New Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Marriage Transactions

Abstract

This article refines and extends previous cross-cultural research on marriage transactions (e.g., bride wealth, dowry). The authors begin by expanding the standard cross-cultural typology of marriage transactions. They identify six additional kinds of transactions (e.g., groom wealth, groom service) and show that many societies of the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) probability sample have two or more types of transactions. Next, the authors take a Darwinian approach to marriage transactions. Differences in male and female reproductive strategies account for the general pattern of the bride’s family materially benefitting from marriage at the expense of the groom’s family. Kin selection theory explains why wealth devolves from the parents of the couple to the bride and groom. Finally, the authors examine evidence that the type of kin relied on by members of a society and the prevalence of polygyny also influence marriage transactions in predictable ways.