The article You’re about to read was written by Sylvester Yuokaah, a Philosophy And social Sciences Student at Spiritan University college
Introduction
The terms and conditions of marriage give notion of what gender relations might look like for individuals in a society. Most often women had no part in choosing their husband. The members were living in patriarchal society where the fathers of the households had most of the power. The fathers sit in chairs and take decision on behalf of their children.
When women get married in the villages especially in Dagaaba land, they move out of their parents’ home to settle in the new husband’s patents abode. Kinship is transferred through sons, among the Dagaaba people; thus patrilineal system. Dagaaba land is predominantly a patrilineal society, male heirs are essential for the survival of the lineage.
Without male, they say lineage die out since only sons can pass on membership. Due to the fact that sons are crucial for the continuation of the lineage, it made the Dagaaba society to have built-in cultural mechanisms that favor males in the Dagaaba land.
This position does not mean females are neglected or forgotten totally as inconvenience or a burden but the gaining of males are crucial for the patrilineal society of the Dagaaba people, having effects for men and women in institutions such as marriage. (Sant, 2006)
Marriage among the Dagaaba People
Marriage has been given definitions and interpretations by various schools of thought and religious, yet the various definitions conform to the same idea of the Dagaaba people. That is, marriage is a contract between two individuals that unites their lives legally, socially, economically and emotionally. The marriage though is among the individuals but mostly initiated and arranged by the parents with little or no consent of the individuals who vow to keep the bond of matrimony.
Marriage is important factor in our life. The occasion of marriage give the Dagaaba people assurance of a perpetual patrilineage. Marriage gives a sense and also tells us how to manage life. After marriage most of the people should be mature and have a sense of responsibility on how to manage life (Leghari, 2002). The maturity in marriage is seen in responsibility endowed with free will and wisdom.
Therefore, among the Dagaaba people, there is majority test coupled with handwork and sacrifice. Before a family will give their daughter in marriage, that means they are satisfied with all their unnoticed investigations about the husband to be.
Marriage among the Dagaaba people encompasses the entire extended families of both families tiring the bond, making the relationship very broad and complex. But the wander is that, there is always a unique bond of cohesion between the two families no matter the circumstances.
The Concept of the Dowry System
The dowry system dates back to at least 200BCE and has occurred largely in Europe and Asia. Dowries are practically old as civilization. It is an ancient practice which have persisted throughout the Middle Ages and across all rungs of society with the size of average dowry varying based on the social status of the people getting married.
It is the dowries for noble folks that are most closely recorded. And some of these dowries were extremely lavish. That is to say, just imagine getting married and your dowry include half of Despite group of company’s property and two thirds of the nation’s economy.
The thing about dowries, however, is that they revert to the bride’s family if the couple get divorce. An example is Louis VII, who lost Aquitaine when he and Eleanor divorced in 1152. Aquitaine was included again when Eleanor remarried, this time to Henry Plantagenet, the Duke of Normandy and future king of England at that era. However, dowries were not just European thing either, they were used in one form or another across the world including Africa. But someone may ask what is dowry?
Dowry is set of assets (money, material goods, real estate) that a bride’s family gifts to a groom when the two are wed. It is the payment of a woman’s inheritance at the time of her marriage either to her or to her husband (Haviland, 1990). In many Eurasian societies in which the economy is based on intensive agriculture, women often bring a dowry with them at marriage.
In effect, a dowry is a woman’s share of parental property which, instead of passing to her upon her parent’s death, is distributed to her at the time of her marriage. This is not to say that, she retains control of his property after marriage; under traditional law, for example, a woman’s property falls exclusively under the control of her husband. However, after the husband has benefited by what she has brought to the marriage, he is obligated to look out for the future well-being, even after his death.
Purpose of the Dowry System
The function of a dowry is to ensure a woman’s support in widowhood (or after divorce), an important consideration in a society where men carry out the bulk of productive work and women are valued for their reproductive potential but not for the work they do. In such societies, women incapable of bearing children are especially vulnerable, but the dowry they bring with them at marriage helps protect them against desertion.
Another function of dowry is to reflect the economic status of the woman in societies where differences in economic status are important. Thus, the property that a woman brings with her at marriage demonstrate that the man is marrying a woman whose standing is on a par with his own.
