AFRICANEWS

Ghana

Bride price reduced in Ghana

Culture

Marriage in some traditional communities is an expensive undertaking. With the reduction of bride price, many aspiring young men can now afford it.

Many young men who hitherto shied away from marriage because of the outrageous bride prices demanded by parents can now afford to marry.

This follows the decision of the Chiefs and the people of Nandom Traditional Area in the Upper West Region of Ghana to slash the bride price. The Dagaabas, the main residents of the area, reduced the dowry of four cows and 13000 cowries to two cows which may be paid by installment during the couples' life time, while the 13,000 cowries have been converted to 27000 cedis for young girls and 30000 cedis for mature girls.

Cowries are whitish shell-like animals which were used as a medium of exchange in ancient Ghana and also had cultural significance to the people. The decision to convert them into cedis could be because the tiny animals are extinct and hard to find. A medium size cow costs 150,000 cedis. A man therefore needed 620000 cedis to purchase four cows if his father does not have some.

The minimum age for marriage on the statutory books is 18, but in many communities girls as young as 13 are given away for marriage. Now because of the expenses involved women as old as 30 are still waiting for their turn.

Naa Poure Poubi Chiir, Paramount Chief of the area attributed the review to the scarcity of cowries and the inability of men to pay the four cows on the spot before marriage. "This expensive dowry has made our ladies to become prostitutes because nobody can afford to marry them," the chief said..

Despite this move by the people of Nandom, many communities in the country still charge expensive dowry before they give away their daughters. Some Christian churches demand nothing short of an expensive wedding before they recognise the marriage as legal. It takes an average of four million cedis to carry out a wedding.

Lists of items usually demanded by Churches and parents include, six pieces of Dutch wax, a suit case, a sewing machine and clothes among other items .

An official of the National Commission on Culture, Mr Charles Dukpe agrees that more educational campaigns would have to be carried out to convince more communities to review their marriage laws.

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