Markets and Trading (Women)

If anyone has started The Worldly Philosophers, I thought I'd share an anecdote about my time in Tanzania. On p. 27 Heilbroner talks about how in "some African communities it is perfectly legitimate to inquire how many oxen a woman is worth." While visiting a Masai village outside Arusha (The Masai are a powerful, semi-nomadic tribe that are known for their cattle-raising along the Tanzania-Kenya border), a man passing my guide and I asked how much I was worth. I thought my guide was joking when he responding but apparently mzungu (White) female tourists are worth a small herd.