The Institution of Dowry in Kalmyk Wedding Rites

The article examines the institution of dowry in wedding rites of the Kalmyks. Traditionally the composition of the dowry was largely determined by the groom’s party, close relatives and fellow-villagers of the bride and her parents. A certain set of dowry elements was conditioned by the nomadic lifestyles and traditional beliefs. The ceremonies of carrying dowry away and bringing it into the groom’s home were essentially apotropaic. Contemporary wedding rites retain the principle dowry be negotiated by relatives, contain all ceremonial elements required for the bride to safely join the circle of her sisters-in law, e.g., the delivery of the ‘bride’s chest’. So, even nowadays dowry serves to materially identify a new status of the newly married couple