Soc ioeconomic Stratif ication

Reprinted from ;

and Marriage Palments.

Social Changeand Applied Anthropology

Essays in Honor of David W. Brokensha

EDITED BY

Miriam S. Chaiken andAnne K. Fleuret

Copyriqht 1990 by Westview Press, fnc.

Westview PressBOULDER, SAN FRANCISCO, & OXFORD

IISocioeconomic Stratification

and Marriage Payments:Elite Marriage and Bridewealth

Among the Gusii of Kenya

Thomas Habansson

Socioeconomic differentiation in castern Africa is incrcasing and a stratumof wealthy elites is forming. Such clitcs command substantial cconomic andpolitical resources and have a tifestyle which culturally and socially scparatesthcm from rhe poor farming population. The clitc form a self perpeiuatingclass which protects its control over scarce rcsources and a privilcged lifestyti(cf. Brokensha 1987; Cohen l98l). In East Africa, as in other parts of theworld, marriage is part of elite strategies for cstablishing socill networksand alliances (cf Cohen l98l; Staudt 1987; Obbo 1987).

Cohen (1981) points out that clite members consciously srrive to formcorporate organizations or socioeconomic network which serve a numberof purposes; as channels for mutual support, as a mcans of excluding othcrsfrom privilege, and to promote ghe perpetuation of their high socioeconomicstatus for their children, I suggest that it is in this context that bridewealthhas attained new significance. First, bridcwealth serves as a means of cstab-lishing social and economic networks based on class rather than desccntgroups..Second, it is used by women and parents to arrange marriage tofinancially able men, thcreby maintaining social and ecorro-ic statu. of thewomen and their future children. The establishment of marriage in casternAfrica is dependent on payment ofbridewealth which, rather than disappcaring,is retaining its importance as an institution of central social and eio.,o.,licligiifi*-"-.! (cf- Ferraro 1976; Hakansson 1988; Parkin & Nyamwaya 1987;Parkin 1978; Schuster 1978).

There are few studies (ci Hakansson 1988; LaFontaine 1962; Weinreich1983) which pay attention to how the institution of bridewealth has changedin relation to increased social and economic strarification, and how it is uiedby the new clites. This paper presenrs a brief ourline of how the elite ofthe Gusii people in wesrern Kenya manage marriages aiming at esrablishing

t64

Socioeconomic Sttatiflaa.tion and Man iagc Paymcttt 165

favorable social connections and how the bridcwealth system contributes tothc pcrpetuation of socioeconomic status through generations.r

Stratification and Matriage Payments

The most influential theoretical framcwork relating marriagc paymcnrs tosociocconomic stratificarion and property control was fcrmulated by Goody(1973) and modifed by Schlegcl and Eloul (1988). Their approach may besummarized as follows: bridewealth in African societies is causally connectedto relative economic equality and thc absence of sociocconomic stratificarionbased on unequal access to the means of production. Most African societiesare patrilincal. Bridewealth sccures the affliation of children to their farher'slincage and gives the husbands rights in their wives' productive power. Insub-Saharan Africa, wherc land is plentiful and labor scarce, women carryout the ma.jority of labor. Acquisition of many wives enhances agriculturalproduction and the family's wealth. Wivcs also produce sons for the per,petuation of the patrilineage.

A potential husband's economic position is therefore not an importantfactor in choosing a spouse for a daughter. The future position of the womenand hcr children is depcndent on the labor input of their family. Inheritanceof wealth is usually only passed on to mcnr and concern livestock ratherthan land. Women obtain land and acccss to property through thcir husbandsor brothers.

An important aspect of bridcwealth, according to these aurhors, is tharwcalth (i.e. livestock in East Africa) is dispcrscd bctween families throughmarriage payments consuming most of the available herd (Goody 1973). Arich man has many wives and sons, hence his wcalth has to be dividcdbetwccn many inheritors. This precludes his wealth from being passed onintact to thc descending generation, The importancc of bridewealth is toaccumulate people and labor, while dispersing livestock bctween families (seealso Turton 1980).

According to Goody (1973), dowry is directly r€lated to bilatcral dcscentsystcms since property is passed on to both sexcs, as inheritance, aftcr theparents' death to sons, and as a dowry to daughters. In societies where landis scarce and held by an elite, it is important to limit the number of heirsand to cnsure that the children retain their social and economia status.Dowry occurs in societies whcre containment of wealth within the nuclearfarnily is cssential to its maintcnance of power and status (Schtcgel andEloul 1988:294). It becomes important to insure that childrcn marry spousesof equal or superior position. Womcn thercforc have to be endowed withproperty in order to attract men of similar status (Goody 1973,25;1976 L09\.

