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{{short description|Money or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the family of the bride}}File:The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Papuan bride price.jpg|thumb|A Papuan bride dowry basket piece from the early 20th century. In the collection of The Children's Museum of IndianapolisThe Children's Museum of Indianapolis{{Anthropology of kinship |concepts}}{{Close relationships |practices}}Bride price, bride-dowry, bride-wealth,JOURNAL, Dalton, George, Brief Communications: "Bridewealth" vs. "Brideprice", American Anthropologist, 68, 3, 732–737, 10.1525/aa.1966.68.3.02a00070, 1966, free, bride service or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride dowry is equivalent to dowry paid to the groom in some cultures, 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 time of marriage. Some cultures may practice both simultaneously. Many cultures practiced bride dowry prior to existing records.The tradition of giving bride dowry is practiced in many Asian countries, Eastern Europe the Middle East, parts of Africa and in some Pacific Island societies, notably those in Melanesia. The amount changing hands may range from a token to continue the traditional ritual, to many thousands of US dollars in some marriages in Thailand, and as much as a $100,000 in exceptionally large bride dowry in parts of Papua New Guinea where bride dowry is customary.NEWS, 2020-01-28, Bride Price: 'My husband can't afford me', en-GB, BBC News,weblink 2023-07-28,

Function

Bridewealth is commonly paid in a currency that is not generally used for other types of exchange. According to French anthropologist Philippe Rospabé, its payment does therefore not entail the purchase of a woman, as was thought in the early twentieth century. Instead, it is a purely symbolic gesture acknowledging (but never paying off) the husband's permanent debt to the wife's parents.BOOK,weblink Debt: The First 5,000 Years, Graeber, David, Melville House, 2011, 978-1-933633-86-2, 131–132, Dowries exist in societies where capital is more valuable than manual labor. For instance, in Middle Ages Europe, the family of a bride-to-be was compelled to offer a dowry — land, cattle and money — to the family of the husband-to-be.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} Bridewealth exists in societies where manual labor is more important than capital. In Sub-Saharan Africa where land was abundant and there were few or no domesticated animals, manual labor was more valuable than capital, and therefore bridewealth dominated. In Eastern Europe, the bride's family is compensated for their loss of a worker.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}An evolutionary psychology explanation for dowry and bride price is that bride price is common in polygynous societies which have a relative scarcity of available women. In monogamous societies where women have little personal wealth, dowry is instead common since there is a relative scarcity of wealthy men who can choose from many potential women when marrying.The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology, Edited by Robin Dunbar and Louise Barret, Oxford University Press, 2007, Chapter 26, "The evolutionary ecology of family size".

Historical usage

Mesopotamia

The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi mentions bride price in various laws as an established custom. It is not the payment of the bride price that is prescribed, but the regulation of various aspects:

• a man who paid the bride price but looked for another bride would not get a refund, but he would if the father of the bride refused the match
• if a wife died without sons, her father was entitled to the return of her dowry, minus the value of the bride price.WEB, The Code of Hammurabi,weblink live,weblink 2010-10-20, L. W. King, 1915, See Laws 163 and 164

Jewish tradition

{{see also|Ketubah}}The Torah discusses the practice of paying a bride price to the father of a virgin at Shemot (Exodus) 22:16-17 (JPS translation): "And if a man entice a virgin that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins." Devarim (Deuteronomy) 22:28-29 similarly states, "If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, that is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he hath humbled her; he may not put her away all his days."Jewish law in ancient times insisted upon the betrothed couple signing a ketubah, a formal contract. The ketubah provided for an amount to be paid by the husband in the event he divorced his wife (i.e. if he gives her a get; women cannot divorce their husbands in orthodox Jewish law); or by his estate in the event of his death. The provision in the ketubah replaced the bride price tradition recited in the Torah, which was payable at the time of the marriage by the groom.This innovation came about because the bride price created a major social problem: many young prospective husbands could not raise the amount at the time when they would normally be expected to marry. To enable these young men to marry, the rabbis (in effect) delayed the time that the amount would be payable, when they would be more likely to have the sum. The object — in either case — was financial protection for the wife should the husband die, divorce her or disappear. The only difference between the two systems was the timing of the payment.In fact, the rabbis were so insistent on the bride having the "benefit of the ketubah" that some even described a marriage without one as being merely concubinage, because the bride would lack the benefit of the financial settlement in case of divorce or death of the husband; without which the woman and her children could become a burden on the community. However, the husband could refuse to pay if a divorce was on account of adultery by the wife.To this day in traditional Jewish weddings between opposite-sex couples, the groom gives the bride an object of value, such as a wedding ring, to fulfill the requirement in the ketubah.The Jewish Way in Love & Marriage, Rabbi Maurice Lamm, Harper & Row, 1980, Chapter 15 The object given must have a certain minimal value to satisfy the obligation - e.g. it cannot be a prize out of a Cracker Jack box, but, modernly, the value is otherwise nominal and symbolic.

