The relationship between bridewealth and women's autonomy is not only discussed amongst anthropologists, development practitioners and other scholars but also amongst brides themselves. Women continue to embrace such marital exchanges, despite their knowledge of ‘modern’ development discourse about the constraints of the practice on women's status and its links to gender‐based violence. This paper provides a visual exploration of contemporary brideprice practices and women's autonomy in Mt Hagen. We draw on scenes from our ethnographic film (An Extraordinary Wedding: Marriage and Modernity in Highlands PNG) to explore deliberations and developments that occurred in the case of a particular marriage that took place in 2012. We argue that the institution of brideprice has the potential to enhance the visibility of some women and the importance of their contribution to their own and husbands' kin groups. Despite current tensions regarding brideprice, it can serve as an avenue for the enhancement of women's political participation. The particular brideprice exchange featured in our film, raised concerns for the participants, which we consider in terms of three questions: Does brideprice commodify women? Does it play a role in gender‐based violence? Is it inimical to aspirations for modernist individuality? We discuss the importance of bekim (‘return gift’) and suggest that this practice challenges the notion of brideprice as a commodity transaction. We argue that, while there may be an association between brideprice and gender‐based violence, brideprice, in and of itself, is not causative of violence. The marriage represented in the film, and discussed in this paper, reveals the creativity of participants in adjusting the values inherent in the customary practice of brideprice to their contemporary aspirations.

中文翻译：

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准price和偏见：关于巴布亚新几内亚哈根山的婚姻和现代性的音像民族志

新娘与妇女之间的关系不仅在人类学家，发展实践者和其他学者之间进行了讨论，而且在新娘自身之间也进行了讨论。尽管妇女了解关于妇女地位习俗的制约因素及其与基于性别的暴力的联系的“现代”发展话语，但妇女仍继续进行这种婚姻交流。本文从视觉上探讨了哈根山（Mt Hagen）的当代彩礼习俗和妇女自治。我们借鉴了民族志电影的场景（非凡的婚礼：高地的婚姻与现代性PNG）以探讨在2012年发生的一次特定婚姻中所进行的讨论和发展。我们认为，建立彩礼制度有可能提高某些妇女的知名度以及她们对自己和丈夫的贡献的重要性。亲属团体。尽管目前关于彩礼的紧张关系，但它可以作为加强妇女参政的途径。我们电影中的特殊彩礼交换引起了参与者的关注，我们从三个问题来考虑：彩礼是否使女性商品化？它在基于性别的暴力中发挥作用吗？对现代主义个性的追求是否有害？我们讨论bekim的重要性（“返还礼物”），并建议这种做法挑战了彩礼作为商品交易的观念。我们认为，尽管彩礼和基于性别的暴力之间可能存在联系，但彩礼本身并不是暴力的诱因。电影中所代表的婚姻，并在本文中进行了讨论，揭示了参与者在调整彩礼习俗的内在价值以适应其当代愿望时的创造力。