Final answer:
Bride wealth or bride price is the gift that a wife's group gives to her husband's family in many cultures.
Step-by-step explanation:
In many cultures, the gift that a wife's group gives to her husband's family is known as bride wealth or bride price. Bride wealth is the transfer of material and symbolic value from the groom's to the bride's family. It can include money, cattle, household goods, jewelry, or other items of value. This practice is common in various societies and is a way to formalize the alliance between the two families involved in the marriage.
The dowry system contributes to the symbolic and material exchanges that bind the marrying individuals' families together. These exchanges can include both the offer of 'male' products, like palm oil and plantain, from the groom's family to the bride's family, and 'female' products, such as yams and taro, going in the opposite direction. this system reinforces the creation of alliances between families within the framework of unilineal descent and social status.