Ancient Greece

Some of the marriage settlements mentioned in the Iliad and Odyssey suggest that bride price was a custom of Homeric society. The language used for various marriage transactions, however, may blur distinctions between bride price and dowry, and a third practice called "indirect dowry," whereby the groom hands over property to the bride which is then used to establish the new household.BOOK, Snodgrass, A.M., Archaeology and the Emergence of Greece', 2006, Cornell University Press, {{RP|177}} "Homeric society" is a fictional construct involving legendary figures and deities, though drawing on the historical customs of various times and places in the Greek world.{{RP|180}} At the time when the Homeric epics were composed, "primitive" practices such as bride price and polygamy were no longer part of Greek society. Mentions of them preserve, if they have a historical basis at all, customs dating from the Age of Migrations (c. 1200–1000 BC) and the two centuries following.{{RP|185}}In the Iliad, Agamemnon promises Achilles that he can take a bride without paying the bride price (Greek hednon), instead receiving a dowry (pherne).{{RP|179}}Iliad 9.146 In the Odyssey, the least arguable references to bride price are in the marriage settlements for Ctimene, the sister of Odysseus;Odyssey 15.367. Pero, the daughter of Neleus, who demanded cattle for her;Odyssey 11.287–297 and 15.231–238. The two versions vary, but the bride price demanded takes the form of a mythological test, labor, or ordeal; William G. Thalman, The Swineherd and the Bow: Representations of Class in the Odyssey (Cornell University Press, 1998), p. 157f. and the goddess Aphrodite herself, whose husband Hephaestus threatens to make her father Zeus return the bride price given for her, because she was adulterous.{{RP|178}} It is possible that the Homeric "bride price" is part of a reciprocal exchange of gifts between the prospective husband and the bride's father, but while gift exchange is a fundamental practice of aristocratic friendship and hospitality, it occurs rarely, if at all, in connection with marriage arrangements.{{RP|177-178}}

Islamic law

Islamic law commands a groom to give the bride a gift called a Mahr prior to the consummation of the marriage. A mahr differs from the standard meaning of bride-price in that it is not to the family of the bride, but to the wife to keep for herself; it is thus more accurately described as a dower. In the Qur'an, it is mentioned in chapter 4, An-Nisa, verse 4 as follows:And give to the women (whom you marry) their Mahr [obligatory bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage] with a good heart; but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it and enjoy it without fear of any harm (as Allah has made it lawful).

Morning gifts

Morning gifts, which might be arranged by the bride's father rather than the bride, are given to the bride herself. The name derives from the Germanic tribal custom of giving them the morning after the wedding night. The woman might have control of this morning gift during the lifetime of her husband, but is entitled to it when widowed. If the amount of her inheritance is settled by law rather than agreement, it may be called dower. Depending on legal systems and the exact arrangement, she may not be entitled to dispose of it after her death, and may lose the property if she remarries. Morning gifts were preserved for many centuries in morganatic marriage, a union where the wife's inferior social status was held to prohibit her children from inheriting a noble's titles or estates. In this case, the morning gift would support the wife and children. Another legal provision for widowhood was jointure, in which property, often land, would be held in joint tenancy, so that it would automatically go to the widow on her husband's death.

Contemporary

Africa

{{Essay-like|section|date=January 2021}}In parts of Africa, a traditional marriage ceremony depends on payment of a bride price to be valid. In Sub-Saharan Africa, bride price must be paid first in order for the couple to get permission to marry in church or in other civil ceremonies, or the marriage is not considered valid by the bride's family. The amount can vary from a token to a great sum, real estate and other values. Lobolo (or Lobola, sometimes also known as Roora) is the same tradition in most cultures in Southern Africa Xhosa, Shona, Venda, Zulu, Ndebele etc. The amount includes a few to several head of cattle, goats and a sum of money depending on the family. The cattle and goats constitute an integral part of the traditional marriage for ceremonial purposes during and after the original marriage ceremony.In some societies, marriage is delayed until all payments are made. If the wedding occurs before all payments are made, the status is left ambiguous.BOOK, Africa, Grosz-Ngaté, Maria Luise, Hanson, John H., O'Meara, Patrick, 9780253013026, Fourth, Bloomington, 873805936, 2014-04-18, The bride price tradition can have destructive effects when young men don't have the means to marry. In strife-torn South Sudan, many young men steal cattle for this reason, often risking their lives.WEB,weblink Risking one's life to be able to marry, 26 June 2016, 7 July 2016, D+C, development and cooperation, Aleu, Philip Thon, Mach, Parach, amp, 17 November 2019,weblink live,