In agricultural societies where land is scarce and the plow is used,agricultural labor is mostly performed by men. Among the propcrty owningclass, wealth is produced through cxtracrion of rcnts and busincss profitiWomen's labor is peripheral to economic achievcment.

The existence of status differences based on property control has twoeffects; first, women inherit propcrty as dowry which they bring into marriage

166 Tbomcs Hakurrsson

in order to balance the economic claim they make on the husband's household.Second, dowry can also be used to estabiish marriages by families of lowerstatus to higher status families by endowing their daughtirs with substantialwcalth-

. According to this-theory the prescncc of dowry in a socicty is ultimatelydependent on the existence of thc socioeconomic stratification iased on landscarcity. lt-may thus be prcdicted rhat when socioeconomic conditions changefrom stratification based on age and scx to strati6cation based on sociocconomicclasses with uncqual access to productivc resources, marriage paymcnts shouldshift from bridewealth ro dowry. As I will shoq such

-a iredi.tion i" nor

bornc our in the case of the Gusii.A number ofassumptions contained in rhe modcl diminish its applicability

to current- bridewcalth patrerns and their relation to stratification- First, iiassumcs that women as brides have little indcpendent influencc on thcmarriage- systcm. fughts in women are primarily exchanged bctwccn men,Second, it views dowry and bridewealth- as funciionally s"imilar institutionsregulating marriage and transfcrring women bctwcen men. The modcl therebyovedooks a cruci.! difference; bridewealth in eastern Africa cstablishcs paternalafiliatior.of children while dowry docs not in itself, atrect afiliation. Third,the model also contains several functional argumcnts, which stress the levclingfunction of bridcwealth and thc conccntratiig cffect of dowry. It is not clcarwhether bridewealth exists because of its leieling effect or if that effect isreally causcd by some other mechanism.

Bridcwcalth and Stratificationin Eastcrn Africa

The current socioeconomic inequality found in Eastcrn Africa correspondto Schlcgcl's and Goody's defining ciiteria for cconomic srratification indowry paying societics. The modern elite among the Gusii, as well as inother easrern_ African societics, is of recent ori[in, and social status andprestige is achievcd through education, business-aciivities and oolitical in_volvemenr. The elite class is still rclatively open to social mobility, bur possesssubstantial wealrh in land, buildings, invistments and access to llrce amounrsof_cash..ln addition thcy are occuparionally, educarionally, and- culturallvdrtterentidred from the farming popularion.

According to Goody and Schleget, dowry rather than bridewealth isconnectcd with the preservation of srarus and marriage among wcalthy elites,however the available information suggests that elites ii eastern"Africa combinebridewealth with status marriages and elite endogamy.r A numbe. of studicsof urban elites havc noted that wealth and social ilass strongly affects parrnerchoice in urban situations (Gutkind 1974; Staudt 1986; Stiin't.. ilSAy. etit"mar,rfsf js _ofr1n 5l"lpj'ld br

19"1q,ic9"u1 weddings and the display ofwealth (cf. Little 1974; Parkin 1978; Weinreich I982)l

Marriage choice within elires depends not-only upon cconomic standingand educational achicvement, but also symbolic characteristics. In his stud!

Socioeconomic Stfiti|ic$tion d.nd Mdttioge PLli^ettt 167

of rhe Creole elite in Sierra Leone, Cohen (1981) points out that it is notjust political power, education and wealth which constitutc the elitc as a

group, but also a number of symbolic markers such as dress, marriage rules,and rituals. The Creole elite is a self-conscious group with roots in the l9thcentury and has evolvcd a number of speciGc cultural characteristics outsideeducation that are used as symbolic barriers to intermarriage.

Modern African clitcs are not interested in establishing kinship relationshipswith thc poor, but strive to accumulat€ and preserve propcrty and status(cf. LaFontaine 1962). Economic and political benefits are not developcdthrough local level patron-client relationships, as much as by obtainrnent ofpositions in the national level hierarchy, ownership of shares in capitalistenterprises, and employment and connections with persons of similar socio-cconornic status (cf. Staudt 1986).

A new system of marriage combining bridewealth with sociocconomicsrratificarion and status endogamy is emerging in many parts of Africa. Iwill attempt to explain how bridewealth is compatible with elite marriageamong the Gusii. The conclusions arrived at must at this stage of rescarch

remain tentative, and I do not make any claim of statistical validity for thcnumerical material, however I hope that it will contribute to the sparse

information on elite formation in East Africa in which bridewealth coDtinuesas part of the wealthy groups' status management.

