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Boy marries dog to ward off tiger attacks
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) An infant boy was married off to his neighbors' dog in eastern India by villagers, who said it will stop the groom from being killed by wild animals, officials and witnesses said on Wednesday.
Around 150 tribespeople performed the ritual recently in a hamlet in the state of Orissa's Jajpur district after the boy, who is under two years old, grew a tooth on his upper gum.
The Munda tribe see such a growth in young children as a bad omen and believe it makes them prone to attacks by tigers and other animals. The tribal god will bless the child and ward off evil spirits after the marriage.
"We performed the marriage because it will overcome any curse that might fall on the child as well on us," the boy's father, Sanarumala Munda, was quoted as saying by a local newspaper.
The groom, Sagula, was carried by his family in a procession to the village temple, where a priest solemnized the marriage between Sagula and his bride, Jyoti, by chanting Sanskrit hymns, a witness said.
The dog belongs to the groom's neighbors and was set free to roam around the area after the ceremony. No dowry was exchanged, the witness said, and the boy will still be able to marry a human bride in the future without filing for divorce.
Indian law does not recognize weddings between people and animals, but the ritual survives in rural and tribal areas of the country.
(Editing by Matthias Williams, Leslie Gevirtz)
Boy marries dog to ward off tiger attacks | Oddly Enough | Reuters
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8-yr-old girl married off to a frog in TN
Eight-year-old R Vigneswari with the frog after the wedding ceremony.
19 Jan 2009
VILLUPURAM: The annual ritual of getting a girl married to a frog organised in Pallu Puthupattu village on the Tamil Nadu- Puducherry border is a interesting meeting of fairy tale and real life.
On the first Friday of Thai (Tamil month) every year, a girl of Pallu Puthupattu village is married off to a frog that is fished out from a temple tank.
On Friday 8-year-old R Vigneswari of the village was married to a frog that was fished out from a Sri Muthu Mariyamman temple.
At the wedding the residents adopted all the rituals that are followed during a normal wedding. The people residing at western side of Sri Muthu Mariyamman temple were considered as relatives of frog. They visited the residence of the bride, Vigneswari and obtained permission of her parents for the marriage.
The girl decked up with bridal make up and saree was taken out on a rally on Friday evening. The procession culminated at pond in Vannankulam.
After three-hour long ordeal they have caught a frog from the tank. Amidst chanting of devotional hymns and beating of drums, temple priest, on behalf of the amphibian, tied nuptial knot to Vigneswari in a pandal set up at near a school.
Residents greeted the newly married couple and offered moi (cash) to them. Dinner was served to all the invitees in pandal. After performing pujas the frog was released into the temple pond.
The local residents believe that performing such marriages will protect them from evil forces and ailments.
An elder Pachaiyammal said: People were conducting such marriages for many centuries now. We believe that Sri Mariyamman would protect us from evil forces if such marriages were conducted annually. Villagers said that according to legend, the people here had suffered from various hardship and a large number of children and others died following outbreak of cholera and other ailments in the village.
When they offered prayer to Sri Mariyamman, the goddess appeared in their dream and suggested them to conduct divine marriage every year.
In the dream the goddess said, the marriage must be conducted between Lord Shiva, who would be a reincarnation as a frog and live in the temple tank, and herself, as she would reincarnate herself as a girl child.
8-yr-old girl married off to a frog
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian Man marries a dog
NEW DELHI Selva Kumar had been hounded for 15 years by the memory of a horrible act he'd committed as a teenager.
As an 18-year-old he had stoned and clubbed to death two dogs he found engaged in mating. He then hung their carcasses from a tree.
That's when his personal suffering began.
"After that my legs and hands got paralyzed and I lost hearing in one ear," Kumar told the Hindustan Times newspaper.
Kumar, now 33 and living in the southern Indian district of Sivaganga, could no longer take the physical pain of the "dog curse," so he sought the advice of an astrologer.
Her cure for his maladies?
"Marry a dog."
Which is just what Kumar did on Sunday.
In a ceremony befitting a beautiful Indian bride, the *****, a former 10-year-old stray named "Selvi," was bathed and dressed in a ceremonial orange sari with a garland of flowers adorning her neck. She was then brought to the temple in Tamil Nadu to be presented to Kumar by members of his family.
Kumar, sitting beside his bride, recited his marriage vows, declaring, "I will take care of it until its death." Then, the "couple" was declared married.
Deeply superstitious people in rural India sometimes organize weddings to dogs and other animals, believing it can ward off certain curses.
The Hindustan Times reported Kumar's family hosted a feast while Selvi dined on a bun.
No word on where the couple would honeymoon or reside, or whether they had registered for gifts.
