The Marriage Squeeze and the Rise of Groomprice in India's Kerala State

Bibliographic Data

ID3012872
AuthorsMichaels Billig (Department of Anthropology and Asian Studies Program, Franklin and Marshal College, Lancaster, PA 17604-3003, U.S.A., corresponding author)
Year1992
Volume23
Issue2
Pages197-216
Publication date1992-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Comparative Family Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2328 • E-ISSN: 1929-9850
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/jcfs.23.2.197
OpenAlexW174536425
LanguageEN
Citations received35
References cited4

There has been a widespread shift toward the giving of groomprice (as distinct from dowry) in Kerala over the past two decades. It is argued here that Sanskritiza-tion, of seeking social advancement through the emulation of high-caste practices, has been only a minor factor in causing this shift. The most important proximate cause has been change in the Keralan marriage market effected by both demographic and sociocultural developments. The rapid population growth of the 1950's and '60's led to a shortage of available grooms of appropriate age. The largescale acceptance of the importance of individual achieved status led to a shortage of grooms by educational and employment criteria. Giving and accepting groomprice has been a predictable response to these changing market forces. In the cultural context of Kerala, the shift to groomprice will probably not cause the type of anti-female practices characteristic of north India

Caste · Context (archaeology) · Demographic economics · Development economics · Dowry · Economic growth · Economic shortage · Economics · Geography · Political science · Population · Population growth · Sociocultural evolution · Socioeconomics · Sociology · State (computer science) · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Law · Social and Economic Development in India

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