Marriage is a business arrangement.

I think basing marriage off of solely love in an economically deprived community is a terrible decision. When people are in love but have economic troubles, their love can be easily torn apart ending in divorce. If there was not this economic burden, I personally believe a lot of those marriages would still exist. There are so many more factors that go into marriage besides compatibility of two partners. Marriage in many cases can be seen as adding another set of hands to the family and hopefully more once offspring arrive. It ties two families together and builds a little community among them so they can both benefit off of it. Sometimes in the case of dowry, it can be detrimental for a family to be comprised only of daughters. On the other hand with bride prices, in some cases the family giving away a daughter can benefit more. It is not all about money or economic benefits though. A spouse must be compatible with the family it is entering, or else the overall efficiency of the household is hurt.