The LA Times reports that taller daughters fetch more cattle upon the occasion of marriage. In Juba, young women are traded for longhorns, and the tallest of the prospective brides are considered to be of greater value as they “fetch more cattle because their daughters will quickly grow and can be married off to fetch even more cattle,” one tribal chief explained. For example, if, say, Catherine and I both lived in the Sudan, Catherine, who is 5’1″, would fetch perhaps as few as 20 head of cattle from a prospective suitor looking to reimburse her father for the loss of his hardworking daughter, while I, on the other hand, who am 6’1″, would demand as many as 60 to 100 head of cattle. “What do tall women think about marriage and cattle?” the reporter asks the chief. “‘Women have no say,’” is his reply. [LA Times]
