Except that people rarely show off engagement rings once they're married. It's not about the ring, it's about the expense. The same purpose could be served by

Except that people rarely show off engagement rings once they're married. It's not about the ring, it's about the expense. The same purpose could be served by just piling up twenty-dollar bills and setting them on fire, and the person with the biggest pile of bills to set on fire would be the highest status. There are cultures historically where stuff like that was common: generally as sacrificial offerings, but same thing really -- if you can afford to sacrifice a horse, in a culture where a horse is really valuable, it means you're really fucking serious about whatever you're doing, or so rich that you can do it casually, one of the two.