That it loss in the bridewealth diverges on extremely commercialised repayments advertised for the cities inside the Ghana and you will somewhere else (Shope, 2006; Posel & Rudwick, 2013)
The new payment regarding bridewealth takes up an essential status regarding the matrimony techniques across the ethnicities within the northern Ghana, plus Dagaaba, Frafra and Builsa regions. Among the many Dagaaba, brand new bridewealth, kyeuri, generally comprises including issues given that libi-pe?le (cowrie shells, come across Figure step one ), fowls, smoking and you may cola nuts. Sometimes, the degree of cowrie shells need to be consistent with whatever was paid for the bride’s mom. Various other times, bonds away from solidarity involving the group or agreements of your bride-to-be and groom bring about a decrease in the fresh payment, incase the newest bride’s agnatic kin determine you to in earlier times the brand new groom’s relatives recharged a leading brideprice to possess a married relationship, he is browsing including require an expensive payment. Nevertheless, there are even standardised marriage repayments across the Dagaaba options. Currently, typically 2000 cowries, otherwise cash comparable, are acknowledged just like the bridewealth into the Serekpere and its environs. Which matter represents an excellent grave reduction off some 20,000 and you may more than cowries which was recognized in the same town on the 1990s. Within the perspective of neoliberal economic procedures, and you may diminishing agricultural returns account within sensitive environmental region, all of our correspondence that have gatekeepers showed that the newest cutback for the amount from cowries is intended to build marriage reasonable. Importantly, the brand new fee is not contingent through to the fresh new situations of bride to be, which is, if the bride to be is extremely experienced, separated, has considering birth or not just like the advertised elsewhere (Borgerhoff Mulder, 1989, 1995; Anderson, 2007). The latest regular norms ruling the practice of bridewealth are set aside in the event the flexible no matter new bride’s socio-economic standing and/or quantity of liberties directed.
Anderson (2007: 159) reports that in the options across the Africa, the marriage fee is normatively elevated from the groom’s ‘dad, dad and you will wife Batangas dad’s brothers, in accordance with mother’s brothers and then make short contributions’
The latest bridewealth among the many Dagaaba, just like the across societies from inside the outlying northern Ghana, try an intricate means of dealings between your agnatic kin out-of the groom and bride and you may, generally, an authorized, called an effective dendeo, a wedding liaison. Generally, a marriage liaison are a person regarding the groom’s village just who has some affairs from the bride’s settlement. The fresh new dendeo leads brand new groom’s family towards the bride’s agnatic kin, very first to formally ask for their hand-in wedding and also to afford the brideprice. The fresh new interactions of your own dendeo toward bride’s household members imply that the latter is actually careful into bridegroom along with his kin. The previous in addition to pleads on the part of the fresh new groom’s kinsmen if the fresh bride’s household members seek in order to charge an expensive brideprice. Due to the fact bridewealth might have been transferred to and acknowledged by bride’s kin, the wedding partnership is created and you will legitimated.
Normatively, the new yirdandoo, your mind of members of the family, instead of the father of your bride to be, is the caretaker of one’s cowries put since relationships payments. From the a group conversation in the Nator, near Serekpere, showing new character of lead of one’s clan, Mwinyella, a research new member, explained, leading to his paternal cousin that is your face out of their clan, that: ‘it guy try my father and so as i wed it could be his obligation in order to [pay the bridewealth] to have me’. But really, to own group in the place of information appointed once the bridewealth, the new bridegroom and his agnatic kin have the effect of elevating they. This varies, to an extent, throughout the Dagaaba account displayed right here. Yet they resonates which have bridewealth means certainly particular Frafra congeries, in which normatively this new groom’s dad and you can dad’s brothers have the effect of paying the bridewealth and where he or she is incapable of raise they the bridegroom turns in order to their father’s otherwise mom’s brothers getting support.
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