Dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock or a commercial asset transferred from the family of a bride to the family of the groom at marriage, the reverse direction of bride price. It remains common in South Asia and parts of the Middle East and North Africa, most often in patrilineal societies where a woman is expected to reside with her husband's family. Anthropologist Jack Goody linked dowry to societies practicing "diverging devolution," where property passes to children of both sexes, and correlated it with intensive plough agriculture and monogamous marriage. Despite India's Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, the practice remains widespread there and has been linked to dowry deaths and other abuse.
Facts
Typical RegionSourced to the subject's own accountSouth Asia (especially India, where it remains widespread despite the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961) and parts of the Middle East and North Africa; documented by Jack Goody across Eurasian societies from Japan to Ireland. Bhutan is a documented exception among South Asian societies, practicing matrilineal inheritance rather than dowry. 1 Documented YearSourced to the subject's own accountThe year Jack Goody and S. J. Tambiah published Bridewealth and Dowry, the standard comparative anthropological study distinguishing dowry from bridewealth. Cross-Tradition Connections
Held Differently
The reverse-direction counterpart: dowry moves from the bride's family to the groom's, bridewealth moves from the groom's family to the bride's. The two are documented in different, largely non-overlapping regions rather than as alternatives within one society.
Associated With
A property transfer practice attached to marriage validation, distinct from the marriage institution itself.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Dowry
WikipediaIntroduction, definitionQuote, Introduction, definition
A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is transferred from the family of a bride to that of the groom, or vice versa, at the time of marriage.
1. Wikipedia: Dowry
WikipediaGeographic distribution and India sectionsQuote, Geographic distribution and India sections
Dowry remains common in South Asia and parts of the Middle East and North Africa.
1. Wikipedia: Dowry
WikipediaIntroduction, terminology distinctionsQuote, Introduction, terminology distinctions
Dowry contrasts with the price paid by the groom or his family to the bride or her family (bride price) or the return of property to a spouse at the termination of a marriage (dower).
2. Wikipedia: Jack Goody
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