Bride price, best called
bridewealth, also known as
bride token, is an amount of
money,
property or other form of
wealth paid by a
groom or his family to the parents of the woman he has just
married or is just about to marry. Bride price can be compared to
dowry, which is paid to the groom, or used by the bride to help establish the new household; and
dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The bride price agreed may or may not be intended to reflect the perceived value of the woman.