₦airaland Forum

Bahamas95:
Thanks for the enlightenment.


But do you know this paragraph below is somehow confusing. @ OP


"Note that Dowry is not wedding gifts given to the couple. These are gifts for the two of them"

Wedding gifts are for the couple to share.

A dowry most times is for the bride alone and remains her own even in a divorce.

pocohantas:
They give clothes too, but since it is mostly wrappers and lace which young girls in this generation are not hyped about, more emphasis is on the kitchen wares and baby things.

We should go back to more financial things like land, shares, jewelry etc.

It can help solve the wife's financial needs but then we start having issues of dowry theft which sometimes is perpetrated by the husband himself

Ishilove:
The error is so common, it is almost now widely accepted as meaning the same.

Yes. My problem is that if we continue to do this, the practice if dowry will die and end or be limited to pots and pans.

But dowries are a financial bank for the wife against an abusive or irresponsible husband.

It also helps in cases of widows as they already have property to care for them.

Magnetic010:
Southern Nigerian girls and their families will close their ears to this.....If they had their way both bride price and dowry would be paid to the bride's family and the man should be so thankful they even allowed him marry their angelic virgin of a daughter.

The Practice of dowry is also done in southern Nigeria.
Lots of women give their daughters gifts as present when she gets married

pocohantas:
I always thought dowry is what is paid for the groom, as in India. But going by your explanation - dowry in my ppace is what we call IDU ULO.

This is a misconception. Giving the man money by the family of the bride happens because in the old days, people marry while very young and like Northern Nigeria where the bride's father gives the couple furniture etc, the bride's family gives the couple money and gifts to have a head start in life. Note that the groom's family also give to them as it is assumed that they are just starting out and don't have much.

This practice is not illegal in India though

I have heard Nigerians use "bride Price" and "Dowry" interchangeably and they seem to think they are the same. People just assume the bride price is the dowry or that they mean the same thing but this is a wrong assumption.

I knew this in Social Studies when I was in Primary 5 and it shocks me when people who I think went to school around the same time (not the current era where I don't understand the curriculum) make the same mistake. Perhaps people just think because they are both possessions and gifts exchanged around the time of a wedding they mean the same but nah. They are very distinct things.

So here is the major difference

A bride price is money or something of value (property) from a groom, or the groom's family, to the bride's family. So money from a groom or his family. A dowry is money or property brought by a bride to her husband when the marriage occurs. Typically the bride's money or property is from her family

From the definition above

1. Bride Price is given to the family of the bride by the groom and/or his family and this is mostly set by the Bride's Family.

2. Dowry is the property or money given to the bride by her family when she marries and she takes these things to her marital home.

In some cultures, Dowries cannot be sold by the couple as it is wealth that passes through only the female line so only the bride's daughter can inherit them. Thats why you see where some families have jewelry that their great grandmother used and a female descendant still wears it. It can even be shares of a company etc.

There has been cases in India and Northern Nigeria called "Dowry theft" in these cases, they grooms family (mostly committed by the groom's family) tries to convert the properties of the bride and steal them. I know India had to pass legislation against it. Sometimes, the husband himself tries to steal these possessions.

Note also that in a divorce, the husband cannot lay claim to the dowry as these are personal gifts and are mostly acquired before marriage so are outside the purview of shared items.

In Nigeria, dowries can include, Kitchenware, livestock, land, jewelry and in some parts of the north, the father actually buys furniture.

Note that Dowry is not wedding gifts given to the couple. These are gifts for the two of them.