Abstract
After distinguishing four types of marriage payments--dowry, dower, bridewealth, groomwealth--this paper attempts to discover the determinants of these various types. Based on an analysis and comparison of the Burmese "dower" and the Thai "bridewealth," it is suggested that, cross-culturally viewed, marriage payments are practiced in those societies in which the cost-benefit ratio of marriage to its main principals is unbalanced, and that the type of payment is determined by which of these principals--bride, groom, bride's family, groom's family--is the most disadvantaged. Depending on the material and social variables that comprise the actors' cost-benefit calculus, the marriage payment (so it is argued) is commanded by the wealth receiver(s) either (1) in exchange for the gain enjoyed by the wealth giver(s), (2) as protection against potential loss, (3) as compensation for actual loss.
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