Book

Bridewealth, women, and land: social change among the Gusii of Kenya

[Uppsala University] ; Distributed by Almqvist & Wiksell InternationalUppsalaPublished In 1988 • Pages: 237

By: Håkansson, Thomas.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document examines the persistence of bridewealth among the Gusii people of southwestern Kenya. The focus of the work is on the various factors which have affected the norms and actions connected with bridewealth transactions. This entails a study of the integration of bridewealth into: 1. The market economy; 2. The new, altered aspects of social organization; and 3. The legal and administrative apparatus of colonial and modern Kenya. The role of bridewealth vis-a-vis change is examined with respect to family organization, property relations and social interaction between people connected through such transactions. In contrast to the usually male-centered studies of bridewealth exchanges, the relationship between bridewealth and women's statuses and role, especially pertaining to property, is explored (p. 13).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Sociocultural trends
Real property
Labor supply and employment
Gender status
Mode of marriage
Arranging a marriage
Nuptials
Household
Family relationships
Polygamy
Lineages
Clans
Judicial authority
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Gusii
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Eastern Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 2005
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1982-1983, 1985
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1900-1985
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Kisi District, southwestern Kenya
NotesAdditional notes
Thomas Håkansson
'Printed editon of a doctoral dissertation presented to the faculty of arts, Uppsala University, 1987'--Verso of t.p.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 228-233) and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
91140502
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Gusii (African people)