Dowry is a social evil that is deeply rooted in our society. The dowry system is one such custom that stubbornly resists change and is quite prevalent across the globe.
In dowry, the groom’s side generally asks for money, properties, vehicles, and gold jewelleries in exchange of marriage. However, have you heard of snakes, Facebook likes, and gifting a full town being given as dowry?
According to a Dainik Bhaskar report below are some of the most extravagant and weird things that have been given as dowry in India and other parts of the globe:
1. The city of Bombay
Yes, you read that right. In the 16th century, the whole city of Bombay (now Mumbai) was given as dowry to the English monarchy. Portuguese who had control over Bombay had given it in dowry to Princess Catherine of the house of Braganza when she married England’s Tudor monarch – Charles II in 1661.
2. Hong Kong billionaire offered Rs 530 crore to marry his lesbian daughter
Shipping magnate and property developer Cecil Chao Sze-tsung made global headlines in September 2012 when he offered around Rs 530 crore to any man who could persuade his lesbian daughter Gigi to marry him. However, by then, Gigi had already entered into a civil partnership with her female partner of almost nine years, Sean Eav.
3. Facebook likes as dowry
In 2013, a man in Yemen reportedly asked his future son-in-law for a million Facebook "likes", instead of money, as dowry for his daughter's hand in marriage.
According to a BBC report, the father, Salem Ayash, a poet from the city of Taiz, asked his daughter's husband-to-be to gather one million Facebook likes for his profile on social media. While it may seem as an easy task, it was not an easy target to achieve in a country of just 25 million and where Internet use was limited during those days.
4. Poisonous Snakes given as dowry to groom
In Vadinagar village in India’s Gujarat, the bride’s family has a tradition to give snakes to their son-in-law in marriage. The reason why the bride’s father gives a snake as a dowry to his son-in-law is that he can earn money through these snakes and feed the family.
5. Dowry given to bride’s family
While generally the groom’s family demands dowry, Madhya Pradesh’s Bhil tribe and Rajasthan‘s Maru Nomadic tribes give the bride’s family dowry for marriage.
Notably, in India, dowry has its roots from the medieval times when it was considered as ‘Stree Dhan’- a gift in cash or kind that was given to a bride by her family to maintain her independence after marriage.
Even though the dowry system has been termed illegal in India since 1961, it is still prevalent.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, around 10366 cases of dowry were reported in 2020 and 6966 dowry death were registered.
More often, dowry gets reported only when the demands of the groom side go beyond what the bride’s family can afford or when a bride is physically abused or, sometimes, even gets murdered.