Browsing by Author "Douglaus, Rwambale"

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    The unresolved question on the payment of bride price in Uganda
    (Kampala international international: School Of Law, 2013-07) Douglaus, Rwambale
    Historically, gift exchange has been an important integral part of marriage rites and ceremonies in African culture. It involves exchange of materials or money from the man's to the woman's household, but practices differ between communities. In most, it is men folk who participate in discussions that determine what, how much and how such a payment is made. The payment of bride price is a common practice in African countries, whereby material goods or money are paid by a groom to a bride's family upon their marriage, bride-price operated beneficially in the past to give formal recognition to marriages and to stabilize partnerships. It can take the form of a sum of money, land, livestock or other assets given to the family of a bride in some cultures it is also referred to as bride wealth. The tradition of a bride price was common in many cultures, including early Biblical societies, and it continues to endure in some nations around the world, including Uganda, often in a token form. The tradition of a bride price might seem archaic to some people, while others believe that it served and continues to serve some valuable functions in the cultures where the tradition is used. In the first place, it associates value with women and brides by forcing grooms and their families to give something up to marry a desired woman. In some cultures, the bride price was also intended to compensate for the loss of a valuable female worker around the house. In addition, establishing a bride price may be an important part of religious expression and traditional marriage negotiations.