gins were seen worthy of a much 
higher mahr than either widows, di- 
vorcees, or those described as thayyib 
(literally, “nonvirgins,” also referring 
to widows and divorcees). The infe- 
riority of previously divorced brides, 
as reported to us by various Druse 
informants, was apparent. Their mahr 
was less than a tenth of that for virgin 
brides, and less than half of that for 
either widows or thayyib women. 
We looked next into the effect that 
the social standing of the couple’s fam- 
ilies had on mahr. Traditionally, Druse 
families are either of the sheikly class 
or are commoners. This distinction, 
based on the historic exploits of an- 
cient nobles and warriors, is commonly 
known and accepted within the sect. 
The great majority of Druse marry 
within their class, with sheikly unions 
specifying a higher mahr than those 
between commoners. If a man of high 
status marries a commoner, however, 
he pays much less than he would for 
a bride from his class. Most interesting 
is the very high mahr a commoner 
agrees to pay for a sheikly bride. In 
the few instances in which a com- 
moner has gained the hand of a sheikly 
bride, he has paid a high price for 
the status that his partner brings to 
the marriage. When a high-status 
groom has a commoner bride, how- 
ever, the status he confers upon her 
is presumed to be an ample reward. 
He agrees to pay a little more than 
half the mahr given a sheikly bride. 
Status is not the only social bound- 
ary that influences marriages among 
the Druse. As with many other Middle 
Eastern groups, their families have 
historically belonged to larger political 
factions. The Druse have two basic 
factions, the Yazbaki and the Jum- 
blati, with a small minority of families 
maintaining an affiliation with both. 
These groups have historically been 
at odds over issues within the com- 
munity and have otten been in op- 
position on the larger national scene. 
Each has been allied with opposing 
coalitions made up of other Lebanese 
Christian and Moslem groups. Re- 
flecting the increased liability that 
cross-factional marriage entails, the 
average mahr for such a match is 
significantly higher than a marriage 
within either the Yazbaki or the Jum- 
blati faction. The lowest mahr was 
found in marriages between families 
that had ties to both political factions, 
presumably because these marriages 
should be less affected by internal po- 
litical turmoil. 
Endogamy, the custom of marrying 
within a particular group, is a basic 
feature of Middle Eastern marriages, 
with the strongest preference for 
unions between a man and his father’s 
brother’s daughter. If the most desired 
form is not possible, the preference 
is for matches within the same clan. 
To determine how the satisfaction of 
these preferences might affect the 
amount of mahr agreed upon, we ex- 
amined how it was influenced by the 
couples being related and by their re- 
siding in the same area. 
We found that marriages within the 
same clan had the lowest mahr , sug- 
gesting that the perceived liability for 
such matches was also low. Surpris- 
ingly, however, closeness in terms of 
the physical proximity of two families 
resulted in a lower mahr than did 
closeness in terms of kinship. For ex- 
ample, when the couple’s families 
were related but separated by long 
distances, as in the case of a wedding 
between one branch of a clan that 
lived in Syria and another branch that 
lived near Beirut, the average mahr 
was much higher than when the fam- 
ilies were unrelated but living in the 
same village. The conclusion that phy- 
sical proximity is more desirable than 
closeness in terms of kinship and may 
promote a better marriage was also 
shown in other situations. Among the 
highest average mahrs were those that 
involved the greatest physical sepa- 
ration of the bride from her family, 
as in the case of women going to marry 
Lebanese immigrants living in Aus- 
tralia or the United States. Obviously, 
the greater the distance a bride is 
from her family, the less they are able 
to aid her. To compensate for this 
disadvantage and to increase her pro- 
tection, a larger mahr is sought. 
Observations and discussions with 
Druse of a variety of backgrounds in- 
dicated that personal characteristics 
of the potential mates, as well as those 
of their respective families, also pro- 
duced variations in mahr. It is com- 
mon for undesirable suitors to be 
turned down in a diplomatic way by 
demanding an exceptionally high 
mahr. If a suitor is seen as “too old” 
for a woman, is divorced, or has a 
reputation for being unstable or un- 
reliable in some respect, a woman’s 
parents will usually seek a very high 
mahr , to get him either to withdraw 
or to provide a considerable amount 
of “insurance” for their daughter. The 
general physical attractiveness, intel- 
ligence, education, and personality of 
those involved are also important. A 
highly desirable match from the point 
of view of the couple and families 
involved is seldom lost because of a 
lack of agreement about the mahr. 
The contracts had no details about 
most of the personal characteristics 
of those married but did include their 
ages. This enabled us to see how dif- 
ferences in the ages of the bride and 
the groom affected the amount set. 
Conventionally, Druse men marry 
women who are about seven years 
younger than themselves. We antici- 
pated that significant departures from 
this norm would result in a higher 
mahr. The actual situation turned out 
to be different. From no age difference 
to a difference of nineteen years, the 
less the age difference, the less the 
mahr specified. Clearly, the perceived 
liability steadily increased as the dif- 
ference in age between a younger 
bride and an older groom became 
greater. But at a difference of more 
than nineteen years the level of mahr 
decreased significantly and then lev- 
eled off. Seeking an explanation for 
this phenomenon, we realized that 
most of these matches were what the 
Druse term “nurse-bride” marriages. 
In these unions an older man, often 
a widower, takes a younger bride to 
help cook, manage the household, and 
care for any infirmities he may have. 
A lower mahr is set because the wife 
can expect a reasonable inheritance 
upon the death of her aged spouse 
and may also anticipate marrying 
again. In those rare marriages in which 
an older woman took a younger hus- 
band, there was no clear pattern. 
Because we had data covering a 
44-year period, we were also able to 
assess the effect that tremendous eco- 
nomic and social changes have had 
upon Druse marriage patterns. Re- 
flecting the great economic growth of 
Lebanon since the early 1930s, the 
typical mahr has increased sharply. 
During the 1930s, the average mahr 
was 220 LL (Lebanese pounds). In 
the early 1970s, it was 11,461 LL, 
an increase of more than 5,200 per- 
cent. In other respects, however, 
Druse marriage patterns have changed 
very little. Marriages between families 
of different social strata (sheiks and 
commoners) continued to be unusual, 
making up less than 2 percent of the 
total. Unions between those belonging 
to different political factions are more 
common, but the proportion — about 
one in four marriages — has changed 
little since the 1930s. Similarly, about 
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