124 Partn IWritinganEssal'
ApplyingWhatYouHave"Learned
Comparison/
ContrastThefollowingreadingis froma chapterofa collegetextbookinculturalanthropology.
It discussesculturaldifferencesinthecustomofexchanginggiftsata marriage.MaritalExchanges!
1 Inmostcultures,themarriageofa mananda womanis accompaniedby
somekindoftransferofgoodsorservices.Thesemaritalexchangesareused
tocreatein-lawrelationships,compensatea familyforthelossofoneofits
members,provideforthenewcouple'ssupport,orprovidea daughterwith
aninheritancethathelpsattracta desirablehusband.
2 Maritalexchangestakenumerousforms,includingtheNorthAmerican
customofweddingshowersandweddinggifts.Inthese,thepresentsgiven
byrelativesandfriendssupposedlyhelpthenewlywedsestablishan
independenthousehold.Wegivethingsthatareusefultothecouplejointly,
withfood-preparationandotherhouseholdutensilseasily.themostcommon
typeofgift.Manycouplesevenregisteratstoressothattheirrelativesand
friendswillprovidetheitemstheywant.
3 Froma cross-culturalperspective,themostunusualfeatureofNorth
Americanmaritalexchangeis thatnothingistransferredbetweentherelatives
ofthegroomandbride:Thecoupletreatthegiftsastheirprivateproperty.Like
mostofourothercustoms,thisseemsnaturaltous.Ofcoursethegiftsgoto
thecouple--whatelsecouldhappentothem?
4 Plentyelse,asweshallseeina moment.Fornow,noticethatthefactthatthe
couplereceivesthegiftsfitswithseveralotherfeaturesofEuro-Americanmarriage.
s First,inadditiontocreatingnewnuclearfamilies,marriageis thebond
throughwhichnewindependenthouseholdsarestarted.Sothehusbandand
wife"needtheirownstuff."If,incontrast,theneWlywedsmovedinwithone
oftheirrelatives,theywouldnothaveasgreata needfortheirownpotsand
pans,wineglasses,silvercandlesticks,andother"stuff."
6 Second,ourmarriage-giftcustomsfitwiththevalueourcultureplaceson
theprivacyofthemaritalrelationship:It is a personalmatterbetweenthehusband
andwife,andtheirrelativesshouldkeeptheirnosesout.If thein-lawsgetalong
andsocialize,that'sgreat,butourmarriagesgenerallydonotcreatestrongbonds
betweenfamiliesofthebrideandgroom.(Infact,thetwofamiliesoftencompetefor
thevisitsandattentionofthecoupleandtheiroffspring.)...Thefactthatthe
in-lawsdonotexchangegiftswitheachotherisa manifestationoftheabsence
ofa necessaryrelationbetweenthemafterthewedding.If,incontrast,themarriage
createdanalliancebetweenthetwosetsofrelatives,somekindofanexchange
wouldprobablyoccurbetweenthemtosymbolizeandcementtheirnewrelations.
7 Third,giftsarepresentedtothecouple,nottothehusbandorwifeas
individuals,andareconsideredtobelongequallyandjointlytobothpartners.
Buttherearemarriagesystemsinwhichthepropertyofthewifeis separate
fromthatofherhusband;if divorceshouldoccur,thereis nosquabblingover
whogetswhatandnoneedforprenuptials.Ipeoples,James,andGarrickBailey."Marriage,Family,andResidence."Humanity:AnIntroductionto
CulturalAnthropolof'.y.6thed.Belmont,CA:Wadsworth,2003:177-178.