Dowry vs. Bride PriceBride Price (or Bridewealth)So what is the distinction between the dowry together with bride cost? The bride pricing is exactly exactly what it sounds like—a particular cost (home, cash, etc. ) compensated by the bridegroom (or their family members) towards the bride’s parents.
With regards to the culture therefore the duration, this might be either a group cost for all brides (virgins having a price that is higher or perhaps a negotiated cost in line with the sensed worth of this woman (breathtaking or specially industrious females being more extremely respected). When you look at the biblical Torah, the former (a group cost) is apparently thought (cf. Ex 22:16–17; Deut 22:28–29), though this definitely will not exclude negotiation. In Classical Greece, it seems to possess been a matter of settlement, as indicated within the Odyssey. The training continues in various forms in many (usually Eastern) countries today. (EDIT: as being a commenter below that knows more than i actually do concerning this pointed down, i will probably have mentioned that the normal anthropological term because of this is “bridewealth, ” not “bride price, ”which ended up being abandoned a while ago into the scholarly literary works because of its implication of “buying a bride. ” we selected alternatively to stay aided by the more widespread term that is popular simplicity’s benefit, while pointing down so it didn’t equate to purchasing a bride as chattel. )
The bride price has been interpreted as a “market transaction, ” recouping the woman’s family/kin group for the loss of her fertility and ability to work within the family unit, but I think this interpretation is significantly flawed in most cases (especially in societies that practice the dowry, as will be explained below) in a large amount of anthropological and feminist literature. Continue reading