The interplay of structure and agency: the negotiation process of bridewealth payment in South-East Nigeria
| dc.contributor.advisor | Smythe, Dee | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Moult, Kelley | |
| dc.contributor.author | Diala, Jane Chinonyerem | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-05-10T11:14:52Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-05-10T11:14:52Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2018 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2019-05-09T08:22:18Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | The payment of bridewealth is a near-universal cultural practice among the Igbos of SouthEast Nigeria. Bridewealth used to be a symbolic legitimator of marriage. However, its symbolism has been distorted by expensive items on marriage lists. In this context, bridewealth payment provides an excellent analytical tool for the structure-agency debate, which has, in varying degrees, engaged academic interest for centuries. Underlying this debate is the extent to which institutions determine human behaviour and its attendant power relations. While structure refers to the self-replicating, complex elements that sustain institutions, agency refers to the volitional, purpose-driven nature of human activities. In this debate, the structuralfunctionalist-Marxist view, symbolic interactionism, and complementarity view are prominent. From these views, this dissertation develops a needs-based approach to structure-agency interaction, arguing that a focus on the primacy of structure or agency obscures their underlying motivations. It posits that the structure-agency interaction is both the process and product of logical assessments and dialogue, which are driven by socio-economic needs. In the context of this framework, it explored one central question: In what ways do power relations play out in the negotiation process of bridewealth payment in South-East Nigeria? Using literature review, non-participant observation of bridewealth negotiations, and in-depth interviews of 47 key informants, it reveals an interdependent, complex web linking the custodians of culture with agentic tools such as wealth, religion, and education. Despite cultural inhibitions in spousal selection and bridewealth negotiation, prospective spouses have a range of creative tools for reducing exorbitant items on marriage lists, thereby deconstructing high bridewealth. These agentic tools are driven by socio-economic elements such as desire to marry, economic coercion, cohabitation, threat of extramarital pregnancy, and religious values. The study concludes that bridewealth negotiation reflects socio-economic dynamics within hybrid cultural spaces in which potential couples and their parents may navigate the powerful constraints of tradition or sustain tradition through their inaction. These socio-economic dynamics are so powerful that they produce widespread disregard for legislation limiting bridewealth amounts. The study’s findings demonstrate the ineffectiveness of a top-down approach to law, the value of policy sensitivity to people’s lived realities, and the importance of in-depth consultation in the formulation of legislation. | |
| dc.identifier.apacitation | Diala, J. C. (2018). <i>The interplay of structure and agency: the negotiation process of bridewealth payment in South-East Nigeria</i>. (). ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30019 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.chicagocitation | Diala, Jane Chinonyerem. <i>"The interplay of structure and agency: the negotiation process of bridewealth payment in South-East Nigeria."</i> ., ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30019 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.citation | Diala, J.C. 2018. The interplay of structure and agency: the negotiation process of bridewealth payment in South-East Nigeria. . ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30019 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.ris | TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Diala, Jane Chinonyerem AB - The payment of bridewealth is a near-universal cultural practice among the Igbos of SouthEast Nigeria. Bridewealth used to be a symbolic legitimator of marriage. However, its symbolism has been distorted by expensive items on marriage lists. In this context, bridewealth payment provides an excellent analytical tool for the structure-agency debate, which has, in varying degrees, engaged academic interest for centuries. Underlying this debate is the extent to which institutions determine human behaviour and its attendant power relations. While structure refers to the self-replicating, complex elements that sustain institutions, agency refers to the volitional, purpose-driven nature of human activities. In this debate, the structuralfunctionalist-Marxist view, symbolic interactionism, and complementarity view are prominent. From these views, this dissertation develops a needs-based approach to structure-agency interaction, arguing that a focus on the primacy of structure or agency obscures their underlying motivations. It posits that the structure-agency interaction is both the process and product of logical assessments and dialogue, which are driven by socio-economic needs. In the context of this framework, it explored one central question: In what ways do power relations play out in the negotiation process of bridewealth payment in South-East Nigeria? Using literature review, non-participant observation of bridewealth negotiations, and in-depth interviews of 47 key informants, it reveals an interdependent, complex web linking the custodians of culture with agentic tools such as wealth, religion, and education. Despite cultural inhibitions in spousal selection and bridewealth negotiation, prospective spouses have a range of creative tools for reducing exorbitant items on marriage lists, thereby deconstructing high bridewealth. These agentic tools are driven by socio-economic elements such as desire to marry, economic coercion, cohabitation, threat of extramarital pregnancy, and religious values. The study concludes that bridewealth negotiation reflects socio-economic dynamics within hybrid cultural spaces in which potential couples and their parents may navigate the powerful constraints of tradition or sustain tradition through their inaction. These socio-economic dynamics are so powerful that they produce widespread disregard for legislation limiting bridewealth amounts. The study’s findings demonstrate the ineffectiveness of a top-down approach to law, the value of policy sensitivity to people’s lived realities, and the importance of in-depth consultation in the formulation of legislation. DA - 2018 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Structure, agency, bridewealth negotiation, needs assessment, power relations, Nigeria LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2018 T1 - The interplay of structure and agency: the negotiation process of bridewealth payment in South-East Nigeria TI - The interplay of structure and agency: the negotiation process of bridewealth payment in South-East Nigeria UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30019 ER - | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30019 | |
| dc.identifier.vancouvercitation | Diala JC. The interplay of structure and agency: the negotiation process of bridewealth payment in South-East Nigeria. []. ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Public Law, 2018 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30019 | en_ZA |
| dc.language.rfc3066 | eng | |
| dc.publisher.department | Department of Public Law | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Faculty of Law | |
| dc.subject | Structure, agency, bridewealth negotiation, needs assessment, power relations, Nigeria | |
| dc.title | The interplay of structure and agency: the negotiation process of bridewealth payment in South-East Nigeria | |
| dc.type | Doctoral Thesis | |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | Doctoral | |
| dc.type.qualificationname | PhD |