I grew up with a group of friends who went to church and school together and also hung out. We had lots of inside jokes and sayings. We loved a movie we watched at church called Johnny Lingo.
We quoted exchanges like this millions of times:
Moki: Mahana, you ugly. What are you hiding up there for? Today is the day of bargaining. Come down and be ready to greet your husband to be.
The basic premise is that when a husband (Johnny Lingo) comes to bargain for his wife to be (Mahana) he offers to pay much more than her father (Moki) asks for his 'ugly' daughter. More quotes:
Moki: Three cows.
Johnny Lingo: Three cows is many, but enough for Mahana. I will pay eight cows.
(Later)
Johnny: Think what it must mean to a woman: Her future husband and her father meeting to discuss the lowest price for which she can be bought. And later, when the women of the village gather, they boast of what their husbands paid for them -- three cows, or five. How does she feel, the woman who was sold for one or two? This could not happy to my Mahana.
Trader Harris: Johnny, I've misjudged you. I thought you were thinking of how important you would look to your friends, paying eight cows for a wife. I didn't know you wanted to make Mahana happy.
Johnny Lingo: More than happy. I wanted her to be an eight-cow woman.
Moki: Three cows.
Johnny Lingo: Three cows is many, but enough for Mahana. I will pay eight cows.
(Later)
Johnny: Think what it must mean to a woman: Her future husband and her father meeting to discuss the lowest price for which she can be bought. And later, when the women of the village gather, they boast of what their husbands paid for them -- three cows, or five. How does she feel, the woman who was sold for one or two? This could not happy to my Mahana.
Trader Harris: Johnny, I've misjudged you. I thought you were thinking of how important you would look to your friends, paying eight cows for a wife. I didn't know you wanted to make Mahana happy.
Johnny Lingo: More than happy. I wanted her to be an eight-cow woman.
So... when I got married, of course my
family set a bride price for me.
family set a bride price for me.
Two goats or one goat and eight
chickens.
The picture on the right shows what
my groom arrived with. He made them himself and exceeded all expectations.
Of course we continued this practice as our own girls were married.
Here is what Jordan's groom brought: Sheep!
And Jaime's brought donkeys
And Brooke's brought penguins and purple cows
And now Jasmine's brought ducks and kangaroos.
Good times!
