The same wedding idea in 15 places, grouped by region. Each entry is a short portrait; follow the link for the full tradition.
Dowry (dahej) has been prohibited since the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, and later laws added penalties for cruelty linked to dowry demands. Gifts at weddings remain common across communities, and campaigners and many couples now reject demands for them, especially cash and consumer goods.
Read: Dowry system in IndiaDowry (joutuk) is illegal under the Dowry Prohibition Act, yet widely reported, and violence linked to dowry demands is a recognised harm. Many families and NGOs now run awareness campaigns, and the bride's mahr is set in the nikah contract.
Read: DowryMuslim Indonesian couples give a mahr, often a set of prayer items or a small sum, named in the marriage contract. Many ethnic groups add their own gifts: among the Batak, the groom's family brings the sinamot, a negotiated bride gift, and receives ulos cloth in return.
Mahr, being writtenBefore the wedding the groom's family makes the pamanhikan visit to ask the bride's parents for her hand and settle plans. In the ceremony a groom hands his bride the arras, thirteen coins, as a pledge to provide for the household.
Marriage and wedding customs in the Philippines, being writtenFamilies traditionally exchange betrothal gifts, caili, and the bride's side returns part as a dowry or gifts. The amounts have become a social pressure in some provinces, and local governments have urged moderation.
Read: Bride priceThe kalym, historically paid in livestock, is now formally outlawed, but gifts such as the tuyak (a ritual presentation of livestock and cloth) continue in softer forms. Many families describe it as a symbolic sharing rather than a payment.
Kalym, being writtenThe groom owes the bride a mahr, specified in the marriage contract, and it is hers alone. Some families set it as a sum, others as jewellery or a deferred amount, and there are public campaigns for moderate sums so that young men can marry.
Mahr, being writtenThe ketubah, the Jewish marriage contract, records the husband's obligations to his wife, including a sum payable if the marriage ends. It is signed by witnesses and read under the chuppah, and many couples keep it framed at home.
Read: KetubahThe groom's side gives shabka, jewellery presented to the bride at the engagement, and the contract sets a mahr in two parts, one at the wedding and one deferred. Setting up the home is split, with the groom usually responsible for the flat and the bride's family for the furnishings.
Mahr, being writtenLobola is negotiated between the two families by their representatives, traditionally in cattle, now often in cash, and many couples say it is a way to honour their elders. Critics debate whether it commodifies women, while supporters see it as binding the families together.
Lobola, being writtenAmong the Baganda and others, the introduction ceremony (kuhingira, or kwanjula) includes presenting gifts and bridewealth to the bride's family before the wedding. Debate continues, and a 2010 court ruling concerned whether refunding bride price on divorce was constitutional.
Read: Bride priceThe dowry, the proika, was long the central economic act of a Greek marriage and was legally abolished in family-law reforms in 1983. Today the custom survives mostly as help given to a couple, such as a house.
Read: DowryThe lazo and the thirteen arras coins are given by the groom to the bride in a Catholic ceremony as a promise to support her. The padrinos often pay for part of the wedding and gifts such as the arras and the lazo.
Wedding, being writtenIn Andean communities, couples may live together on a trial basis, called sirvinakuy, before the wedding, and gifts travel between the two families. Elders offer advice and the community acknowledges the marriage in stages.
Sirvinakuy, being writtenIn many highlands communities, bride price is paid in pigs, shell valuables and money, and the exchange takes days to prepare. Churches and women's groups debate its inflation, and laws recognise it in custom while seeking to prevent abuse.
Read: Bride priceWritten by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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