Gusii Socicty

Social Otganization

The Gusii are Bantu speakcrs inhabiting a hilly highland area in westernKenya, 50 kilometers east of Lake Victoria. Their territory comprises presentday Kisii District which is one of the most productivc cash crop areas inKenya duc to the abundant rainfall and very fertile soils.

The population density was 395 persons per square kilometer in 1979(Republic of Kenya 1979). The population size is increasing by three tofour percent per ycar and is currently over one million. Thc extreme populationdensity has forced the Gusii to utilize every available piece of land foragriculture, and many families arc unable to produce enough food forsubsistcnce needs. Thus many Gusii engage in non-agricultural cmploymentor business, either in locally or in the large urban ccnters.

Traditionally land was held b1' corporatc clan groups comprised of pa-

trilineally related extended, polygynous houscholds. During the 1940s, pop-ulation increasc and cash cropping contributcd to the establishmcnt ofcnclosurc, and private ownership ofland formerly held by polygynous extcndedfamilies. Land was in turn distributed by a husband to each wife, whogained exclusive rights of use ro it in rclation to other wives. Each suchparcel became the inheritance of the sons of that particular wifc. Womencould not inherit any property in their own right.

168 Thomas Hzkatsnn

Socioeconomic Stratifcation

The profound economic and social changes of the last 50 ycars havc ledto the emergence of socioeconomic stratification as a framcwork for socialinteraction thar cross-cuts lineage ties. It is possible to discern thc formationofdifferent social groups based on economic and sociocultural characteristics.3

For the purpose of this study, I have made a tentativc division of Gusiisociety into five broad socioeconomic strata, bascd upon unequal ownershipof land and capital goods, and income ditrercntiation, as weli as diffcrenceiin education, employment status, and cultural yalues. These stratified classcshave emerged within the last generation. It must be stresscd that thcse donot

. form .discrete catcgories, e.g., it is not uncommon to find farming

familics with one or two children who havc skilted employment.Thesc strata are; a small elite of very wealthy, potiiically influential

individ-uals and familics; a group of wealthy farmers *ith long expericnccrn- ott-tarm employmenri young employed meo and womcn with a high levclof education and well-paying jobs; farmers with little education and acccssonly to unskilled employment; and single mothers living on rented landand horrsing who subsist on casual work and beer brcwing. The last twocomprise the maiority of the Gusii population.

The analysis of stratification must take into account sex as wcll as class.It, is grossly misleading to assume that women are included as depcndentsof their husbands and thcrcfore share the latters' sratus (Bujra 19g6; Oboler1985; Robertson and Berger 1986). Women of all social stiata usually fiorma_lower status caregory rhan men with little independent access to properry.With the exccption of womcn who harc skillcd imploymcnt, i.e., iequiringat least high school cducation, it is only men who conrrol rcsources in theiiown right. Thus, among the Gusii and othcr East African societies thc poorcsrstratum consists of womcn (cfl Robertson and Berger 1986; Hakansson1988; Swantz 1985, Udvardy 1988). Men also have a higher lcvcl ofeducationand krowledgc of how to act in modern Wcstcrn institutions. The cmcrgingmiddle class and elite include men halc dircct control over resources! womsnhave indirect access to these rcsourccs in their rolcs as wives.

This paper is conccrned with the elite and the wealrhy farmers. I willtherefore focus my descriprion of stratification on the characterization ofthese strata including young men and women with skiled emplovment.

Weqbbt Famters

. The

-patriarchs of the wealthy farmer strata are fifty to sixty year old mcn

who often are employed, or have in the past been employed as teachers,agricultural oficers, or clerks. This cnablcd them to buy land, to invest inbusinesses and to fnance in their childrens,education. This category includesboth families with rather modest economic resources and families whosemembers approach elite starus (cl K.itching 1980:310-Il).. Moderately wealthy families have four to 6ve hcctares of land, and a good

deal of incomc dcrived from oft'-farrn sources. They own a cemcnt plasieredmud house with a corrug;ated mctal roof, have a secondary school cducarion,

Socioecoromie Strotifcatiott and Mc.rtisge Pqt nents 169

and may also have one or two children at university. The children who havecompleted high school work as teachers or nurses, and, in rurn assist theirsiblings with school fees, clothes, and othcr expenditures.