FOXNews.com - Man in India Marries Dog to Atone for Stoning to Death Mating Canines - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) An infant boy was married off to his neighbors' dog in eastern India by villagers, who said it will stop the groom from being killed by wild animals, officials and witnesses said on Wednesday.
Around 150 tribespeople performed the ritual recently in a hamlet in the state of Orissa's Jajpur district after the boy, who is under two years old, grew a tooth on his upper gum.
The Munda tribe see such a growth in young children as a bad omen and believe it makes them prone to attacks by tigers and other animals. The tribal god will bless the child and ward off evil spirits after the marriage.
"We performed the marriage because it will overcome any curse that might fall on the child as well on us," the boy's father, Sanarumala Munda, was quoted as saying by a local newspaper.
The groom, Sagula, was carried by his family in a procession to the village temple, where a priest solemnized the marriage between Sagula and his bride, Jyoti, by chanting Sanskrit hymns, a witness said.
The dog belongs to the groom's neighbors and was set free to roam around the area after the ceremony. No dowry was exchanged, the witness said, and the boy will still be able to marry a human bride in the future without filing for divorce.
Indian law does not recognize weddings between people and animals, but the ritual survives in rural and tribal areas of the country.
(Editing by Matthias Williams, Leslie Gevirtz)
Boy marries dog to ward off tiger attacks | Oddly Enough | Reuters
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8-yr-old girl married off to a frog in TN
Eight-year-old R Vigneswari with the frog after the wedding ceremony.
19 Jan 2009
VILLUPURAM: The annual ritual of getting a girl married to a frog organised in Pallu Puthupattu village on the Tamil Nadu- Puducherry border is a interesting meeting of fairy tale and real life.
On the first Friday of Thai (Tamil month) every year, a girl of Pallu Puthupattu village is married off to a frog that is fished out from a temple tank.
On Friday 8-year-old R Vigneswari of the village was married to a frog that was fished out from a Sri Muthu Mariyamman temple.
At the wedding the residents adopted all the rituals that are followed during a normal wedding. The people residing at western side of Sri Muthu Mariyamman temple were considered as relatives of frog. They visited the residence of the bride, Vigneswari and obtained permission of her parents for the marriage.
The girl decked up with bridal make up and saree was taken out on a rally on Friday evening. The procession culminated at pond in Vannankulam.
After three-hour long ordeal they have caught a frog from the tank. Amidst chanting of devotional hymns and beating of drums, temple priest, on behalf of the amphibian, tied nuptial knot to Vigneswari in a pandal set up at near a school.
Residents greeted the newly married couple and offered moi (cash) to them. Dinner was served to all the invitees in pandal. After performing pujas the frog was released into the temple pond.
The local residents believe that performing such marriages will protect them from evil forces and ailments.
An elder Pachaiyammal said: People were conducting such marriages for many centuries now. We believe that Sri Mariyamman would protect us from evil forces if such marriages were conducted annually. Villagers said that according to legend, the people here had suffered from various hardship and a large number of children and others died following outbreak of cholera and other ailments in the village.
When they offered prayer to Sri Mariyamman, the goddess appeared in their dream and suggested them to conduct divine marriage every year.
In the dream the goddess said, the marriage must be conducted between Lord Shiva, who would be a reincarnation as a frog and live in the temple tank, and herself, as she would reincarnate herself as a girl child.
8-yr-old girl married off to a frog
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian Man marries a dog
NEW DELHI Selva Kumar had been hounded for 15 years by the memory of a horrible act he'd committed as a teenager.
As an 18-year-old he had stoned and clubbed to death two dogs he found engaged in mating. He then hung their carcasses from a tree.
That's when his personal suffering began.
"After that my legs and hands got paralyzed and I lost hearing in one ear," Kumar told the Hindustan Times newspaper.
Kumar, now 33 and living in the southern Indian district of Sivaganga, could no longer take the physical pain of the "dog curse," so he sought the advice of an astrologer.
Her cure for his maladies?
"Marry a dog."
Which is just what Kumar did on Sunday.
In a ceremony befitting a beautiful Indian bride, the *****, a former 10-year-old stray named "Selvi," was bathed and dressed in a ceremonial orange sari with a garland of flowers adorning her neck. She was then brought to the temple in Tamil Nadu to be presented to Kumar by members of his family.
Kumar, sitting beside his bride, recited his marriage vows, declaring, "I will take care of it until its death." Then, the "couple" was declared married.
Deeply superstitious people in rural India sometimes organize weddings to dogs and other animals, believing it can ward off certain curses.
The Hindustan Times reported Kumar's family hosted a feast while Selvi dined on a bun.
No word on where the couple would honeymoon or reside, or whether they had registered for gifts.
FOXNews.com - Man in India Marries Dog to Atone for Stoning to Death Mating Canines - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News
