Imagine taking 7 pheras with a dog, putting sindoor on the animal, dancing to music, and then feasting the whole village for this wedding ceremony. Looks like a comedy script of a Bollywood movie. But no. This actually happened in reality.
Recently we saw actor Suraj Sharma marrying a tree in the movie ‘Phillauri’ because he was manglik, and as a result ends up with ghost Anushka Sharma, who lives on that tree, as his wife. But today, we will present you some real life examples where human-animal marriages are not only common, but also celebrated with pomp and show, not just in India but around the world.
In mythology, it was common for a human form to marry into animal world. Lord Hanuman’s mother Anjani married an ape, Jambvant in Ramayana was a bear whose daughter married Lord Krishna, and snake princess Ulupi proposed Arjuna.
But reality is stranger that fiction.
1. Teenager marries a stray dog
18-year-old Mangli from Jharkhand was married off to a stray dog in an elaborate traditional ceremony. The baffled dog, named Sheru, was arrived at the mandap in a car and was welcomed by guests. Around 70 guests attended the wedding, danced to drums and enjoyed a lavish lunch.
Reason for the marriage:
A local guru told Mangli’s parents that she possessed ill-luck, which could destroy the whole family and her community. The only way to cure it was to marry a dog before marrying a human being. Mangli had to skip school to be in this wedding.
Although she was not happy to be married to a dog, this is what she had to say: “My villagers say that many girls like me have followed this ritual and they have gotten rid of their evil spells and are living happy lives now.”
#2.
In 2007, a 33-year old Selva Kumar, a resident of Sivaganga district married a bitch. As a teenaged he had once stoned two dogs to death after he found them mating on a street. What followed next was unbelievable. Selva’s hands and limbs gradually got paralyzed, and he lost hearing in one ear. The local priest called it the ‘curse of the dog.’ To end his sufferings, he married a bitch in a temple, in a ceremony befitting a beautiful Indian bride, with the dog dressed in saree and flowers.
#3
A 9-year-old girl, who got her first teeth as a baby in the upper jaw, was considered unlucky for her family. To ‘remove the curse’ she was wed to a dog.
Now get ready to hear some news of human-animal marriage from abroad.
#4. In 2005, Sharon Tendler, a British millionaire, married a dolphin at an Israeli resort. The thrilled bride walked down the dock wearing a white dress, before hundreds of visitors. She kneeled down before her groom- the dolpin- who was waiting in the water.
#5. In 2006, a Sudanese man, was forced marry a goat and pay 75 dollars as dowry to the goat owner, after he was caught having sex with the animal.