ABSTRACT
In the symbiotic balance between humans and stock, the growth of the family is as important as the growth of the herd, and marriage may be viewed as an aspect of the family enterprise. Women are exchanged for cattle in a system where the accumulation of wives is an essential investment and daughters are a commodity for exchange. Occasionally, a reckless elder has been known to solicit gifts from two suitors for the same daughter, building up a double marriage debt. As the marriage stabilises, the debt is not simply written off, but continues cautiously to accrue. A particularly striking feature of Maasai marriage is their practice whereby an elder may bid for a number of suits simultaneously and end up with several wives or none. As the marriage stabilises, the debt is not simply written off, but continues cautiously to accrue.