The wealthier families have cement houses. They often own an old carand manage a small business. Land ownership may approach ten hecraresand the male heads of households have salaried employment such as, Iow-level civil servants. Their wives may also have low paying employmcnt, suchas cooks, cleaners at hospitals, and shop keepers. These families aspire togive their children universiry education and to estabtish relationships withother wealthy families. Their economic standard approaches the elite, andmany of their children havc become part of the "middle class" as civilservants and business employees in urban areas.

Tbc Elite

Today, the young adult members of the elite have high levels of education,skilled and often highly-paid employment. Their fathcrs, and possibly grand-fathers, received school educations, and were early Christian converts, Theyworked as clerks, teachers, and pasrors during thc colonial era. Many of thechiefs of the 1920s and 1930s followed rhe rraditional patrern of big menand acquired many wives. In contrast, the current elite had only one or twowives. They obtained land, financed their sons'educations and invested inbusinesses.

The majority of the elite live in the Borabu settlement schcme in theeastern part of rhe district (see Figure lI.I), apart from their natal clans,and the rest of the Gusii population. I define a family as etite if thcy owna stone or ccment house, at least one car, more than ten hectales of land(or if a polygynous household, at leasr ten hectares per wife), and wherethe father fulfills at least one of the following characteristics; ownership ofa hotel, shop, or transport company, or owning shares in a nation-widebusiness. In addition, male elite members occupy positions on the boardsof cooperatives and parastatal enterprises, and some are also involved innational and local politics.

Elite families invest in daughters'as well as in sons'cducation. Univcrsityeducation is common among younger women within this stratum. parentsconsider education as necessary in order to give their daughtcrs a means ofsupporting themselves and their children. Furthermore, parents also expectthat their daughters, with well paid employment, will attract men from theelite as husbands.

Cbanging Brid.eweabb qnd Ms.ftiege end Pertitting NormtDuring the 1940s, bridewealth paymenrs consisted of between eight and

twelve cows, which were transferred to the bride's father before the performanceof thc wedding ceremony, The parents wanted thcir daughter to get marriedas _young as possible, and to receive as much bridewcalth as possible, inorder to enable either her father or one of her brothers to get married by

t70 Tbomes Hahansson

//.. :r

Figure 11.1 - Location of Research Siles, Kisii, Kenya

in turn using her bridcwcalth. Therc was no culturally prescribed alternativeadult status open for a women other than to be a wife.

Jural norms which determine women's acccss to resources and the definitionof their social status have remained largely intact since the colonial perioci,when elopement unions wcre uncommon. As long as bridewealth is not paida woman has no rights in her partner's land and can be expelled at anytime without any recourse to adjudication or support fronr relatives.

Forty years ago, the husband gained rights iu a wife which were alsopart of his status as a husband. These u'cre scxual rights, rights to a wife'slabor capacity, and rights in children. Through bridewealth, the wife gaincdmanagerial and use rights in land, thc right of maintenance of herself andher children, and the right for her sons to become legal heirs to the land

Sociozconomic Stfitif.ation Ettd Ml/ri*fe l'dy"'ents

Table 11.1 - val"ue of Brideuealth and wouenrs Enploynent (a)

171

E'mplolm€nt Statu6 Average Bride-uealth (Ksha. )

Income perDonth (Kshs. )

Perlod

Enployed uithacadenic training (b)

Enployed eith highschool & vocationaltraining ( c)

Non-eioployed (d)

35, OOO 1980-a3 {

12, O00 1.982-83 L0

2,400 19a2-a3 L2

>6,O00.

1-2 , OO0.

-' ."-".t:"tpi"v!a wonen_ aeiive frord tro study areasi -sunekanear xisii t6wn, and sengera in southern Gusii-land' The;;;;;;ai;. on enploved ;onen is conpiled fron a sPeciar-survevof enployed sonen, and fron inforDants ahong the errte' seeHakansson 19aa for details '

b. i;;;; .".." ".. enproyeal as accountants, physicianst auditors'and j.nsurance nanagers.

c. Nurs€s, teacherg, secretaries.J- ii i" i"." difficult to estiBate the Donetary income that a_'

ri"-."v-a!ti"e iron a vite uho works on the farIl' According toBader (1980) the averaqe annual LncoDe fron farln Products in his:;;;; ;;;;-i.-i;ze t,is-auout Kshs. 4,627. rhis is a nguesstirnate"rtti"it "qt.."

with Dv oen tillited infomatlon indicatinq that

"veiiq"-fart ihcoDe sas around Kshs' 6,OOo per year in 1982_83'

