Papua New Guinea
Although we might find it obsolete, in some parts of Papua New Guinea, it is customary for the groom to pay the bride’s family in order to take her hand in marriage. This endowment can be made in golden-edged clam-shells or money, and it takes places before the wedding ceremony.
The truly interesting part about the event are the wedding outfits. Weddings are an opportunity for the women to wear their best accessories, and plenty of them. The bride and her bridesmaids wear accessories made of seashells. The bride and groom, as well as the guests, paint their faces in clay or mud, as a sign of celebration.