Paper short abstract:

Rather than dowry, bridewealth obligations are the rule among some 100 million indigenous people of the Middle Indian highlands. They will be introduced in their socio-cultural context by reference to the general propositions on bridewealth.

Paper long abstract:

The sweeping generalization "marriage...organizes inequality" (Collier 1988: vii) will be examined in the light of my ethnographic work over the past decades among the Adivasi (indigenous people) in the highlands of Middle India. To this day, these "Scheduled Tribes" live either as shifting or as plough cultivators under acephalous conditions practicing their own localized religion. In sharp contrast to the authoritarian and prudish upbringing of mainstream lowlanders, young women and men among these highlangers enjoy a remarkable personal freedom of movement and choice that includes frequent pre-marital visits and elopements which may or may not lead to a formalized marriage. Within a complex pattern of kinship regulations, the considerable bridewealth payments are usually advanced by petty commercial agents who are clients of the cultivators. Following the frequent elopements, these credits may lead to extended chains of long-term debts, or ties of obligations between the different but equal local descent groups.