depends on a cultural definition of what is a marriage, and on when a marriage is actually a marriage. The general rule is that there should be a gobetween thenga, who comes from the village where the suitor is resident and always sent by the attorney nkhoswe. Bride price is defined as the price that is paid either in kind or cash by a man to the family of the woman he wants to marry. The father of the bride was the one who received bridewealth. The bride price can also be referred to as the bridewealth. A custom by which the family of the bride is required to transfer a portion of their own wealth to their daughter and her husband.

The goal of this study thus is to reflect theologically on bride wealth in africa by sampling the dinka, of the anglican church of sudan, and ultimately understand the real meaning of bride wealth in africa today. In the process of marriage, many gifts are presented to the family of the bride, but the bride wealth is that which fortes cited in ogbu, 1978 terms as the prime prestations. In this practice goods are transferred from the grooms family to bride s family in compensation for losing the productive and reproductive services of one of their daughters. The survey contains summaries of what was known about bridewealth in various societies at the time it was prepared.

The concept of bride wealth compensates the brides group for the loss of her companionship and labor. It also examines the health implications on the life of the children as well as the strategies put in place by various stakeholders in order to end the. Section 498a ipc penalises the husband and his family members in case there is an act of cruelty on the bride within seven years. The societies i chose are those for which the survey contains sufficient information on bridewealth for my purpose and those that can be classified into one of the four types of descent rules. Pauls university dowry or bridewealth payment is a widespread practice in many african societies. A dowry is money or property brought into the marriage by the bride. The dowry has usually been provided by the womans family at the time of the marriage. Gordon brown is of particular interest to us, as we are studying the life of a tribe akin to them, namely the wabena of the ulanga valley, tanganyika territory. However, not every part of the bride wealth system is the same. Cattle were their wealth, the lobola with which men paid for brides. Pdf zulu bridewealth ilobolo and womanhood in south africa.

It also examines the health implications on the life of the children as well as the. Despite the changes people remain deeply attached to the institution of lobola. What is a good crosscultural definition of marriage. Bridewealth definition of bridewealth by the free dictionary. Two other important terms anthropologists define when it comes to defining marriage are bridewealth and bride service. Tables 3 and 4 provide a sense of the magnitudes involved. Europe from the 600 to ce, required brideprice for a marriage to be legal. In the early part of the story buttercups kidnappers are known only as the spaniard, the turk, and the sicilian. Bride price is most common among polygynous, smallscale, patrilineal societiesespecially in subsaharan africa and among native americans. Although bride wealth serves a definite role in the institution. Synonyms for bridewealth include bride price, bridegift, bride gift, bridegift, bride token, bride wealth, bridewealth and reverse dowry.