Bride price
Gifts or payments from the groom or his family to the bride's family, a practice in many cultures with a contested meaning.
Also: bridewealth, bride wealth
Bride price, or bridewealth, is a transfer of goods, livestock or money from the groom's side to the bride's, found among many peoples of Africa, Asia, Oceania and elsewhere. Those who keep it often describe it as thanks to the bride's family and a bond between kin groups, as with lobola, ruracio and the Hmong practice, while critics say that it can make a woman seem like property and may trap her in a marriage. Its legal status differs by country: some have banned or limited it, and some recognise it in customary law. Where it fuels early or forced marriage, it is a human-rights concern.