The three part series article on ‘Dowry system’ in
various countries across the globe covering India with crime, deaths and related
laws in the first part followed by position and effect in the neighbouring
countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, China, Nepal and Pakistan in the
second part and furthermore how the system runs in Ancient Rome, Europe,
Greece, Gulf, Japan, Mexico, New France, North America, South America Brazil, United
States and Vietnam in third and concluding part.
Ancient
Rome
A gift from
bridegroom to the bride on account of marriage, i.e., Dowry is called ‘donatio
propter nuptias’. Originally, it was called 'donatio ante nuptias' but once the
practice has been legally allowed it
increased the donatio after marriage and even to constitute it altogether after
marriage, the more comprehensive term 'donatio propter nuptias' was used.
In many ways, it is
analogous to ‘Mahr’ the Islamic marriage gift (or legally binding promise of
future payment) from the man to the woman at the time of the marriage. However,
the opinion of modern jurists are widely divided on the notions, purpose, and law
of the ‘donatio propter nuptias’
Europe
Early modern era
too witnessed the practice of Dowry in Europe. Some prominent established practices
used to result damages for any refusal or failure to provide the customary or
agreed-upon dowry and would finally mean to call off the marriage in England.
The competition between the step-mother/daughter for resources includes the
need to provide dowry usually interpreted by the folklorists in the French folk
tale Cinderella. A common punishment to the abductor or rapist for kidnapping
or rape of an unmarried woman generally was to provide the victim, woman with
dowry which used to be called the wreath money, or the breach of promise till
the 20th century. To provide dowries for poor women was treated as a form of
charity by wealthier parishioners.
Some parts of
Europe, especially Eastern one, had common practice of land dowries. The
parents in County of Bentheim, having no
sons used to give a land in dowry to their son-in-law on the promise subject to
a condition that he takes the surname of his bride, in order to continue the
family name. The vast inheritances were standard as dowries for aristocratic
and royal brides in Europe during the Middle Ages. The Portuguese crown gave
two cities as dowry to the British Crown in 1661 when King Charles II of
England, Scotland and Ireland married Catherine of Braganza, princess of
Portugal.
In fact, the Dowries
were considered as early payment of daughter's inheritance by the upper class,
in Victorian England. The daughters who did not receive their dowries used to
be entitled to part of the estate when their parents died and on death of a
couple without children means that the bride’s dowry would return to her
parental family. The nuns too, in some cases on joining convents were required
to bring the dowry and sometimes, such as Ancient Régime France, convents also used
by some parents and present less attractive daughters, to ensure larger
dowries for elder daughters for
marriage.
Greece
The Dowry system is
on fast track. The marriages earlier were on formal contract or Dowry which
increased manifold. It was 16.8 per cent in 1957 which increased to 24.8 per
cent in 1974 for obvious reasons of being tax free up to a limited target and
beyond that the dowry given to a daughter attracted half as much tax as on
inheritance or other gifts.
GULF
The gulf countries
have almost a different scenario as the big dowries are demanded by the bride’s
family including the cost of the wedding party, clothes, jewellery and other
gifts which forms the part of the gulf traditions. Besides, the banquet feast
with sheep in abundance are served along with bagful of rice and other dishes
and heavy expensive gifts in the form of clothes, perfumes and jewellery for
the bride are given by the groom’s side.
Japan
Mostly, about 8
lakh weddings take place annually in Japan with 60 to 70 percent of couples prefer
the Christian-style which has gained popularity very fast. Another form of
popular wedding style is called 'non-religious' or 'civil', which again is
modeled on the western style but without religious connotations.
Mexico
The custom of
Dowry, an imported phenomena, has been brought over here by the Spanish
colonists. The laws offer bride the right to control her dowry after marriage
which is opposite to usual European practice of surrendering it to the groom
and his family. Though, women control their dowry after marriage and either of
them, husband or wife could utilize the funds out it to invest for children or the
mutual benefits. Dowry, a common custom earlier during colonial period but were
passed out of use by the mid-18th century. By that time, less wealthy daughters
were often marrying without any dowry.
New
France
The
French government’s granted dowries to women willing to travel to the colony at
Quebec to encourage marriage of male soldiers and traders in New France. On
doing so, the brides were titled or known as ‘filles du roi’ (daughters of the
king). As in Europe, the Convents in Quebec, required a dowry from the parents
of girls, aspiring nuns, similar to the dowry expected in the marriages of
upper class brides intending to maintain some control over the new members of
religious communities.
North
America
The worldwide study of indigenous
cultures finds about 6 percent of North Americans practice reciprocal exchange
which involves giving of gifts between the families of bride and groom. The
tribes of the American Plains, a combination of ‘dower’ and dowry was largely
in practice where groom gave a gift to the bride's parents and in return would
get a gift from bride’s side. The exchange was the reciprocal one.
South
America Brazil
United
States
The colonists
custom of dowry was brought to the United States from England and elsewhere in
Europe. A legend explains, John Hull, Master of the Mint in Boston and a
wealthy man, gave dowry to his daughter, Hannah's in the marriage with Samuel
Sewall by weighing the 18-year-old Hannah, the daughter on one side of the
large scales in his warehouse and piled shillings into the other side of the scale
until the scale reached her weight in silver, and that was her dowry to marry
Samuel Sewall.
The Native American
tribes had dowry system as found in the marriage of Virginia settler John to
Pocahontas who brought dowry in the marriage which included a large amount of
land. During the 19th century Industrialists, with large amounts of inherit
money and property gave dowry to their daughters to marry European aristocrats,
who held a title but little wealth and subsequently this mutual exchange of title
and wealth upgraded the status of both, the bride and groom.
Vietnam
The custom of dowry
payments dates back to the 15th century. Earlier, the custom of dower or bride
price was well in practice which survived in South Vietnam till the 17th
century. Dowry was exclusively under the bride’s control being treated as her
wealth. Sometimes, the bride's parents were given the dowry, and they used to
give part of it to the bride as dowry. The practice reflected relatively a high
status of women and enabled them to have a certain degree of independence which
later received wide condemnation by the Christian missionaries being considered
as wife-buying.
According to
Portuguese law, the estate, other than received as dowry used to be divided
among children. The married daughters getting big dowries used to refuse any
further inheritance after the death of their father during the early colonial
period which gradually became smaller and custom vanished slowly by 18th
century
With the growing
parental control over marriages there have been instances when a daughter had
to marry without a dowry and whereas the sisters used to be given dowries.
Dowries begin to comprise of land, a house in the city, gold, cash, gold bars,
tools and machinery, cattle, or horses. The economic dynamics of marriage
changed in 19th century which explains that economic changes brought more material
to the marriages.
The
world has drastically changed all over and people continue universally with the
age old Dowry, till date. In fact, all countries globally should go for a
universal convention in this context and initiate necessary measures for
abolition of the Dowry. Every sane mind is against and it is the ordinary temptations
for artificial growth and development that one gets tempted to extract the
maximum even through inhuman means. Time has come to stop this practice. Today,
we have international organizations and conventions across the world on Human
Rights, Environment, Terrorism etc. We are, therefore, well in time to take
necessary corrective measures to get rid of this evil.
excellent write up.
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