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Resumo

Three shortcomings of previous studies of African bridewealth and its relation to the status of African women are: they are based on a limited number of societies, they usually consider bridewealth mainly in terms of the interests of the male members of African societies, and they are essentially etic models that cannot adequately account for many important features of bridewealth payment. These inadequacies have led to conflicting results and ungeneralizable conclusions. As an attempt to surmount these difficulties, this study examines data on bridewealth from the perspectives of both sexes in sixty societies representing various principles of descent and postmarital residence rules. The study finds little evidence to support previous conclusions about the functions of bridewealth and women's status in Africa. It suggests that the one function of bridewealth common to African societies is the legitimation of marriage, a function that enhances rather than diminishes the status of women in the African context.

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