Thread: Boy Weds Dog To Avoid Indian Tiger Death

'Boy Weds Dog To Avoid Indian Tiger Death'


9:08am UK, Wednesday February 18, 2009 Sky News

A toddler has reportedly been married off to a dog in eastern India in a bid to prevent his predicted death by a tiger.


Village elders feared the toddler might one day be mauled 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.

The village bitch probably isn't complaining.