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Dowry system in india
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Dowry system in india.
*Dr.Y.ASHOK KUMAR
Co-ordinator & Assistent Professor
Department of sociology and social work
**KONGALA.RAMARAO
Junior research fellow.
Department of sociology and social work .
Introduction: Dowry system was unknown in early times. In rich and royal families gifts used to be given son-in-law at the time of marriage .It appears the dowry system came into vogue when child marriages became the order of the day, from about 200 AD to secure a very desirable match the father of the girl. Often spent much more than what he could afford and ensured the marriage of the daughter within pre puberty period .dowry is a deep rooted social evil.
The ramayana of Tulasi das mention about the dowry system than prevalent, gold, jewels
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Department of sociology and social work .
Introduction: Dowry system was unknown in early times. In rich and royal families gifts used to be given son-in-law at the time of marriage .It appears the dowry system came into vogue when child marriages became the order of the day, from about 200 AD to secure a very desirable match the father of the girl. Often spent much more than what he could afford and ensured the marriage of the daughter within pre puberty period .dowry is a deep rooted social evil.
The ramayana of Tulasi das mention about the dowry system than prevalent, gold, jewels shawls, Elephants, horses, cows with gifted horns and hoofs, servants and immovable property like land and houses were are gifted away as dowry, villages also given as dowry.
A religious gift was a companied by gift in cash or gold. The amount was nominal one for long time in ordinary families anything resembling the present enormous dowry system therefore did not exist. Though Brahmins have been following this practice for centuries, dowry never reached the enormous proportions that one finds among other castes.
Definition of the dowry (oxford dictionary): property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their
Wealth and family status was a determining factor upon marriage. Women were expected to have a dowry from their family that would allow them to be auctioned off to suitors. The marriage market was much like the stock exchange in that it allowed
All the way through Migdim's incident with arranged marriages, we can understand the old customs that has to do with marriage. It is obvious that, although women were believed to be obedient, they were capable to effectively convince men. Yet, today there seems to be a sign toward polygamous marriages that are eventu...
As we studied in class, early Indian culture and society in 300 C.E., the Hindu society was dominated by the caste system, which influenced almost every aspect of life. Each caste had its own particular dharma, carrying with rights, obligations and restrictions. Beyond this was a generalized dharma applicable to all: deference to the Brahmins, devotion to the gods, and reverence for the Ganges and for sacred cattle (Connections, Pg. 58). Procreation too, was considered a sacred duty: large families were seen as blessings from the gods, and any attempt to limit family size was frowned upon (Connections, Pg. 58). Since reproduction was essential to reincarnation, for most people marriage and parenthood were moral obligations.
Apparently, these male-defined concepts and stringent regulations imposed heavier penalties for women than men because women were mandated with the heaviest burden of keeping their honor. Central to the concept of honor was a woman’s need to keep their virginity intact otherwise she would be ostracized by the society. A woman who preserved her virginity was held with honor and esteem because she proved superior to her peers (Lavrin 11). Virginity in itself was a highly esteem social quality worth keeping (Lavrin 11).
On occasion of the Howkrah the “Walwar” (the money to be paid by the father of the boy to the girl’s father) money is specified. In accordance with the elders decision the groom’s parent agree to pay in cash the specified amount to the bride’s parents on the day of marriage. Some amount is paid in advance while rest of the money is paid on the marriage day. The father of the girl demands a huge sum of money from the father of the boy. The father of the boy and other relatives present on the occasion request him to reduce the amount for sake of God, sake of Prophet and other saints. The father of the girls on their request and for God’s sake and Prophet and other saints cuts down the amount to some extent. In some cases the father of the boy requests on reducing the amount for the sake of their dead forefathers too. Nevertheless, the amount is brought down to a reasonable level within the range of the boy’s father. Whenever the walwar amount is settled, some sweets and drinks are served to the people on the occasion.(Afridi:2002)
However, the methods for dealing with these things were completely different than ours and some were rather harsh. Marriage could be ended just as easily as it began, and a wife could expect her full dowry back, along with her independence. A wife could also expect full protection from her father, as well as complete support from her family. This is similar to families in our time period today because most families stand behind their daughters/sons through the hard times of divorce or any other family problems. Granted, marriage in this day in age doesn’t require the bride to provide property or money to the husband on their day of marriage. Most couples split their assets fifty fifty when getting a divorce, instead of the wife getting everything back that she provided the husband with. If there was suspicion of a wife committing adultery, she would be taken to a special court known as the, “quaestio” and if she was found guilty she would have to sacrifice her half of the dowry that the husband was supposed to give back when a divorce occurred. If a husband was accused of adultery, the law didn’t recognize it because it was a, “man’s world.” This is very different from families in our society because if a spouse is accused of adultery, both are to be recognized and face the consequences. Along with that, a man could easily divorce his wife if she did not give birth to a son. So, if a
Marriage existed as a business agreement between a husband and his in-laws, who negotiated it, and between a husband and his wife, who maintained it. The marriage was first arranged bet...
