Current Volume 7
Evolution of Beliefs and Practices of Bride Wealth and Their Role on Marriage among the Bukusu
Abstract
The practice of bride wealth has been retained in Buksu communities for generations because of their religious role in marriage. Marriage was considered valid only after payment of the bride's property, so the bride's property and marriage were intertwined. However, factors such as colonialism, modernization, individualism, urbanization, interracial marriage and commercialization have undermined the religious and cultural significance for which the practice was intended. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the evolution of bridal wealth beliefs and practices among the Bukusu and their role in marriage.The study was conducted on Buksu cultural informants, elders, chieftains, village leaders, clerics, householders, youths, and judges who worked in the Buksu customary courts in Syria due to their knowledge of matters related to bridal wealth and marriage customs as stipulated in the Buksu community. It is evident that bride wealth was a key component of the Bukusu customary marriage as it gave marriage validity, compensated the girl’s parents for her upbringing, boosted her self-esteem and gave her security in her matrimonial home. Bride wealth symbolized that the man was capable of taking care of his wife and children in marriage. Bride wealth was compulsory and men who failed to pay were ridiculed hence every effort was made to ensure bride wealth was paid and those men who were too poor to pay were assisted by their kin. In some cases, the „too poor? to pay men abducted girls of their choice and went to stay with a far relative who would help him pay later.
Citations
IRE Journals:
Anne Nekesa Wepukhulu
"Evolution of Beliefs and Practices of Bride Wealth and Their Role on Marriage among the Bukusu" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 6 Issue 7 2023 Page 231-246
IEEE:
Anne Nekesa Wepukhulu
"Evolution of Beliefs and Practices of Bride Wealth and Their Role on Marriage among the Bukusu" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 6(7)
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