The brand new fee away from bridewealth uses up an essential status on matrimony techniques round the ethnicities in north Ghana, in addition to Dagaaba, Frafra and you may Builsa nations. Among Dagaaba, the latest bridewealth, kyeuri, mostly constitutes instance products once the libi-pe?le (cowrie shells, look for Figure step 1), fowls, cigarette smoking and you will soda wild. In many cases, the amount of cowrie shells need to be commensurate with that which are covered the newest bride’s mom. In other period, securities regarding solidarity between the parents or settlements of the fiance and groom trigger a decrease in brand new percentage, and when the newest bride’s agnatic kin determine one previously the fresh groom’s household members billed a top brideprice getting a wedding, he’s going to along with require an excessive percentage. Nonetheless, there are even standardized relationship costs along side Dagaaba setup. At this time, an average of 2000 cowries, or cash comparable, are often recognized once the bridewealth inside the Serekpere and its particular environments. It count means good grave cures out of an amount of 20,000 and you may more than cowries which had been approved in Venezuelan postimyynti morsian the same city throughout the 1990’s. For the perspective from neoliberal economic procedures, and you will dwindling farming productivity membership within this delicate environment region, all of our telecommunications that have gatekeepers revealed that the fresh cutback towards count out of cowries is meant to make matrimony sensible. That it losing brand new bridewealth diverges throughout the really commercialised costs reported in urban areas for the Ghana and you may somewhere else (Shope, Resource Shope 2006; Posel & Rudwick, Site Posel and Rudwick 2013). Significantly, the fresh new commission is not contingent upon the latest things of your own bride-to-be, that is, whether or not the bride-to-be is highly knowledgeable, divorced, has recently considering birth or otherwise not because the reported somewhere else (Borgerhoff Mulder, Reference Borgerhoff Mulder 1989, Reference Borgerhoff Mulder 1995; Anderson, Reference Anderson 2007). The newest traditional norms ruling the technique of bridewealth are ready out in the event that flexible no matter what this new bride’s socio-monetary updates or perhaps the level of liberties transferred.

The previous as well as begs on the part of the new groom’s kinsmen when the the fresh new bride’s household members need so you’re able to costs an expensive brideprice

Typically, a marriage liaison was a man on groom’s village which has many connections on bride’s payment. The new dendeo guides the new groom’s nearest and dearest with the bride’s agnatic kin, earliest so you can formally inquire about their own hand in relationships also to afford the brideprice. The latest relations of your own dendeo with the bride’s friends imply that the latter is actually considerate to your groom with his kin. Due to the fact bridewealth could have been transferred to and you may recognized because of the bride’s kin, the wedding connection is formed and you can legitimated.

The new bridewealth one of many Dagaaba, just like the around the communities in the rural northern Ghana, is actually a complicated procedure for negotiations between the agnatic kin regarding brand new groom and bride and you can, usually, a 3rd party, named a dendeo, a wedding liaison

Normatively, the fresh yirdandoo, the head of your nearest and dearest, instead of the dad of your bride-to-be, is the caretaker of cowries delivered since the marriage repayments. During the a group discussion from inside the Nator, close Serekpere, exhibiting the fresh role of your own lead of clan, Mwinyella, a research participant, told me, leading so you’re able to his paternal sibling who is your head out-of their clan, that: ‘which people is actually my dad and so while i marry they could well be their obligation so you can [spend the money for bridewealth] to own me’. But really, getting families without info designated because bridewealth, new groom and his awesome agnatic kin are responsible for elevating they. Anderson ( Resource Anderson 2007: 159) account you to in the setup across Africa, the marriage commission try normatively raised of the groom’s ‘dad, parent and you can father’s brothers, with mother’s brothers and make brief contributions’. It differs, to some degree, regarding the Dagaaba account exhibited here. But really it resonates having bridewealth strategies certainly specific Frafra congeries, in which normatively the groom’s father and you will father’s brothers have the effect of make payment on bridewealth and you will where he could be struggling to increase they the fresh new groom converts in order to his father’s or mother’s brothers to possess support.