Understanding the consumption phenomen related to dowry: A phenomenological study

In this study, "dowry" which will be examined as a "personal belonging". Its transformation as an extention of the personality of the owner is also analysed. As a whole dowry means power, existance, the right to speak, memories, savings, effort and self-sacrifice. "Owning" to a dowry is the sign of that person's being "herself" while jumping to the treshold of the sacred-marriage ritual. It is a proof. That is to say, it helps a woman to find "herself" in her transformation from a daughter of a skillful mother to a devoted mother, a self-sacrifying mother, a responsible father, a role-model grandmother and a thoughtful mother for her kids. In short, in this study the journey of "owning" a dowry and its backing that journey of the woman in being "herself" are aimed to be narrated. The process of expanding the subject is examined under three main topics. These are "owning", "being herself" and " doing". The phenomenological design, which is among the qualitative methods, was used in the study. To understand different generations, ten mothers and their daughters were included in semi-structured interviews. The data that were gathered from these interviews were content analysed. The codes that were gathered after the qualitative data analysis were reflected in the narration of the participants. By taking my historical journey about dowry, this study helped me to examine my topic beyond the the traditions with its intersecting and distinct sides of pretentious consumption and extended personality theory of marketing. Keywords: Dowry, Marketing, Phenomenology