It's disheartening that people misuse BRIDE PRICE, DOWRY AND DOWER most often. Hence the need to clarify these words and help people understand and use correctly. First let's talk about bride price.
BRIDE PRICE is a payment of specified amount of money or other acceptable consideration, by the groom (husband) or his family to the bride's (wife's) parents for the sole reason of formalizing traditional marriage. The money paid is called BRIDE PRICE.
DOWRY is the wealth transferred from the BRIDE'S (wife's) family to the groom (husband) or his family, ostensibly for the bride. In some societies, an amount of money or property that a woman's (wife's) parents give to the man (husband) she marries. In some cultures, the wife give gifts of wrapper to the husband after payment of the bride price. That gift from the bride to her husband is what is known as DOWRY.
Similarly, DOWER is the gift or property given to the bride herself (not her parents), by the groom (husband) at the time of marriage, and the said gift or property remains under the ownership and control of the bride (wife) only. It's a marriage gift from the husband to his bride. Some husband's give gifts of car, land or house to the bride after payment of bride price to her parents. That gift is what is called DOWER.
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