1. Bride-Price:
Bride Wealth or bride-price as it was commonly recognized in the earlier anthropological literature refers to goods presented to the bride’s family by the family of the bridegroom. Dowry, not prevalent in primitive societies but very common in India, and less common in Europe, refers to the payments made by the bride’s party to the bridegroom’s party.
In small scale preliterate society’s payment of Bride Wealth is a must. Earlier missionaries, traders and administrators coming across this practice among the tribal people, interpreted it as a sort of a sale-purchase transaction and named it as ‘bride-price’.
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But later on as more and more ethnographic evidences came to light; better understanding of this practice has developed. At present, the earlier term ‘bride price’ has been totally abandoned as is being realized that it fails to express the intended connotation. Term bride- wealth is considered more appropriate.
A major function of ‘bride wealth’ is legitimating of marriage. In many African societies, the infertility of a woman is enough condition for the refund of the bride wealth to the family and the kinds of woman. It also remains as an indemnity for the proper conduct and the behaviour of the bride. Any proper termination (subject to specified conditions) of marriage also requires refund of the bride wealth.
Another function of bride wealth emphasized by the anthropologists is that it entitles the husband to domestic and sexual rights over his wife. Also, the condition of refund ability of bride price in the event of divorce, serves as a deterrent to misuse the provision of divorce.
As such, it stabilizes marriage. It is also considered by some as a symbolic compensation to the bride’s family as it involves social and economic loss to her family members as she moves away to her husband’s family after marriage.
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Some anthropologists have also associated the payment of bride wealth with the question of status of women. But the cross cultural studies do not corroborate this view.
2. Dowry:
It refers to the payment made by the bride’s party to the ‘bridegroom’s family. It is common only in practiced civilized societies. Unlike bride wealth there is no provision for the refund of the payment made as dowry.
While some anthropologists consider it as a compensatory payment by the bride’s family in consideration of the denial of property rights to the girls in their parent’s families, the others view it as a payment to ensure the economic rights on the husband’s economic earnings and here rights in the property of her husband’s family. The main consideration which supports this practice is the fact that woman is considered as an economic liability.