What the Qur’an and the Bible say about the Dowry system
Dowries are mentioned in the Qur’an and they are considered an important marriage custom in ancient China. Dowries are emphasized in the Qur’an because parents where the sole initiators of marriage to fulfill the performance of polygamous system of marriage. For when families and close friends marry within themselves the riches and wealth of the family do not go out of the territory of successors. Nevertheless, in the Bible the paying of dowry is highlighted in Exodus 22:16-17.
It states that, “if a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride price for her and make her his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him he shall pay money equal to the bride price for virgins “. This quotation shows how the payment of dowry was applied to marriage. It holds for the purposeful act of genuine and intimate relationship pervaded with love as the peak and not self-gain or self-centeredness.
Dowry system and Marriage in Modern Dagaaba Community
Paying dowry was a common feature of traditional Dagaaba community since marriages were more like business arrangements between families and avenues for enrichment. The richer the bride’s family the larger the dowry, and the larger the dowry the better the chance of marrying well. Among the Dagaaba people, the dowry included huge acres of plots, animals and other material goods which were gifts to the bride by her parents most especially by the fathers.
Gifts like these where significant and symbolic because females were not considered as members of the patrilineal system. But one can say, they were special visitors from the divine so their departure must be looked with caution. However, she is still their daughter, but she is not entitled to anything in the family apart from her status as a daughter.
So, this dowry system was somehow a way of support to their daughter to settle down with her husband and help her establish herself outside her biological home.
But this time’s parents do not have such wealth and riches to display as in the past, so the payment of dowry is not encouraging at all. On the one hand, women have also realized that some men marry them because they want to enrich themselves, and not for love. The dignity of marriage has declined paving way for exploitation and oppression of women whom come to marriage with their dowries.
Moreover, the dowry system is not applicable anymore in most part of the land because couples of the modern day society often marry out of romance and love. Marriage, which is out of romance and love, the payment of dowries loses it sense. Because the individuals have embraced the marriage life out of love. In addition, marriage in ancient days were arranged between parents of both families which led to the corruption of dowry system. But in these modern times individuals make their own arrangement base on their strength and capabilities.
Again, due to enlightenment women have awaken from their slumber demanding a change in situation, where now the concept of dowry is being replaced with bride price or bride wealth. Bride wealth is the property transferred to the parents or the family of the bride. This may be a piecemeal transfer of transfers made in installments that is, spread over a time rather than by one bulk transfer.
The transfer maybe initiated prior to the marriage, sometimes before the birth of the bride, or maybe after the consummation of the marriage. The bride wealth is a token, a symbol of gratitude to the bride’s family for taken care of the bride. An expression of appreciation and compensation and not a sale out.
The passing of the human rights law has also empowered both educated and illiterate in the Dagaaba land to stand up against treatment they feel is a hindrance to their human life and dignity. This law has made women realize that men and women are equal and by the establishment of PNDC law 111 of the Ghanaian constitution which advocate for the living of will, women are of the view that parent’s property can be willed to them despite the traditional background.
Nonetheless, this law makes families realize that blood is thicker than water and that the sacredness of human person is valued over mere family lineages.
Why the Strong Advocate for the Abolishment of the Dowry System
The dowry system can impact great financial burden on the bride’s family. In some cases, the dowry system leads to domestic violence against women. The dowries some women carry to marriage sometimes scare away young men, since they think their resources does not match with the woman’s status.
Also, women have protested to the highest level with evidence that the payment of dowries is a system of exploitation and oppression of women which is leading to high rate of depression in the country. Most women are deeply depressed due to the payment of dowries, but they are indoors, very match afraid to voice out because their husbands have become demigods of worship for them day and night.
Summary and Conclusion
Dowry is a gift given to daughter from parents. If parents give more dowry to their daughter, their daughter is more secure than those parents who cannot give their daughter dowry. It is also seen that bride wealth or price is preferred to dowry in the modern Ghanaian society. Is it that the purposeful nature of the payment of dowries have been overlooked or it is causing more harm than good to women and society at large? Bride wealth is understood as a token given to the bride’s family to show his appreciation and to compensate the parents for the proper treatment giving to the bride. But most people are saying both are exchange payments which the government must ban because they are creating family disputes in society. Some thinkers are also of the view that marriage is an agreement between individuals who have come together as a result of romance and love, so they should be allowed to live on their own for majority is part of marriage.
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Nehal, A. (1997). Dowry among muslims in bihar:economics and political weekly.
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# Sylvester Yuokaah
The Change Concept Of Dowry And Marriage In Modern Ghanaian Society By Sylvester Yuokaah