Asia

Western Asia

Assyrians, who are indigenous people of Western Asia, commonly practice the bride price (niqda{{which lang|date=January 2023}}) custom. The tradition would involve the bridegroom's family paying to the father of the bride. The amount of money of the niqda is reached by negotiation between groups of people from both families. The social state of the groom's family influences the amount of the bridewealth that ought to be paid. When the matter is settled to the contentment of both menages, the groom's father may kiss the hand of the bride's father to express his chivalrous regard and gratitude. These situations are usually filmed and incorporated within the wedding video. Folk music and dancing is accompanied after the payment is done, which usually happens on the doorstep, before the bride leaves her home with her escort (usually a male family member who would then walk her into the church).WEB,weblink Assyrian Rituals of Life-Cycle Events by Yoab Benjamin, 2018-02-12, 2019-11-28,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20191128065312weblink">weblink live, It is still practised by Muslims in the region and is called Mahr.

Central Asia

In many parts of Central Asia nowadays, bride price is mostly symbolic. Various names for it in Central Asia include {{IPA-kk|qaləɴmal|}}, {{IPA-ky|qɑlɯ́ŋ|}}, {{IPA-uz|qalɨn|}}, and {{IPA-ru|kɐˈɫɨm|}}. It is also common in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.BOOK, Ramet, Sabrina P., Religious policy in the Soviet Union,weblink limited, 1993, Cambridge UP, Cambridge, 220, 9780521416436, The price may range from a small sum of money or a single piece of livestock to what amounts to a herd of livestock, depending on local traditions and the expectations and agreements of the families involved.WEB, Rakhimdinova, Aijan, Kyrgyz Bride Price Controversy.,weblink IWPR Issue 17, 22 Dec 05, IWPR, 25 September 2011, 19 January 2021,weblink live, The tradition is upheld in Afghanistan. A "dark distortion" of it involved a 6-year-old daughter of an Afghan refugee from Helmand Province in a Kabul refugee camp, who was to be married to the son of the money lender who provided with the girl's father $2500 so the man could pay medical bills. According to anthropologist Deniz Kandiyoti, the practice increased after the fall of the Taliban.NEWS,weblink Afghan Debt's Painful Payment: A Daughter, 6, Rubin, Alissa J., 1 April 2013, The New York Times, 1 April 2013, 5 April 2013,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130405060641weblink">weblink live,

Thailand

In Thailand, bride price—sin sodWEB, Cultural aspects within marriage,weblink Bangkok Post, 12 March 2016, Video, 2015-04-28, (Thai: สินสอด, pronounced [sĭn sòt] and often erroneously referred to by the English term "dowry") is common in both Thai-Thai and Thai-foreign marriages. The bride price may range from nothing—if the woman is divorced, has a child fathered by another man, or is widely known to have had premarital relations with men—to tens of millions of Thai baht (US$300,000 or ~9,567,757 THB) for a woman of high social standing, a beauty queen, or a highly educated woman. The bride price in Thailand is paid at the engagement ceremony, and consists of three elements: cash, Thai (96.5 percent pure) gold, and the more recent Western tradition of a diamond ring. The most commonly stated rationale for the bride price in Thailand is that it allows the groom to demonstrate that he has enough financial resources to support the bride (and possibly her family) after the wedding. In many cases, especially when the amount is large, the parents of a Thai bride will return all or part of the bride price to the couple in the form of a wedding gift following the engagement ceremony.It is also practised by Muslims in Thailand and is called Mahr.