Rings were common mainly among the richer parts of society, who could afford such a token. Mary Queen of Scots sent a diamond ring to Thomas Duke of Norfolk to indicate her willingness to marry him. However, peasants would give smaller tokens or none at all. It was usually the case that everyone in a village knew who was married, so no symbol was necessary. In the case that a man wishes to break a wedding contract, he must give back double all of the tokens he has received, usually a collection of small items. This made it even less practical for the poorer people in society to give rings.
This has been seen throughout history and is still today in many countries. Today, countries in the Middle East and Asia both follow these social standards. This is especially with marriage. Some countries still go by arranged marriages. This is when the parents of the bride and groom settle on an agreement for their children. The bride then goes from the father as being the main male dominant figure to the groom as the new male dominant figure. The woman must then obey by the husband’s social code, which entails being almost completely covered when out in
Women did not control her own wealth, so therefore, a woman’s family wealth, was controlled by her father or her husband. Law 128 in the Code of Hammurabi states, “If a man take a wife and do not arrange with her the (proper) contracts, that woman is not a (legal) wife.”1 (Hammurabi 45). A woman would receive a dowry once she was married and left her family. A dowry is a financial gift such as money, property, or goods, which was a gift to her husband once they got married. Once a man married a woman, he then had access to the family’s dowry and the property, money, or goods were then, controlled by him. If the man were no longer married to the woman and if the woman died childless, then the dowry returned back to the father of her family. If the father has already passed away, then the dowry was returned to the woman’s brothers. If the woman had any children that were boys, then the boy, or brothers, would share equally2 (“WOMEN…”). If women wanted out of the marriage, then she would take the dowry with her and go back to her father’s house. The father would then receive the dowry back. Law 138 in the Code of Hammurabi says, “If a man would put away his wife who has not borne him children, he shall give her money to the amount of her marriage settlement and he shall make good to her the dowry which she brought from her father’s house and then he may put her away.”3 (Hammurabi 49). In reality
“Arranging a Marriage in India” by Serena Nanda is a well written, informative article aimed at sharing the view of the Indian culture on arranged marriages and also showing how much effort is put into the process of arranging a marriage. Our own culture has evolved into accepting the fact that we are all independent individuals who could not imagine having someone else make such a significant decision for us. Serena Nanda does an excellent job of using her sources within the society as evidence of the acceptance of the arranged marriage aspect of their culture.
At 12% the third most common is known as indirect dowry and this is when the male will give goods to the brides family, mainly the father, but in turn the father gives the goods to his daughter. This can be done before the marriage or during, and if done during the marriage the male is almost getting some of his own wealth back through his
In Diane Johnson’s article, “Traditional Marriage in Africa: The Dowry”, Johnson explains that the concept of bride price in Sub-Saharan African societies is purposely for the control and objectification of women by men (Johnson). Johnson in her article informs us that before a bride price is set, there is a complex process of negotiations between the two families. These are headed by the uncles and sometimes the aunties of both families until there is a mutual agreement on the price the groom has to pay in order to marry the bride (Johnson). Johnson continues to argue that this process of negotiation and price setting can easily be seen as an act of selling and buying. In my opinion, this process of negotiation and price setting is a form of objectifying a woman as it clearly equates a bride/woman to a commodity or good found in a shop. Even though this act of offering a bride price to the family of one’s bride is embedded i...
Parents would arrange their daughter marriage due to poverty. The bride’s family would receive a dowry, basically trading girls for money. Again, girls were burdens and the parents used child marriage as a relief... ... middle of paper ... ... irls a bright future.
Marriage occurs after a partner is selected. In history a person’s marriage partner was selected by their parents. The bride and groom would not have a say in the issue, their father would generally set up an arrangement for the marriage of his daughter dealing with the head of the other family. The girl’s family would seek a husband for his dau...