;;;;i;s that a uife contributes ?5t of that i'ncorne vields aD

"silnat6a incone of Kshs. 4oo per Donth' This estitoate does not

in"i"a" tit" value of subsistence Production' The cost ofi"l=i.t""." iloes not affect eroPloyed voben to a great degreeii""" ."nv have free staff houling and food at their-pl'ace of;;;i. i; iaaiti"", enployed tren and nonen often get food frontheir fabili€s' farns.

allocated to hcr. Selcction of a wife was guided by criteria such as Presence

oi *i,.tt.t^f, in certain families and the prospective bride's labor capacity

At this time stratification was ephemeral and wealth was achieved by men

through control over female labor and by cngaging in trade'

Marriages Awong WealthY Farmers

In contrast, in the modern bridewealth systcmr women are evaluated

according to carning capacity and Parents' socioeconomic status The bri-

a.*."itlt"puia f". *o"men'witti qualified employmcnt, e g , teachers, secretaries'

".rd ,r,.rrrJ., is much highcr than for non-employed women (see Table ll'l)'

i. "dditioti,

fcwer of ihe former elope, and the time bctween cohabitation

and payment is shorter.Biginning in the late 1960s elopements started to increase in number'

"n.l t"h. p..td between the initiati'on of cohabitation and the payment of

bridewcaith has become progressively longer. In a survey of marital status

(Hakansson 1988), 28 pcrcent of Peasant wome,n who enrerecl Into unlons

i,l,t, -"n during'the ii* y."t p"iiod 1962-68 had cloped Bridewealth

172 Thouet Hahatsmt

payments followed all of these unions within four ycars. Thus 72 percentof all unions during this period were preceded or accompanied by bridcwcalthpayment. By the pcriod 198l-1983 only 14 percent of peasanr womenentered into "regular" marriages, i.e. unions preceded or accompanied bybridewealth payment, and 86 percent of couplcs cloped. After two ycars,only 28 percent of these had becn paid.

A major reason for the increase in elopement is land scarcity which hascaused a decline in demand for wives and competition within the familyor€r scarcc resources. Sisters cxperience conflict with brothers'wives andpartners in the competition for family resources. Since adult daughrers haveno recognized rights to subsist on their natal family's rcsources thcy receivevery little of the family income, and thcy occupy the lowest status in thcfamily.

Elopcment and conscnsual unions arc th€ common way for young mcnand women to establish houscholds. Thc prcvalencc of elopcment andsubsequent estrangement is placing morc and more Gusii women outsidethe system for resource distribution and acceptcd social statuscs, makingthem socially and economically marginalizcd as single mothcrs.

The situation for employed womcn is rrdically difcrcnr. Thc bridewealthpaid for both employed and non<mploycd women was similar in 1965, butsince that time the value ofpaymcnts involving cmploycd womcn has increasedwhile there has been a drastic declinc in the value of bridewealth paid forthe non'employed. The average bridcwealth paid for cmployed womcn in1982 and 1983 was equivalent to rhe value of 15 cows, or 12,000 Kcnyashillings (lGhs.),l while the valuc of payments for non-employed womcn wasthrec cows, or 2,400 Kenya shillings.

These differences in bridewcalth paymcnrs rcflect changcs in the socialand economic goals of wife-givers and wife-takers, as well as in women'sstatus, and the lattert control ovcr rcsources. First, bridcwcalth today is seenby wife-givers as gompensation for the loss of the daughter's current andfuture earning capacity and for their expenditure on her education. Second,the employed non-elite women arc unwilling ro elope and have mcans toput pressure on their husbands to pay. Payment is necessary also for employedwomen to obtain rights in the husband's estatc, as a means of maintaininga good relationship with their parents and brorhcrs, and to become recognizedas proper women. Third, employed womcn arc in high dcmand by employedmcn, who arc willing to pay a higher bridewcalth, and to pay sooncr, inordcr to sccurc thelr uxorial rights, as well as to plcase their partncrs.

Marriages Among Elites

Most elite children are educated in cxpensivc boarding schools in Nairobiand other cities. They attend universities where they ofren meer partnersfrom rheir own socioeconomic background. Economrc standing and culturalnorms makc it probable that thcy will marry within rhe samc srrarum.

