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either be free or a chattel slave. As elsewhere in the ancient Near
East, the traditional limitations on women’s legal capacity make it
unlikely that the bride will be a party to the transaction. In mar-
riage contracts, the agreement is concluded by her father or other
person(s)—most often a brother—who exercise legal authority over
her and act as her legal representatives. The other party is either
the groom or his father (presumably when the groom was too young
or at least still subject to paternal authority). Interestingly enough,
if the groom is a household slave, the marriage contract is person-
ally concluded by him and not by his master.^715.1.2.2 Adoptions for the purpose of marriage^72 do not substantially
differ from marriage contracts. In daughtership adoptions (màrtùtu),^73
the (future) bride is usually transferred by her father but occasion-
ally also by her mother or by one or more brothers.^74 The adopter
is either a man or a woman; in the latter case, she is often a close
relative of the transferor. The same persons are parties in transac-
tions that foresee the marriage of a free woman to a slave:^75 the
adopters (among whom are two ladies) are well-known members of
the Nuzi upper class, owners of real estate and slaves.5.1.2.3 A different schema is attested in sistership adoptions (a¢àtùtu).
The one party to the transaction is the adoptee herself, who gives
herself as sister to a man or, alternatively, her natural brother, evi-
dently in his capacity as her guardian.^76 The adopter is a man who
receives the woman and becomes her legal brother.(^71) See, e.g., JEN 441, 637, 120; cf. JEN 434. Otherwise in HSS 19 83, where
the agreement is between the bride’s father and the master of the slave. Note, how-
ever, that in these cases the economic provisions concerning the marriage payments
are arranged by the slaves’ owners.
(^72) See Grosz, “On Some Aspects.. .,” with previous literature cited, especially
Eichler, “Another Look...”
(^73) Note that in some documents (e.g., HSS 19 87; HSS 9 145), the term màrtùtu
is coupled with kallùtu(“daughter-in-lawship”), although no apparent deviations from
the standard màrtùtutransactions can be observed. In HSS 19 75 and HSS 5 79,
the girl is simply given to a man ana kallùti; since in both cases the adopter will
marry her to one of his sons, the term “daughter-in-law” is technically appropri-
ate and need not be coupled with màrtùtu.
(^74) In HSS 19 90, mother and father; in HSS 19 92, mother and brother (?).
(^75) In these documents, the woman is adopted “as daughter-in-law” (ana kallùti)
or “as daughter and daughter-in-law” (ana màrtùti u kallùti).
(^76) In this case, the documents explicitly record the girl’s consent to the transac-
tion or her own initiative.
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