‘On a nos mots à dire’: Kanak Women's Experience of Bridewealth in Lifou

Abstract

Bridewealth in Lifou cannot be discussed on its own; rather it should be considered within the plurality of ceremonial acts which are needed to legitimize a marriage as customary. What do these transactions mean? Where does women's agency lie? Through a longitudinal analysis of ethnographic materials from my fieldwork in Lifou, Loyalty Islands, I consider how Kanak women are engaged in and perceive these ceremonial and cultural processes through a declared women's perspective that highlights their ability to make autonomous choices in an open ended historical context. I argue that it is a case of 'positive agency'. I emphasize that local categories (june hmala and wenehleng) which define specific moments in this process can be subsumed under the anthropological term 'bridewealth'. Further, I examine the meaning of money in bridewealth and the fact that the monetary contribution keeps increasing, raising local concerns about the need to regulate the amount circulating in marriage exchanges and its dispersion. Furthermore in Lifou there is no indication that the assembling of the bridewealth by the grooms implies a commoditization and (later) exploitation of women.

Does bride price harm women? Using ethnography to think about causality

“…Traditionally, bride price compensates the bride's family for raising and now losing her to marriage, alleviating their sadness and honouring the subsistence labour and fertility she will bring to the husband's family, which allow them to continue their lineage (Strathern & Strathern, 1969;Feil, 1981;Clark, 1991;Marksbury, 1993;Wardlow, 2002;Buchanan-Aruwafu et al, 2003;Guo, 2020;Henry & Vávrová, 2020;Servy, 2020). Through marriage, the wife strengthens ties between families and assumes a central role in social reproduction, and so her status and agency increase once married (Paini, 2020). While researchers have argued that high bride prices can fuel abusive entitlement dynamics and trap women in troubled marriages (see Section 1.a), they have also argued that they improve the woman's status among her in-laws (Köngäs Maranda, 1974;Henry & Vávrová, 2020).…”

“…Either way, many women want to marry with bride price (Goddard, 2010;Neuendorf, 2020;Paini, 2020), and case studies suggest that breaking with established customs creates its own risks. In many S2, SI.…”

“…In the Solomon Islands, the mother of the bride receives shell money to thank her for bearing, breastfeeding and raising her daughter (Goto, 1996;Dureau, 1998;Guo, 2014aGuo, , b, 2020. In the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia, the groom's side presents an engagement gift to the bride and her parents to thank them for accepting the proposal (Faugère, 2000(Faugère, , 2002Paini, 2020). At the wedding, the groom's family presents additional gifts to the bride's parents (Paini & Gallo, 2018;Paini, 2020).…”

“…Young people could also make advances, find partners at courtship parties, initiate engagements or veto matches proposed by their parents (Strathern & Strathern, 1969;Köngäs Maranda, 1974;Jorgensen, 1993;Pflanz-Cook, 1993;Wardlow, 2006a;Neuendorf, 2020). However, sometimes they were pressured (or forced) to abandon their wishes and accept a partner chosen for them (Jorgensen, 1993;Pflanz-Cook, 1993;Salomon, 2000;Salomon & Hamelin, 2008;Paini, 2020).…”

“…Either way, many women want to marry with bride price (Goddard, 2010; Neuendorf, 2020; Paini, 2020), and case studies suggest that breaking with established customs creates its own risks. In many areas of Papua New Guinea, the bride's kin have traditionally received bride price in a formal ceremony (Goddard, 2010).…”