Although often denied by mcmbcrs of the elite class, others repon rhatelitcs "arrange" their nrarriages. Informants maintain that mothers are

Sociocconomic Stratifuation utd MAftiag, Palrrrcnts 173

particularly active in managing their children's marriage choices. They act

as match-makers suggesting choices and trying to discourage their childrenfrom marrying spouscs from less wealthy familics. Parents may also charge

exorbitant bridewealth for daughters or force sons to relinquish girl friends

and arrange agrecments with other suitablc families.Marriage is legitimized by a wedding in a church or at the District

Commissioner's Office. The oficial proclamation takes place through exPensive

receptions and feasts with hundreds of guests in attendance At one weddingreccption for the children of two very wcakhy familics I counted aPproximatcly

400 people. The wedding itself is an opportunity to reinforce the customary

role of rich families as'being generous with food. For thc groom's Parcntswho pay for thc celebration it is an occasion for display of wcalth and tod.-o.rrirate connections with wealthy and powerful persons For example,

the number and style of guests' cars are very important since these show

the guests' economic standing. Members of parliament, ministers, and highranking civil servants are desired guests who, togcther with the couple's

parents, are seated at a special place in the reception hallThe Christian wedding is accompanied by certain traditional comPonents'

such as gifts of goat meat and millet porridge to the female rclativcs of the

bride. A gcneration ago slaughter of livestock at traditional weddings was

characteriied by reciprocal responsibility between the two families. Whilethe bride's family provided the food and beer during the ivedding ccremony

itse lf, rhe groomt iamily made the most valuable contributions to the weddingcelebrations, providing most of the livcstock for slaughter (Mayer 1950).

The practice among the elite is a divergence from "custom" in that the

element of reciprocity has disappeared.Bridewealth, although large, is usually not thc subject of public disptay

but, as an elite informant said, "The in-laws talk privately with each other'

With animals you can tell people to view the animals, ohomana chi'ombe,

but it is more private with money." Another informant said that, "whendeciding about ihe bridewealth you want privacy. Gossip will otherwise be

involveJ if many people are present. And if you bring all these people thcymay offend you with bad languagc."

The private nature of the agreement is a direct negation of the traditional,.orn-on *"y of negotiating and transferring the bridewealth. Bridewealth

negotiation was attended by many malc elders and its transfer was a publicoccasion among all Gusii thirty years ago, as it still is today among non-

elites. Ncgotiations involve lengthy bargaining between the elders of bothsides, i.e., fathers and their brothers, other close patrilineal male relatives,

and the mother's brother of the bride and the groom. When the bridewealth

has been agreed upon, the cattlc are publicly transferred on hoof to the

bride's natal home.Although the father's role in clite marriage is mandatory, the form of

negotiation practiced by many elitc familics denics the common interest ofthe patrilineige in the marriage and emphasizcs the mutual and dyadic

agreemcnt between two nuclear families.

I

I

174 Thouas Hchaumn

Bridcrvealth for daughters from the elite is much higher than the averagepaici for employed women. Thc average bridewealth paid in an elite marriagcis around Kshs. 36,000, compared to Kshs. 12,000in 1982-1983 for employedwomen in general. Most paymcnts included a large proportion of exoticcattle and fcw or none of the local Zebu cows. The highest payment Irecorded was valued at Kshs. 50,000, paid by a young civil servant's familyin 1983, for his wifc who is a medical doctor and the daughter of a formerCabinet Ministcr.

An examination of elite womens' educational levels and types of em-ploymcnt revcal that rhey usually havc a higher level of education, and have

more remunerative employmcnt than non-elite women. The latter are oftenteachers, nurscs or secretarics while the former have higher paying jobs as

accountants, auditors, and principals at girls' schools. Such employmentdcmands collcgc or university education, and the high bridewealth may beseen as a result of rhcir highcr earning capacities.

Figure ll.2 shorvs the difference in the value of bridewealth between elitcand non-elite employcd women. Of eight elite women in the diagram, threelack univcrsity education (indicated by an asterisk). One is employed as a

stenographcr, and two as primarv school teachers.As shown in the diagram, the payments for non-elite employed women

arc consistently lower than for elite women, reflecting the lower earningcapacity of the former. Their lower salaries are in turn the result of lowereducational attainment. Most non-elite families cannot afford to give theirchildrcn rhe same lcvel of education as rhe elirc. Less wealthy farmers hopethat their daughters will obtain employment immediately after completingsccondary school and subsequent training, in order to assist in paying schoolfees for other siblings.

The Efect of High Bridewealtb on Socioeconomic DffirentiationThe effcct of this graded system of payments is to exclude mcn of lower

economic and social standing from marrying inro clite families. An employedman, for example a teacher or lower level civil servant, earns approximately2,000-4,000 Kenva shillings per month, or Kshs. 24,000-48,000 pcr year.If he comes from a poor or moderately wealthy family, he will have to spendmuch of his salary supporting his siblings with school fees, and his parcntsand othcr rclatives with money. Hcncc, he will not be able to pay the highbridewealth of Kshs. 30,00O-40,000 demanded for a university educatedelite woman. Evcn among those few non-elite mcn with a university education.and thercforc a higher salarl', the fir.rancial demands placed upon him by hisextended farnily precludc marriage to clite, educated women.

