Final answer:
Bride service is a practice where the groom works for the bride's family before or after marriage, contrasting with bride wealth, which involves the transfer of goods or money from the groom to the bride's family. These practices reflect different cultural approaches to marriage, family bonds, and societal exchanges.
Step-by-step explanation:
The practice of bride service involves a groom providing labor to his bride's family either before or after their marriage. This system of betrothal can take many forms, from the groom working for months or years in the bride's family's household, to other forms of service conducted as a part of the marriage agreement.
Bride service contrasts with bride wealth, which typically involves the transfer of material or symbolic value (such as money, cattle, or jewelry) from the groom to the bride's family. The bride service enables the groom to live with the bride's family and frequently offers support for the couple and their first child or children. This practice is reflective of certain cultural views on marriage, family, and social contracts.
Throughout history and across cultures, these practices demonstrate the various ways families and societies perceive marriage. Whether it is an expression of joining familial networks or seen as an opportunity for the couple to gain support, bride service and bride wealth play significant roles in the formation of matrimonial bonds and the exchange of assets and labor between families.