Junior Abedi Lemba is preparing to pay a dowry to his future father-in-law. A typical dowry can cost a groom-to-be between $1,500 and $5,000, which some local men say is financially destabilizing.ĭRC residents commonly use the U.S. Today, motorcycles, computers, smartphones and televisions top the lists of prospective fathers-in-law. “It’s about bonding, not bargaining or buying a wife as a commodity,” he says.Īnd, as society modernizes, so too is the dowry system, he says. Though Congolese law requires that a dowry be paid for the marriage to be official, it notes that the dowry can be symbolic. In Congolese society, the dowry serves as an alliance between two families. So, getting a bike and a TV set before she goes away is the least thing I can ask for.”Īlain Kumbatulu, a sociologist at the Université de Kisangani, says marriage is highly valued in the local culture. I gave everything to her, so she can have a better life. “My daughter just graduated from university.

“I have the right to ask for all that I want for the customary marriage of my daughter,” Lombeya says. Today, fathers require their daughters’ boyfriends to provide technology and transportation, to win approval for marriage. Gone are requests for livestock or home furnishings. “I’m very happy.”Īcross Kisangani, the dowry tradition is changing. “My daughter’s future husband gave me almost everything I asked for,” he says. Tomorrow, Lombeya will ride it around the city, he says. The prize item in the dowry was a new motorcycle, which sits on display nearby. Drinks are flowing, too, because today is the day that Lombeya received the dowry for his daughter. He’s wearing new shoes, too.Īround him, men in suits and women in brightly colored, elegantly wrapped kitenge are dancing, as an irresistible aroma wafts through the crowd. KISANGANI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Paul Masibu Lombeya is dressed in a dapper black suit with a crisp white shirt.

The Dowry by Maggie Gould