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Bride Price Dower

The document discusses different traditions and practices surrounding dowry and bridewealth. It describes how direct dowry contrasts with bridewealth, which is paid by the groom's family to the bride's parents, and indirect dowry or dower, which is property given to the bride by the groom at marriage that remains under her control. In Jewish tradition, a prenuptial agreement called a ketubah provided an amount to be paid by the husband in the event of divorce or death, replacing the biblical bride price, as many grooms could not afford the price when expected to marry. Morning gifts given to the bride herself the day after the wedding served similar purposes as dower. Islamic tradition also involves mahr, which is the

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78 views2 pages

Bride Price Dower

The document discusses different traditions and practices surrounding dowry and bridewealth. It describes how direct dowry contrasts with bridewealth, which is paid by the groom's family to the bride's parents, and indirect dowry or dower, which is property given to the bride by the groom at marriage that remains under her control. In Jewish tradition, a prenuptial agreement called a ketubah provided an amount to be paid by the husband in the event of divorce or death, replacing the biblical bride price, as many grooms could not afford the price when expected to marry. Morning gifts given to the bride herself the day after the wedding served similar purposes as dower. Islamic tradition also involves mahr, which is the

Uploaded by

Darry Blancia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dower

Main articles: Bride price and Dower


Direct Dowry contrasts with bridewealth, which is paid by the groom or his family to the bride's
parents, and with indirect dowry (or dower), which is property given to the bride herself by the groom
at the time of marriage and which remains under her ownership and control. [91]
In the Jewish tradition, the rabbis in ancient times insisted on the marriage couple entering into
a prenuptial agreement, called a ketubah. Besides other things, the ketubah provided for an amount
to be paid by the husband in the event of a divorce or his estate in the event of his death. This
amount was a replacement of the biblical dower or bride price, which was payable at the time of the
marriage by the groom to the father of the bride.[Exodus 22:15–16] This innovation was put in place because
the biblical bride price created a major social problem: many young prospective husbands could not
raise the bride price at the time when they would normally be expected to marry. So, 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. It may also be noted that both the dower and
the ketubah amounts served the same purpose: the protection for the wife should her support cease,
either by death or divorce. The only difference between the two systems was the timing of the
payment. It is the predecessor to the wife's present-day entitlement to maintenance in the event of
the breakup of marriage, and family maintenance in the event of the husband not providing
adequately for the wife in his will. Another function performed by the ketubah amount was to provide
a disincentive for the husband contemplating divorcing his wife: he would need to have the amount
to be able to pay to the wife.
Morning gifts, which might also 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. She 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 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.
Islamic tradition has similar practices. A 'mahr', either immediate or deferred, is the woman's portion
of the groom's wealth (divorce) or estate (death). These amounts are usually set on the basis of the
groom's own and family wealth and incomes, but in some parts these are set very high so as to
provide a disincentive for the groom exercising the divorce, or the husband's family 'inheriting' a
large portion of the estate, especially if there are no male offspring from the marriage. In some
countries, including Iran, the mahr or alimony can amount to more than a man can ever hope to
earn, sometimes up to US$1,000,000 (4000 official Iranian gold coins). If the husband cannot pay
the mahr, either in case of a divorce or on demand, according to the current laws in Iran, he will have
to pay it by installments. Failure to pay the mahr might even lead to imprisonment.[92]

Bridewealth
Main article: Bride price
Traditional, formal presentation of the bridewealth (also known as "sin sot") at an engagement ceremony
in Thailand

Bridewealth is a common practice in parts of Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia), parts of Central


Asia, and in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It is also known as brideprice although this has fallen in
disfavor as it implies the purchase of the bride. Bridewealth is the amount of money or property or
wealth paid by the groom or his family to the parents of a woman upon the marriage of their
daughter to the groom. In anthropological literature, bride price has often been explained as
payment made to compensate the bride's family for the loss of her labor and fertility. In some cases,
bridewealth is a means by which the groom's family's ties to the children of the union are recognized.

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