Situating marriage payments
There are very few contextual accounts of bride-price payments among north Indian communities. Despite the paucity of ethnographic data, assumptions regarding transitions in the practice are commonplace. This article discusses marriage payments among the Bedia community within the broader context of their survival upon familial prostitution and focusses upon how they construe bride-price and dowry, both practiced under varied circumstances. I argue that Bedia marriage payments do not neatly fit into the prevailing assumptions regarding transitions from dowry to bride-price and are constructed differently under different conditions. The internal variations and contradictions in these constructions are interpreted in light of the social location and practices of Bedias.
Hindus of the Himalayas;: Ethnography and change,
Prologue: Behind Many Masks, Ethnography and Impression Management 1. The Setting 2. The Economic Context 3. The Religious Context: The Supernatural 4. The Religious Context: Calendrical and Life-Cycle Ceremonies 5. Kin Groups and Kinship 6. Caste 7. Intercaste Relations 8. The Village Community 9. The Outside World: Urban Contacts and Government Programs 10. Conclusion - 1958 Epilogue: Sirkanda ten years later Bibliography Chapter Bibliographies - 1971 Notes, Index
The Institution of Dowry in India: Why It Continues To Prevail
The practice of dowry in India has been theoretically linked to a number of factors including the nature of residence and inheritance system, women's role in production, kinship organizations, relative availability of potential spouses, and social stratification in society. This article empirically examines dowries in India and provides an institutional and economic rationale for the existence and continued prevalence of the system. Using data on marriage transactions and on the personal and family traits of marital partners the article demonstrates that payments of dowry serve to equalize the measurable differences in individual characteristics of the bride's and groom's and their respective households. Thus, dowry qualifies as the "price" paid for a "good match" in the marriage market. Results also reveal that the form of inheritance system, the residence of the bride after marriage, and the gender ratio of marriageable women to men have no effect on the incidence and size of dowry.