Kachin

In Kachin society they have the system of Mayu and Dama. "Mayu" means a group of people who give woman and "Dama" means a group of people who take woman. The “bride wealth” system is extremely important for kinship system in Kachin society and has been used for centuries. The purpose of giving "bride wealth" is to honor the wife giver "Mayu" and to create a strong relationship. The exact details of the “bride wealth” system vary by time and place. In Kachin society, bride wealth is required to be given by wife taker “Dama” to wife giver “Mayu.” Kachin ancestors thought that if wife takers “Dama” gave a large bride price to wife giver “Mayu”; it meant that they honored the bride and her family, and no one would look down on the groom and bride.Num Wawn Num La Shaman Ga hte Htinggaw Mying Gindai,2010, Mougaung Baptist Church

China

{{See also|Chinese pre-wedding customs#Betrothal|l1=Chinese Pre-wedding Customs}}In traditional Chinese culture, an auspicious date is selected to ti qin ({{zh|s=提亲|t=提親|l=propose marriage}}), where both families will meet to discuss the amount of the bride price ({{zh|t=聘金|p=pìn jīn|labels=no}}) demanded, among other things. Several weeks before the actual wedding, the ritual of guo da li ({{zh|s=过大礼|t=過大禮|l=going through the great ceremony|labels=no}}) takes place (on an auspicious date). The groom and a matchmaker will visit the bride's family bearing gifts like wedding cakes, sweetmeats and jewelry, as well as the bride price. On the actual wedding day, the bride's family will return a portion of the bride price (sometimes in the form of dowry) and a set of gifts as a goodwill gesture.Bride prices varies by eras, for instance during the Republican era, bride prices were usually in a form of a sack of rice or wheat. However bride prices were sent in secret during the Cultural Revolution following a public discouragement on bride price, which was seen as a feudalist legacy.WEB, 传统农业地区的婚姻特征,weblink 传统农业地区的婚姻特征, Since Deng's reform, bride prices vary from {{Currency|1000000|CNY}} in famously money-centricNEWS,weblink In a Richer China, Billionaires Put Money on Marriage, Howard W., French, 2006-01-24, 2014-04-16, The New York Times, 2012-05-05,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120505112745weblink">weblink live, NEWS,weblink Rich guy seeks girl, must be virgin: Read this ad, Howard W., French, 2006-01-23, 2014-04-16, The New York Times, 2021-01-19,weblink live, ShanghaiNEWS,weblink Shanghai Journal;It's a Lucky Day in May, and Here Come the Brides, Seth, Faison, 1996-05-22, 2014-04-16, The New York Times, 2014-04-18,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140418100637weblink">weblink live, NEWS,weblink In a Changing China, New Matchmaking Markets, Brook, Larmer, 2013-03-09, 2014-04-16, The New York Times, 2015-03-24,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150324001350weblink">weblink live, to as little as {{Currency|10000|CNY}}.WEB,weblink 全国聘礼地图：山东3斤百元人民币 重庆0元(图), 2013-06-05, 2014-04-16, 2014-04-17,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140417015022weblink">weblink live, WEB,weblink The Price of Marriage in China: Infographic Shows Astounding Data, 2013-06-11, 2014-04-16, 2014-04-17,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140417022914weblink">weblink live, A house is often required along with the bride priceWEB,weblink Forget dowries: Chinese men have to pay up to US$24,000 to get a bride, June 9, 2013, April 16, 2014, Gwynn Guilford, Ritchie King, Herman Wong, amp, April 18, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140418161233weblink">weblink live, (an apartment is acceptable, but rentals are notWEB,weblink For Chinese Women, Marriage Depends On Right 'Bride Price', Louisa, Lim, NPR.org, April 23, 2013, April 16, 2014, April 21, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140421222657weblink">weblink live, ) and a car under both or only the bride's name, neither of which are counted toward the bride price itself. In some regions, the bride's family may demand other kinds of gifts,MAGAZINE,weblink The Steep Price for a Chinese Bride, Time, Anjani, Trivedi, June 10, 2013, April 16, 2014, April 19, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140419021634weblink">weblink live, none counted toward the bride price itself. May 18 is a particularly auspicious day on which to pay the bride price and marry as its Chinese wording is phonetically similar to "I will get rich". Bride prices are rising quicklyWEB,weblink 全国聘礼地图, 2013-06-06, 2014-04-16, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140419014830weblink">weblink 2014-04-19, in China largely without documentation but a definite verbal and cultural understanding of where bride prices are today. Gender inequality in China has increased competition for ever higher bride prices.NEWS,weblink China's brides go for gold as their dowries get bigger and bigger, Malcolm, Moore, January 4, 2013, April 16, 2014, April 10, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140410195207weblink">weblink live, Financial distress is an unacceptable and ignored justification for not paying the bride price. If the grooms' side cannot agree or pay, they or simply the groom himself must still pay a bride price WEB,weblink I have a solution., 2012-03-25, 2014-04-16,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20161130132250weblink">weblink 2016-11-30, dead, thus borrowing from relatives is a popular if not required option to "save face". Inability to pay is cause for preventing a marriage which either side can equally recommend. Privately, families need bride prices due to China's lack of a social security net {{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} and a one child policy which leaves parents with neither retirement funding nor caretaking if their only child is taken awayWEB,weblink A Map Of China's Bride Price Distribution: Shanghai Tops The List At One Million Yuan And Chongqing The Only City Where Love Is Free, Lisa Mahapatra, Sophie Song, International Business Times, amp, June 6, 2013, April 16, 2014, April 19, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140419014520weblink">weblink live, as brides typically move into the groom's residence upon marryingWEB,weblink Chinese "Bride Price", Marcus, Roberts, June 12, 2013, April 16, 2014,weblink July 24, 2018, dead, as well as testing the groom's ability to marry by paying cash and emotionally giving up his resources to the bride. Publicly, families cite bride price as insurance in case the man abandons or divorces the wifeWEB,weblink Bride Price (聘金): How Much To Give?, 2014-04-17, 2014-04-19,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140419012618weblink">weblink live, and that the bride price creates goodwill between families. The groom's side should pay more than what the bride's side has demandedWEB,weblink Chinese Wedding Traditions: The Bride Price, August 26, 2012, April 16, 2014, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140419021139weblink">weblink April 19, 2014, to "save face".WEB,weblink How Much Are You Worth, Chinese Bride-to-Be?, April 24, 2013, April 16, 2014, March 26, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140326162104weblink">weblink live, Amounts preferably follow the usual red envelope conventions though the sum is far more important. Attempts to tackle skyrocketing bride prices were also done by the Ministry of Civil Affairs by implementing marriage reforms, with involves capping the maximum amount of bride price which was implemented by trial in several regions, notably Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenyang,WEB, 多地列入全国婚俗改革试验区，婚俗改革改的是什么？ - 青岛新闻网,weblink 2024-04-23, news.qingdaonews.com, apart from the ruling from the Supreme People's Court dated 17 January, 2024 regarding the prohibition of demanding property under the name of marriage, which includes bride price that allows cases for reimbursement.WEB, 中国发布丨最高法：3种情形不属于彩礼，彩礼返还及返还比例要看共同生活时间长短-中国网,weblink 2024-04-23, news.china.com.cn, Changing patterns in the betrothal and marriage process in some rural villages of modern China can be represented as the following stages: Han, Min, Social Change and Continuity in a Village in Northern Anhui, China: A Response to Revolution and Reform {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619075530weblink |date=2009-06-19 }}, Senri Ethnological Studies 58, Osaka, Japan: National Museum of Ethnology, December 20, 2001.

