Want to get married in Kenya?  You better have a dowry prepared! It is
socially unacceptable to be married without some type of gift suitable for the
bride's family.  Often times it is
money but it could be 100 cows. This all depends on the bride’s family and what
they expect for their daughter. 
Jonah says that 100 cows is about average.

1 mature cow = 10,000 shillings

10,000 shillings X 100 cows = 1,000,000
shillings

1 million shillings = about $13,000

I learned about dowries in school but I never
realized the reality of it.  To get
married, it is required to have the money. If you want to marry without a
dowry, the couple has to run away or “stealâ€� her from the family.  Men will work for years to save enough
money to propose. Many times, Kenyan couples will not get married if they're
poor because they cannot afford a dowry. 
It is MUCH harder to make that amount of money here. In the US, we have
the choice on how much money we want to spend on the wedding but Africans,
unfortunately, do not.  The good
thing is that the husband does not have the pay the entire amount at once which
makes it a little easier for the men.

When you become engaged, you wear the
engagement ring on your MIDDLE finger. 
Then at the wedding, the ring is moved to your ring finger.

Ironically, I wear rings on both of my middle
fingers.  I get many questions
about my "husband/fiancé," yet my current dating situation is none
existent which I find pretty funny. :)

Jonah and Jocenta, all star members of the
church choir, recently married in April. 
They dated secretly for one year. 
When you announce that you’re a couple to the public, it is often
expected that you will be married. 
Therefore, couples date in private until they are sure they want to
marry each other.  Then they were
engaged for 3 years before they were married. 

I thought all of this was sooo interesting/beautiful/romantic and
wanted to share with everyone. <3