Bride Price

Sent to the tropical jungle of central Africa to teach villagers how to get clean drinking water, Ian Mathie lived for some time in a village deep in the forest. The village elders and witch doctor, together with the local political agent, persuaded him to foster Abélé, an orphan from the community who had been ostracized because her parents were considered sorcerers. In tribal societies such as the one where Ian was living, girls marry young and men are expected to pay a dowry, or bride pr...