1. Ti qin , "propose a marriage";
2. He tian ming , "Accord with Heaven's mandate" (i.e. find a ritually auspicious day);
3. Jian mian , "looking in the face", i.e. meeting;
4. Ding hun , "being betrothed";
5. Yao ri zi , "asking the wifegivers the date of the wedding"; and
6. Jie xin ren , "transferring the bride".

It is also practised by Muslims known as Uyghurs in Xinjiang and is called Mahr.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

Indian subcontinent

It is still practised by Muslims in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and is called Mahr. In North East India, notably in Assam (the indigenous Assamese ethnic groups) an amount or token of bride price was and is still given in various forms. In some parts of Indian state of Gujarat, bride price is rather prevalent, resulting from the fact that there are lesser number of girls than boys in the society.WEB, November 15, 2003, Radha, Sharma, Gujarati grooms pay for brides,weblink 2022-09-25, The Times of India, en, WEB, July 23, 2001, Sajid, Shaikh, Bride price skyrockets in Panchmahals,weblink 2022-09-25, The Times of India, en,

Myanmar

It is still practised by Muslims, known as Rohingyas in Myanmar, especially in Rakhine State and is called Mahr.

See also

• Bride services
• Dowry

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

• Hirsch, Jennifer S., Wardlow, Holly, Modern loves: the anthropology of romantic courtship & companionate marriage, Macmillan, 2006. {{ISBN|0-472-09959-0}}. Cf. Chapter 1 "Love and Jewelry", on the bride price.

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