Many mcn settlc for a wife with a lowcr bridewealth and a lower payingjob, rathcr than going into debt in order to obtain enough money to paybridewealth for a university educated rvoman with a high salary.

Maltaqernent of Marriagc

The maintenance of the bridewcalth system is directly dependent on thewomen's desire for bridewealth to be paid. Both elite and non-elite employcd

175

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womcn indirectly influence the level of bridcwealth by refusing to eloPe ormarry without bridcwealrlr. Of course women sometimes protest against

what they considcr exorbitant demands from their parcnts. However, employedwomen usually refuse to elope and thereby cnforce thcir parents' dcmands.It is a source of prestigc to them and their family, lest it be said that theitfamily is cheap and gives away its daughters, Two women exprcsscd thcirsentiments thus:

l-carned women have the acumcn or ground for threatening a man and have

their way [i,e. that hc pays thc bridewcalth]. I feel as an educatcd woman thatthere should bc some compensation to the Parcnts.

and

Bridewealth should continue to be paid becausc men tend to recognizc women

[whcn it is paid]. Parenrs gct plcrsed and it is a form of gift lt is cornpensationbccause some parcnrs give loo much to their deughters in the hoPe that she

helps thcm in the future.

Fcmalc informants expresscd a strong conccrn with their own futurefinancial security as well as their childrens' future benefits. All women, even

elite women, arc regarded by customary law, and to a certain extent bynational law, as jural minors. Their control over proPcrty and their socialstatus is dependent on their relationship with males. Hence, it is veryimportant for them, as well as for their poorer sisters, to establish farorablerelationships with males.

Employcd womcn view bridewealth as an insurance that shows the husbandis serious about the marriagc, and that he has financial capability. Briciewealthcrcates a tie to their natal homes ensuring their social and econornic supportA brothcr who benefits from his sister's bridewealth, either for marriage oras paynent for his school fees, is obligated towards that sister. It is to thisbrothcr thar a woman can turn to for suPPort in case of marital difficulties.It also gives her legitimacy both as an urban cducated woman, and in relationro the traditional values in her rural home. Thus an clite woman prcfers tomarry an elite man who has considerable financial assets. Howcver, youngclitc womcn I talkcd to were less concerned with political connections andsocial prcstige rcsulting from bcing married to an elitc husband. As longas thc husband is himself employed and has good prospects of becomingwealthy, his family\ elite status may be less important.

Discussion

The strategies employed by the clite and very wealthy farmers to perPetuatetheir socioecoromic status affect marriage Patterns in two ways. First,investmcnt in daughtcrs' educatiorr has rhe effect of preventing intermarriagewith men from non-elite and lcss wealthy familics. Second, elite membersuse marriagc and bridewcalth as a rneans for reaching social and econonli(

Sotioeeonomit Stt,tificd.tion dnd ll4arrittge Pqlments 177

goals, resulting in a high degree of endogamy within the wealthiest strata

of society.The formation of thc Gusii elite is too recent to have achieved symbolic

exclusiveness. Access to elite status is stiil comparatively open through

eclucation, employmcnt, and involvement in polltical activitics lnrh€ absencc

oi r.,.h "y-boii. .o.t,.oi,

^. Cohen (198I) found among Creoles. bridewcalth

U.lo*..'"n important means through which parents can manage their

childrer's nturri"gc., and a way for women to assess ProsPective husbands'

ability and willingness to contributc to their children's future

Alitrough the elites stand out as a socioeconomic group, all its members

"re not oiid.,rti.,al economic status. The elites overlap with the uppcr levcl

wealthy farmer. who arc aspiring to become evcn wealthicr'^and ro givc

their children university education. The clite class is small, therefbre marrrige

with partners from families of lowcr cconomic status must occasionallY occur'

Such marriagcs tcnd to be confined within the upPer level wealthy farmers'

