http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090218/twl-toddler-weds-dog-to-avoid-indian-tig-3fd0ae9.html
A toddler has reportedly been married off to a dog in eastern India in a bid to prevent his predicted death by a tiger.
The ceremony, at a Hindu temple in Orissa state's Jajpur district,was conducted with all the rituals observed at traditional weddings.
It included a dowry for the bride - the village bitch.
The dog sported two silver rings and a silver chain, the UNI news agency reported.
Parents of the groom, 18-month-old Sangula, were advised to arrange the marriage when they noticed a tooth growing from their infant son's upper gum.
The growth was considered to be a bad omen in the boy's tribal community.
Village elders believed it would lead to him being killed in a tiger attack - a fate preventable, according to tribal tradition, by marrying a dog.
Sanrumula Munda, Sangula's father, said the ceremony would not stop him from marrying properly when he comes of age.
Superstition is still a potent force in tribal and remote communities of India
No wonder the country is going to the dogs .......................
A toddler has reportedly been married off to a dog in eastern India in a bid to prevent his predicted death by a tiger.
The ceremony, at a Hindu temple in Orissa state's Jajpur district,was conducted with all the rituals observed at traditional weddings.
It included a dowry for the bride - the village bitch.
The dog sported two silver rings and a silver chain, the UNI news agency reported.
Parents of the groom, 18-month-old Sangula, were advised to arrange the marriage when they noticed a tooth growing from their infant son's upper gum.
The growth was considered to be a bad omen in the boy's tribal community.
Village elders believed it would lead to him being killed in a tiger attack - a fate preventable, according to tribal tradition, by marrying a dog.
Sanrumula Munda, Sangula's father, said the ceremony would not stop him from marrying properly when he comes of age.
Superstition is still a potent force in tribal and remote communities of India
No wonder the country is going to the dogs .......................