The tenclincy for endogamy within the wealthiest strata is not only a

rellection of the members'common education and emPloyment Thc economic

status of parents is also becoming important, diminishing the role of personally

".l,l.u.d 'rtu,,tt through educaion and employment alonc Hence, the bri-

dewealth system lendi itself to PcrPetuation of status over gencrations

The search for a pattern should not overshadow thc fact that a number

of men and women attemPt to marry partners from other socioeconomic

backgrounds. Such attempti are sometimis successful, and somctimes resuit

in tr'aeedv. In one case. indcpendcnrly verifieJ by rwo soLlrces' I was tol'l

"bout", uery wealthy and politically important man's daughtcr who hecame

pregnant by the son of a wialthy but non-elite family Her fat he r^d isapproved

Lf ti.i, m"..i"ge plans and foried her to abort thc Pregnancy She was later

married to a son hom an elitc family of her parents' choosing'

Conclusion

It is apparent from this brief account that bridewealth among the Gusii

elite is inbeed comPatible with the maintenance of status marriages and class

endogamy. The general models espoused by Goody and Schlcgcl and Eloui

do not account for this.First, according to Goody (1973, 1976), dowry is related to resource

scarcity and ,,ncq-ual own.tthip of land and other means of production' Ina situition of land scarcity it is imPortant to ensure that daughters marry

within the same status grouP to F.e;erve their future status and that of their

children. But bridewealih can also servc this PurPose By demanding a high

bridcu,eaith one is ensured that the groom is financially able Thercfore,

dowry may not emerge as a necessary concomitant to proPerty conccntration'

Second, the modil assumes that the woman's contribution to the estatc

has low value and therefore the groom has to be compensated by dowry(Goody 1973; Schlegel and Eloul 1988; Spiro f975). However, many elite

*o-.r', in Afiica have salaried occupations and thus contribute to most of

i'

178 Thomas Hahantsn

thcir orvn and their childrens' living cxpenses (cf. Bujra 1986; Stichter 1988)'The assumption that womcn are chattels in male status games denics womcn

as brides any influence on the system ofmarriage payments. Women's strategies

in relation to such payments must be taken into account (Bossen 1988;

Hakansson 1988). lVomen's desirc for high bridewcalth is rclated to their

own interests in creating stronger rclationships with their natal families, and

to obtain presrigc in their natal communityThird, bridewealth is assumed to dispcrsc property and is thus antithetical

to the need to conservc property. This ovcrlooks the fact that, among the

elitc, higtr bridewealth is actually not vcry high in relation to their income

and assJts. It is only high in relation to the assets of non-elite men. Thus,

its effect is to discourage men of non-elite families from marrying the

daughters of the elite, and for women to ensure marriage to financially able

men-. Furthermore, by allowing bridewealth to circulatc among siblings, no

direct costs are incurrcd by the parents.Parents use high bridewealth as a means of controlling marriages by

allowing payments for daughters to be used for arranging the marriages ofronr, oi by paying it from the family incomc. In this wag high bridewealth

can be uscd-to hinder undesirable mcn from marrying thcir daughters' and

by threatening to withhold bridewealth to discourage sons from marryingundesirable women. Thus the changing economic conditions ofrecent decadcs

has not resulted in the decline of the traditional institution of bridewealth,

bur an alteration of the practice which serves to solidiff thc growingsocioeconomic stratifcarion in Gusii society

Acknowledgrrrcnts

I would like to thank Monica Udvardy, University of Uppsala, forconstructive criticism and Miriam Chaiken, Indiana Univcrsity of Pcnnsyl-vania, for editing and commenting on the manuscript.

Notes

J. The essay is based on 12 months fieldwork conductcd in Kisii Districr, Kenya,

1982-83 and 1985. Informarion about elite marriagc was obtaincd form both elite

and non-clite informants. It was not Possiblc to make anv random selcction of clitefamilies for investigation.

2. LaFontainc (1962) dcscribes how high bridewealth among rhe Gistr of Uganda

was used by rhe local elite to establish marrirgcs within their o$'n slratum and toexcludc poorcr men f'rotn marrying rhcir daughters Whcther high bridelvealtir initsell is uscd by the Gusii for similar purposcs cotrld be invcstigated by comparing

bridewcalth payrncnts lbr elitc and non_elitc women whilc holding education and

cnploymcnt status constant. lnformants suPporr my preliminary intcrpretation by

strissiirg that it is rhe wonarr's earrring capacity which determincs thc value ofbridewcalth.

3. Bager (1980) arrd Lanting (1977) havc shown, with thc cxccPtion of thc

settlement schcnrcs. land is not concentraaetl irr the hands oi a fcu; it is fairly equally

Soci4econortic Sttatifcation ond M'lri4ge Pa!"tetttt 179

distributed among men and access to non-farm income is the basis for economit

differenriation""';l'iiil;1r onc US dollar wrs abour 14 Kcnva shiltings (Kshs)

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